{"id":12127,"date":"2026-07-21T02:23:40","date_gmt":"2026-07-20T21:23:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=12127"},"modified":"2026-07-21T02:23:40","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T21:23:40","slug":"temecula-valley-winery-nominated-best-in-us","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=12127","title":{"rendered":"Temecula Valley winery nominated best in US"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<br \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content%2Fuploads%2Fsites%2F2%2F2026%2F07%2Fnewspress-collage-xlcf8pns0-1784582483537.jpg?quality%3D90%26strip%3Dall%261784568118\" \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>One of the nation\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/05\/22\/lifestyle\/youll-have-to-travel-to-taste-these-rare-wines\/\">top wine destinations<\/a> may be much closer to Los Angeles than many locals realize.<\/p>\n<p>Temecula Valley Wine Country, located about 90 minutes from LA, has been nominated for Best Wine Region in USA Today\u2019s 2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/Da556tanBZj\/?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ%3D%3D\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">10 Best Readers\u2019 Choice Awards<\/a>, adding to a growing list of national accolades for the popular weekend destination.<\/p>\n<p>The region previously came in at No. 2 in the country in the same USA Today readers\u2019 poll in 2024.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/04\/06\/us-news\/callaway-vineyard-winery-brushfire-in-temecula-close-call-burns-33-acres\/\">Temecula Valley<\/a> is home to nearly 50 wineries, making it an accessible escape for Angelenos looking for a wine-country getaway without traveling to Northern California.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>One of the nation\u2019s top wine destinations may be much closer to Los Angeles than many locals realize. <span class=\"credit\">temeculawines\/Instagram<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>Temecula Valley Wine Country, located about 90 minutes from LA, has been nominated for Best Wine Region in USA Today\u2019s 2026 10 Best Readers\u2019 Choice Awards, adding to a growing list of national accolades for the popular weekend destination. <span class=\"credit\">dpa\/picture alliance via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module aligncenter wp-block-nypost-editor-primary-tag\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>More than 30 grape varieties are grown across the region today, according to the Temecula Valley Winegrowers Association, an increase from the 24-plus varieties cited in earlier promotional materials.<\/p>\n<p>The valley\u2019s Mediterranean-like climate is particularly well suited to a diverse mix of grapes, including Italian, Rh\u00f4ne and Spanish varieties.<\/p>\n<div class=\"single__inline-module inline-module inline-module--newsletter aligncenter inline-module--nypostbusinessunit aligncenter wp-block-nypost-editor-newsletter\" data-source-unit=\"Inline Newsletter Module Cali - Morning Report\">\n<div class=\"inline-module__inner\">\n<div class=\"inline-module__title-wrapper\">\n<div class=\"inline-module__unsubmitted-title-wrapper\">\n<h3 class=\"inline-module__title headline headline--combo-sm-md\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSign up for the California Morning Report newsletter\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n<p class=\"inline-module__cta\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCalifornia&#8217;s top news, sports and entertainment delivered to your inbox every day.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><h3 class=\"inline-module__title headline headline--combo-sm-md\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\tThanks for signing up!\t\t\t\t\t<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>But the region has increasingly become a destination for more than what is poured into the glass.<\/p>\n<p>Visitors can take in vineyard views and intimate tasting experiences alongside restaurants, live music and behind-the-scenes wine tours, with enough on offer to turn a day trip into a full weekend getaway.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"nyp-slideshow-modal-image wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><figcaption>But the region has increasingly become a destination for more than what is poured into the glass. <span class=\"credit\">Hans Lucas\/AFP via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Temecula Valley has also earned major recognition for its wine tourism in recent years.<\/p>\n<p>Wine Enthusiast named Temecula Valley one of the world\u2019s Top Ten Wine Travel Destinations in 2019, years before the region secured its second-place finish in USA Today\u2019s 2024 Best Wine Region vote.<\/p>\n<p>The area\u2019s winemaking history stretches back much further.<\/p>\n<p>Wine grapes were first planted in the valley by Spanish missionaries in 1820, while the beginnings of Temecula\u2019s modern commercial wine industry date to 1968, when the area\u2019s first commercial vineyard was established.<\/p>\n<p>Decades later, Temecula Valley has grown into one of Southern California\u2019s major wine destinations, with <a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2026\/02\/25\/us-news\/more-california-wineries-closing-as-drinking-habits-change\/\">dozens of wineries<\/a> and a tourism scene built around tastings, dining and vineyard experiences.<\/p>\n<p>Now, its latest 2026 nomination gives the region another shot at national bragging rights \u2014 all within about a 90-minute drive of Los Angeles.<\/p>\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and 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realize. Temecula Valley Wine Country, located about 90 minutes from LA, has been nominated for Best Wine Region in USA Today\u2019s 2026 10 Best Readers\u2019 Choice Awards, adding to a growing list of national accolades for the popular&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12128,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/07\/newspress-collage-xlcf8pns0-1784582483537.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&1784568118&w=1200","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12127","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-hub"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12127","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12127"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12127\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/12128"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12127"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12127"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12127"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}