Wilson Creek Winery — Attraction in Temecula

Mostly fantastic experience here, at Wilson Creek Winery, on 5/29/23. We came here with good friends, who are Wilson Creek Wine Club Members.

Each Wine Tasting Card had 6 tastings on it. One guy was all by himself, pouring the tastings. My initial impression of him: he was wasn't overly friendly. I began with a WC Malbec, which was pretty 👍. I then went against the grain & switched to the Wilson Creek Brut, which was really solid! After the second stingy tasting pour of Wilson Creek Brut, I asked my Wine Club friend, who'd invited us here, if these were typical size wine tasting pours, & she said, "No, they are smaller than normal pours."

Because of this, all 4 of us decided to buy 2 Bottles of Wilson Creek Brut, & cut out the short pouring, unfriendly guy behind the counter, using her Wine Club Membership, so she'd pay less for them. My wife & I bought the $31 Charcuterie Plate & the $13 Hummus Plate, which are Wine Club Member prices.

Our favorite guy ended up bringing out the food, without a smile & placed the 2 plates of food on our table. Then a moment later, he brought all 4 of us water glasses, plus an unfancy ice-filled bucket, with our 2 bottles of Wilson Creek Brut. This time, he actually smiled.

Things were much better now, that we had some delicious food in front of us, plus we could actually drink some tasty sparkling wine now, as I'm a typically heavy pourer. This is when our experience improved.

As we sat out on the outside balcony, we heard a pretty-sounding guitar, & a young man who was singing & playing it, way down below us. I found out later, that his name is Michael LeClerc- a talented guy.

So we macked down on some tasty cheeses, fine prosciutto, turkey & salami, 3-4 kinds of olives, mixed nuts, dried apricots, water crackers, fig jam, plus an herb cheese spread, & mustard, on the Meat & Cheese Plate, & some pretty small containers of 2 different kinds of Hummus- one was more tomatoey, lots of bright green celery sticks, thinly-sliced cucumber & an ample amount of soft Flatbread triangles.

So everyone is in a grand mood, eating some tasty finger food & drinking sparkling wine, plus listening to the young, talented musician, down below, & we were Happy Campers, cracking jokes, telling funny stories & enjoying looking out upon Wilson Creek's lovely & lush grounds.

Then the wind came up. Instantly, all 4 of us were now cold. My Wine Club friend went in & talked with the Tasting Soumelier. He said he'd put a call in, to get someone to come up & change our empty heater tanks, as all the free-standing heaters around us, were out of propane.

Nothing happened for quite awhile. As I watched the group of folks at the other end of the balcony's heater sending off heat trails, & we had nothing, & were cold, then I started to get a little upset. This coupled with the fact that we'd just purchased quite a bit of food & wine, & I got even more unhappy.

It was stacked up at the tasting counter, with 4 people, who I patiently watched this guy pour wine for, & I grew a bit more unhappy. Finally I asked this guy, who had given us mediocre service, when we could expect the propane to be brought up, since I told him we were all cold outside. He said, "I already called it in, I'm the only one here & I can't abandon my post." completely unapologetically, & with a bit of attitude. When I told my friend about this encounter, he went downstairs & talked with a lady manager. In 5 minutes 2 strapping guys, carrying 4 full propane tanks showed up & got us the heat, we deserved.

If we didn't have to deal with this situation, I'd have given Wilson...

Dear Wilson Creek Winery Management,

I am writing to share a deeply disappointing experience I had during my visit to your winery on Saturday, 10/12. What should have been a joyful celebration of my girlfriend’s 30th birthday was ruined by the biased and unprofessional behavior of your employee, Carly, and the mishandling of the situation by your manager, Christina Berry.

The first issue arose when I was registering for our tour. The employee assisting me was reviewing my reservation when Carly interrupted, suggesting she check for proof of payment. While I found this uncomfortable, I didn’t think much of it at the time. Unfortunately, things took a serious turn later when I purchased a cigar from the gift shop.

After purchasing the cigar, Carly insisted I take a bag, stating, “people might think it’s stolen.” This comment was offensive and completely unnecessary. The cigars are locked behind a glass case, behind a counter with employees in between, and I had just purchased the cigar from Carly herself. This wasn’t about whether I should take a bag—it was about Carly’s biased assumption that, without a bag, people would assume I had stolen the cigar. It was demeaning and made me feel singled out based on unfair assumptions.

When I brought this to the attention of your manager, Christina Berry, I expected her to address the seriousness of Carly’s comment. However, Christina completely sidestepped the issue. Rather than acknowledge how inappropriate and offensive Carly’s comment was, she focused on the fact that offering a bag is “standard protocol.” She never addressed the actual issue—that Carly made a ridiculous, biased comment when I declined the bag. When I pointed out that another customer who purchased a cigar didn’t receive this supposed protocol, Christina’s response was to offer me a free bottle of wine.

Offering a free bottle of wine might be an appropriate gesture if there was a minor inconvenience, like a fly in the food or a delayed reservation. But it is completely inadequate and insulting in a situation where a customer has experienced discrimination. Christina’s response trivialized the seriousness of the issue and made it clear that she wasn’t interested in addressing the real problem—biased and unfair treatment.

I was planning to return to Wilson Creek in the future and was even considering a membership. I had envisioned bringing my close friends and family to enjoy the winery. However, after experiencing this discriminatory treatment and seeing how management handled it, I will never return to your establishment. I will not recommend Wilson Creek to anyone, as it’s clear that this place tolerates racist behavior.

I returned the bottle of wine because I’m not interested in compensation—I’m looking for accountability. I strongly suggest that your staff, especially management, undergo diversity and inclusion training so that all customers are treated with the respect and fairness they deserve. No one should feel singled out or scrutinized based on biased assumptions, especially on what should have been a special occasion.

This experience left a lasting negative impression, and I hope you take this complaint seriously. I would appreciate a response explaining how you plan to address this issue and prevent similar incidents from happening...

Celebrated a friend’s birthday at Wilson Creek Winery. Its grounds were beautiful. I would return to Wilson Creek Winery with a satisfied and full stomach. I’d carefully select a premium wine. The Winery is a great atmosphere for fellowship and fun. Table games and dynamic conversations happened so easily. Many people were so friendly and customer service was good. We actually met people and exchanged numbers. The grounds are spread with many seating options throughout the courtyard and side yards. We arrived at 11am and it was moderately crowded. Lines moved fast. It only took 10-15 for them complete food orders. The fabric cushions had wine stains, bird droppings and were in poor condition. I cleaned our area and under the cushions I found trash, used napkins, hair and debris. It was unsightly.

I had 3 decent glasses of wine: NV Plethora, Peach Bellini, NV Mogdevere (?). There was a Reserve collection that was nice but I can’t remember the name. Most of the wines are non-vintage which I imagine is so it can maintain consistent flavors and steady production for consumer demand. Most bottles we bought were from 2019 and 2020.

The NV Plethora aimed to imitate a Sangiovese. I mostly enjoy medium-bodied Italian red wines with mild fruit notes with a little spiciness, and an oak barrel flavor. I also love a full-bodied Malbec. Unfortunately, I wasn’t impressed by Plethora’s viscosity and its weak legs. It tasted and smelled good but when I swished it in my mouth, the wine lacked the structure of a typical high tannin wine.

Most of the wines are non-vintage wines so I guess they are considered modern table and drinking wines. The winery is all about the atmosphere but the wine was low-quality to me. Our table sections had about 15 bottles of wine, most of them averaging about $25/bottle which could easily cost $8-$12 in a grocery store. I’m not a sommelier but I think the wine had something going on with the water, sugar, acidity and sulfites that reduced the quality.

The food service ruined the experience for me. We arrived at 11am and expected to have delectable food options. There are 3 separate dining facilities at the winery. The best menu appeared to be at the Creekside Grille Restaurant; and it’s the only one available for viewing online. Since we were on the lawn in a cabana, we had to order from the Courtyard Bar & Grill which offered cheap, processed and bland food. Stale nachos, burgers, pizza, processed cheese dip with lifeless pita bread. My friends told me the tasting room offers typical winery fare like charcuterie and pickled vegetables. Many people in my party got upset stomachs from the wine and lack of good food—we had nachos, cheese dip and pizza.

We were able to tour the vines and taste the grapes. I enjoyed connecting...