Grapeline Wine Tours — Local services in Temecula

Had a terrible experience with Grapeline. The bus host while nice was uneducated about the area, about the wineries, and about the entire process of making wine. Really nothing more than designates drivers. The driver played the music so loud that when the host did have a few comments you had difficulty hearing it. At the first winery we were given a flight to sample, we were not able to choose our own. We were again not given any information about the winery. On the second winery we had a better experience, as the bartender asked questions and engaged us to ensure we got to sample wines of our choice. (Surprisingly the bus host never asked what our choices would have been and when he told us what wineries we were going to the other group aboard had already been to 3 of them, and asked if we could go elsewhere- a more seasoned host would,have at that time contacted their office and tried). The third winery were we were served our lunch ina glorified stock room was where it really got bad. The Cougar winery host Jim totally ignored our tables in order to service the 21 year olds from another grapevine tour, pouring wine from the serving bottle directly into the girls mouth was about all I needed to see. During our 50 min there he managed to come to our table once, then after the party left he came by and said what pour are you on, at which time we all let him know our displeasure. He said be nice to me or you won’t get a good pour. I said what’s the difference we aren’t getting one anyway. The two wines we had there (was supposed to be five) were all terrible. The other party let the management know the experience we had and the cougar staff was pretty indifferent to it. The final stop was at a winery already occupied by the said 21 yr olds, so we asked to host to go elsewhere. He said “give it a try”. Inside there were two bartenders, no space at the bar. The other group with us requested two wines, both apparently out of stock for the tasting menu - no alternatives given. At this time we requested the driver take us elsewhere. The company’s response was to take us back to the second winery -. I have been on several tours in Napa and Sonoma, this wasn’t even close to the quality and experience. On a typical wine tour we purchase 4 cases of wine, we purchased 6 bottles this tour , all from the second winery most likely due to the bartender and his ability to Ask questions and see what we liked. On previous wine tours I received a questionnaire prior asking what wines we like what winery we have been to as not to repeat. This company obviously doesn’t care , nothing but a glorified designated driver . I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND THIS COMPANY IN ANY CAPACITY. I have sent emails to their office with no response in reference...

We booked our Temecula wine tour through a third-party vendor (Viator.com), which I would not recommend. Go directly to Grapeline Wine Tour’s site and book from there. It will minimize confusion and repetition.

Our host and driver was MIKE MILES and he was AMAZING! He provided us with a history of the area, how to wine taste, and had food/snack suggestions for stand-alones and wine pairings at the wineries we visited (a total of four with lunch included). He was super hospitable and a great host. He put up with the group’s sarcastic sense of humor, and was able to get the shy people in our group to come out of their shell. He made sure we had a GREAT time, despite the fact that not all wineries were good/great, but that had nothing to do with Mike as he was able to provide good suggestions for food, olive oil, and food/snacks at every winery we visited. If I could dock half a star off this review, I would, but this is not worthy of docking a full star because we were not trashed by the end of the tour as I don’t like feeling drunk and not remembering things. Please note: It was my 40th birthday celebration and I feel old, especially after recovering from an accident less than four months ago that has made it difficult to enjoy life because I could barely move, do anything on my own and was not allowed to drive.

He shared good history of the region and some of the vineyards we drove past… at times sharing funny stories/personal experiences about them. He kept us engaged between wineries AND made sure we had plenty of water. He was always there to help us get on and off the bus and he took care of ensuring our purchases were properly labeled and in the right box. He made sure we had a buddy system and NO PERSON was left behind. He also helped me carry certain things as he noticed I was weak and my hands were shaking.

Mike is very aware, welcoming, and patient in retrieving the flock. Lol. He’s pleasant and such a pleasure to be hosted by, and I hope I get him again when we book another GWT tour in Temecula… we also hope to meet hosts like him if we decide to use GWT at one of your other locations.

We highly recommend any tour with MIKE MILES because he’ll make it worth it! The company’s suggested tip is $20/pp, but he earned (and worked hard) for more than that. He’s amazing. Therefore the company is amazing for hiring him… they just need to work on the wineries as the first and second ones were okay. The third and fourth were amazing. I would recommend making Maurice Car’rie the one where we get meals at. In my opinion, their food options are better than...

Had a great time taking this tour for my friend’s bachelorette party.

Our classic wine tour consisted of 3 wineries in Temecula. We weren’t sure if we parked in the right lot for pick up at the Stampede. Our guide was pretty lax about it considering we were a few minutes late. We were feeling the heat when we went in September, but the bus took it to another level of heat. The bus didn’t have much circulation and everyone was avoiding one side of the bus to avoid sitting in the sun and somebody had to ask our guide if he crank up the A/C. My suggestion to you would to bring a fan during the tour when it’s hot.

Our guide was nice and prompt. He said his favorite winery was our last stop at Somerset. At the end of our tour, he even turned the bus into party bus.

Our first stop offered us a nice classic view with a touch of fancy. Once we got a table, we were served 4 flights with along with a platter of fruit, nuts, cheese and honey. It was scrumptious.

The second stop, Akash, was very aesthetically pleasing and trendy from the view to the wine to the workers. I don’t remember how the wine tasted but this is when things got a little wild. For this stop, it was a bit harder to find seating and we had to go to the stations for service. Each of us were given a stamp card and while some of our group decided to ease down on the wine at this point, the others took it upon themselves to make the most of the punches and drink up before we had to end out to our last stop.

The last stop at Somerset did not disappoint. It had the best wine. By this time, our tour group got a little comfortable and the tour reserved a table for us to all sit together. We were feeling great and the sun was finally going down. The host at Somerset was funny and each glass that he was served was great. There was also a live band here and we were the groove and danced for a bit. The host has Somerset also gave us a walking tour, we tried the wine straight out of the barrel. We had the most fun here and were thinking of staying instead of heading back to drop off later.

Discounts are offered to tour guests by the wineries. A few of us bought bottles from the first and second stop. All in all, it was a great experience. I would gladly recommend and do this again... just maybe during a...