Hollywood Grape Escapes

I had issues with my Unilocal account or I would have written this review months ago. Don’t let the simple website fool you, this is the best tour I’ve ever been on. In February, two friends and I took their tour to Temecula, after discovering them through Groupon. We were picked up around 9am at Hollywood/​Vine in the Grape Escapes party bus where we were nicely welcomed by the driver (and owner of the company) Hrach. After everyone loaded in, we made a quick stop in Old Town, Pasadena to pick up the rest of the crew and were off to the Temecula valley. On the drive, Hrach took time to teach about wine while he drove and also explain tasting etiquette so none of us felt out of place at the vineyards.
About two hours later, we arrived at the first vineyard, Monte De Oro Vineyard.
This was the most formal of the vineyards we visited, on a lovely estate. I decided to abstain from a tasting at this vineyard and opted for food instead (which was delicious), but my friends loved their tasting and each bought a couple bottles of red wine. While I appreciated this vineyard, it was probably my least favorite of those we visited. (Oh, once we arrived at the vineyards, Hrach was available for questions, but you were really able to do your own thing. As I don’t love things that are super-​structured, I really liked that.) Wine tastings were around $ 12.
Once everyone got back on the party bus, we drove about 5 minutes to Longshadow Ranch Winery.
On a rustic-​looking farm, this winery was cozy with horses and a water-​wheel out front to greet you. I loved how approachable this vineyard was, and they had my favorite wine on the menu — a lovely, sweet Muscat. I split a tasting with my friends and tried a few wines, and then got a VERY generous glass of Muscat. We also had a chance to really chat with the other people from our bus here over barrel-​tables. It was fun to just take our glasses of wine outside here and walk around. This was definitely my favorite wine of the bunch as they had the best variety of white wines. A glass of wine was about $ 6 and tastings were $ 10.
On the bus, Hrach gave us his own wine to drink before we headed off to the next stop. A few people brought snacks, which I wish I had thought to do as only the first vineyard had quick food. Next time, definitely bringing food.
After spending quite a bit of time at the first two vineyards, our guide asked us if we wanted to visit a third vineyard or make our way to the next stop (Old Town Temecula or Pechanga Casino). Thankfully, the group all chose to give up some of their time at the excursion to go to the last vineyard, Mount Palomar Winery.
This winery had by far the best grounds, with the feel of a Greek island. I absolutely loved the grounds and took about 100 photos here. Instead of going for the tasting, one of my friends and I bought a $ 10 bottle of champagne, which they nicely uncorked for us and gave us two glasses to enjoy. I would imagine that this place is constantly booked for weddings as it was just so beautiful.
After about an hour at the last vineyard, we dropped those off who wanted to go to Old Town and then made our way to Pechanga. After a brief lunch in the food court, it was off to the slot machines and Blackjack tables. I won $ 120 gambling and wasn’t there long enough to re-​gamble the cash! (Yay! This more than paid for the entire day.)
After an hour or so, it was back to the bus to head back to Hollywood.
Most slept on the way back, but wine was offered to those (like me) who wanted to partake. It took about two hours to get back and I was home by around 8:00 — 8:30. It was amazing to feel like I had an entire vacation in a day, without time off work or needing to board the dog. I would definitely recommend to anyone who wants to discover more of California, and I would not hesitate to go again when I have friends in town. Would be great for birthdays or bachelorette parties too.
After having such a great time in Temecula, I also decided to take the Santa Barbara/​Solvang tour with two other friends in March (yes, only a few weeks later). I had a really great time on that tour also, but the vineyards were definitely larger in scale and there were no options to just have a glass of wine if you wanted (entire tasting required). Still, Santa Barbara was gorgeous and it was amazing to not need to drive. We also had a lot of fun at the local casino and Solvang. It was a much longer drive, though, and we were fairly exhausted on the way home. Also highly recommended, but if I were going to go on one of the trips again, it would be the Temecula trip.

Since we (6 ladies celebrating a bday) were not near Napa Valley, we still wanted to visit a CA vineyard. Being from FL, we were curious & wanted to experience the sophistication of the west coast wineries.
The tour to Santa Ynez was unbelievable! The scenic ride was well worth the duration. Hrach is extremely dedicated to his clients’ interests & comfort. This was a 1^st time experience for some of my friends and we all had a blast! From the moment I was in contact with Hrach via email & phone, I immediately trusted his professionalism and was at ease because of his enthusiasm.
I look forward to returning to LA to do the tour all over again with Hollywood Grape Escapes. A must do if ever in LA!

My girlfriend and I are into wine tasting and leisure gambling, but the drive to and from Santa Ynez was more than I would have wanted in a single day of driving, drinking, and having fun. So, when we found Hollywood Grape Escapes we immediately became excited about the prospects.
We signed up for a Saturday escape to Santa Ynez, which has many wines we have already experienced and loved. We visited a handful of vineyards and met some really fun people along the way. The bus was clean and made it more sociable an outing than most with limited exposure in ones own car. (The drivers spoke English well, and were very helpful)
The casino was nice, the bar and food their are great and there were plenty of games we could play to enjoy the time spent. There were plenty of people at the casino, but we were able to get our turns on most of the games and tables.
In the end, we napped a bit on the way home and had of wonderful bottles of wine to enjoy for the next couple weeks.
Thanks Again! Next time, I’ll bring a larger group of friends to enjoy this experience with!