The Temecula Valley

The preconceived notion is a pesky aspect of human nature: Once it's formed, it can be down-right difficult to change.

Such is the case with the Temecula Valley. Because it is known as one of Southern California's premier wine-growing regions, you might think that the area has little to offer those uninterested in glorified grape juice. You would be very wrong.

Start with a Main Street straight out of the Hollywood Western fantasies of your childhood. Add top-notch cuisine, a seemingly endless array of antiques stores, and a magnificent piece of Southern California wilderness, and you have the makings of a very memorable day trip.

Located in the south-west comer of Riverside County, this 26 square-mile pocket paradise is framed by the rolling green hills of the Santa Rosa Plateau on the west and the snowcapped peaks of the, San Jacinto range to the north and to the east.

The deep vee in the western hills known as the Rainbow Gap funnels breezes from the ocean, creating a micro climate of low humidity, cool nights, and warm, sunny days.

The valley had been home to the Luiseño band of Native Americans for more than 1,000 years before Franciscan padre Juan Norberto de Santiago and seven Spanish soldiers walked here from the coast in 1797 in search of a site for a new mission.

The Butterfield Overland Stagecoach and the Santa Fe Railroad both helped open the valley to fanners and ranchers in the latter half of the 1800s, but the town remained a sleepy rural outpost well into the 20th century.

All that changed in 1964 when developers began creating a master-plan community they called Rancho Ca1ifomia.

In 1989, more than 11,000 tract homes later, Temecula became a city and adopted its traditional Native American name, that roughly translated means, "where the sun shines through the mist."

To learn more about the town's history visit the Temecula Valley Museum, located at Sam Hicks Park near the entrance to Old Town Temecula. In the interactive second-floor gallery, kids can imagine themselves in the Old West via pint-sized period trappings that include turn-of-the-century-style hats and shawls.

From here, wander down Front Street into Old Town itself, where weathered storefronts and newly installed wooden sidewalks recreate the atmosphere of an old Western cow town. Check out the 1902 Weltry Building that is on the southwest corner of Front and Main streets.

In the early days of Hollywood, film stars came here to raise the roof in the relative anonymity of the infamous Blind Pig Saloon.

Today, Old Town is a browser's dream with more than 100 antiques and specialty shops, perfect for a morning of leisurely poking around.

Don't be surprised if shopkeepers, as well as people on the . street, greet you with "Hello," or "Hi, how ya' doin'? The extraordinary friendliness of this town is one of its most appealing features.

Be sure to stop in at Doc & Jane's Temecula Traders that has memorabilia such as old lawmen's badges and lever action Winchester rifles, along with a dozen different kinds of Jane's "Outlaw" fudge.

A sign in the window describes the fudge as so good it oughta be against the law.

Since 1927 the Swing Inn Cafe has been serving up good home cook'n, such as their scratch-made biscuts drowning in smooth., peppery gravy.

Or backtrack to pick up a box lunch at the European Deli located in the shopping center across from Sam Hick's Park.

You can take a scenic drive east on Rancho California Road past the valley's vineyards. Fourteen wineries here grow 28 varieties of premium grapes.

If you're looking for a place to consume your box lunch, stop at the Mount Palomar Winery. It has one of the best picnic facilities around with shady tables near the tasting room and a large grassy knoll that's perfect for spreading a blanket and watching occasionally a red-shoulder hawk drift by.

On a grander scale, Thornton Winery's award-winning cafe Champagne offers food and wine combos as fine as any in the big city. You might fly the grilled, marinated prawn salad with curry-lime dressing paired with a 1992 Thornton Brut Reserve.

For a glimpse of 150 years past, head up interstate 15 to the Clinton Keith Road exit and go west four miles to the Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Reserve.

Along 30-plus miles of trails, you'll find 8,300 protected acres of Engelmann Oak woodlands.

Come to wine-county in the golden light of sunrise with a glass of champagne in one hand and a fat, juicy strawberry in the other and admire the Temecula Valley at its magical best. Preconceived notions anyone?