Wilson Creek Blog
Events, News, Recipes & more!

The Proposal after “The Proposal”

Posted on October 12, 2016 in Weddings

Happy #WeddingWednesday!

My name is Jenae, and I am a wedding coordinator here at Wilson Creek Winery. While planning several brides’ and grooms’ weddings, I was in the midst of planning my own! My then fiancé and I were going to take our time with the engagement, but being a wedding planner… I just couldn’t help myself! So, here is my Wedding Proposal to you, to make the planning process that much easier!

 Photo Creds to Leah Marie Photography! www.leahmariephotography.com (PS the whole wedding party got ready at the Wilson Creek Manor first… Gorgeous Pictures!)

We started out by setting a budget and ended up looking at venues within a couple weeks of getting engaged. Not only did we immediately fall in love with our venue, but we fell in love with the venue’s coordinator as well! In my opinion, that is EXTREMELY important when booking your venue. Your wedding day is supposed to be one of the best and most important days of your life! You want a coordinator that enjoys what he/she does and who you would want to work with throughout your entire planning process!

Once you book your venue, everything sort of just falls into place on its own. Your venue will recommend certain vendors for a reason. They are great at what they do, and they are very familiar with the venue. Although you do not always have to go with preferred vendors, it will almost always be in your best interest because they have the tendency to make your planning process even easier!

If I could give any piece of advice, it would be to get a wedding planning timeline from your venue (or online) and stick to it. Whatever you do, do not wait until the last minute to do everything at once, because you do not want to stress yourself out. Several people asked me what my secret was for staying so calm throughout the entire planning process, and my answer was just that. Stick to the timeline, do not procrastinate, and have fun! No weddings are perfect, so if you go into the process knowing that, you will be so blown away at the end result! If something goes wrong, try your best to laugh it off. Chances are, nobody will notice but you. Your guests do not pay attention to the small details. They are focused on how beautiful/handsome and happy you both look…. and in the end, you two love birds getting married is all that matters!

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Pumpkin Bread Pudding

Posted on October 5, 2016 in Recipes

October is finally here which means it’s time for Pumpkin Everything!!!

Our Executive Chef at the Creekside Grille is getting in the Fall Spirit with this Amazing Pumpkin Bread Pudding!

16 oz pumpkin puree

1 ½ quarts half – n – half

5 large eggs

¼ cup pumpkin pie spice

½ cup brown sugar

½ cup granulated sugar

12 cups cubed French toast bread (thick sliced egg bread)

Additional granulated sugar for coating the baking dish

In a mixing bowl combine and whisk together pumpkin puree, half & half, eggs, pumpkin pie spice, brown sugar and granulated sugar. Coat the bottom and sides of a baking dish with shortening or canola oil. Evenly coat the oil with granulated sugar. Put the bread cubes into the baking dish, spreading them evenly. Pour the egg – half & half mixture over the bread. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes or until a pick inserted into the center of the bread pudding comes out clean. Serve immediately or cool and reheat as desired.

ENJOY!

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May all guests who enter, leave as friends

Posted on May 6, 2016 in Wine Musings

My favorite part of my job is Everything!!

… People ask me all the time if you could choose any job in the world what would it be. Well friends this is it! I started in the 80s with hospitality and have been trained by some if the greats ie… intercontinental hotels, Marriott Marquis and Resorts, The Pan Pacific and Hilton Hotels and Resorts. Now I am so blessed to be able to put all of my hospitality skills that I have learned and put it under one 12,000 square foot roof. It’s funny because we call the vacation rental the Wilson Creek Manor. The key word here is “manor” 

It doesn’t take hospitality training to use “manners”  as a play on words. 

Our friendly staff greets you with a glass of champagne, a warm smile, and a warm welcome, we offer a good old-fashioned personal tour of the facility and concierge service with suggestions for dinners and lunches and things to do while in the Temecula area. We try to remember birthdays and anniversaries and use the guests names as much as possible. At the Manor we are fortunate to use all old fashioned hospitality skills to make our guests feel warm, welcome and at home! But it comes naturally from the entire team at the Manor and at Wilson Creek Winery. It starts at the top with Rosie and Gerry and trickles through there kids to Bill and Jenifer, Mick and Deanna, Libby and Craig and all of the grand kids! When you work for the Wilson’s you feel like a family member. It’s true what they say When you have a job that you love, it’s not like going to work at all! Visit us at the manor and feel Warm, Welcome and at home! 

Choose us for your next family reunion! 

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Cellar Notes…from the Winemaker

Posted on December 21, 2015 in Wine Musings
 
I was fortunate enough to wiggle in some vacation time at the
end of the 2015 harvest, being as small as it was. Even more fortunate
to be on the “Enchanted Rhine” river cruise with a number of Wilson
Creek wine club members. We were cruising down river and drinking
wine. “What do you think of this one?” was commonly asked of
me by our California wine drinking friends as they struggled to
understand the wines.
 
Winemaking style in Europe is quite different then that of
California, being more acid based and food driven, and less fruity
than the California style. As a result of this revelation or in some
cases confusion, I began comparing wine to pizza.
 
We are all very familiar with pizza, there is the New York style
having thin crust and the Chicago style with thick crust as well as
the California style with all types of unusual toppings. Pizza truly
reflects on the region of its inception for example: Hawaiian pizza
with ham and pineapple. Pizza reflects on the regions temperament,
ethnicity and favorite ingredients. We may have a style that we
prefer but we can also appreciate the other styles. As Americans we
look at pizza as a whole meal and feel that we own it. Yet pizza is
Italian, and it’s made and viewed quite differently there.
Wine is very much the same as pizza in this respect. In Europe,
wine is viewed a an integral part of the meal. It reflects on the
temperament, growing conditions, and viewpoint of the region.
The soil minerals, sunshine and the flavors come through in its
wine. As a result, the wines have pronounced acidity followed by
fruit. They tend to be lower in alcohol and thinner in body. These
wines truly shine with a nice lunch or dinner as the French and
Germans think it should.
 
The world of wine is as vast as the wine growing regions
themselves. Styles, flavors and approach to winemaking is a true
reflection of that uniqueness. Similar in respect to pizza with thick
crust or thin, tomato sauce of white, and the vast amounts of
toppings that are offered.
 
I found myself anxiously awaiting the next stop along the
Rhine to try its wines and order pizza with anchovies!

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Announcing the new Variant Series

Posted on August 16, 2015 in Wine Musings

Actually…it’s not “new.” Our popular White Cabernet and Duet have a fresh new look!

Variant: ‘verēant/noun:  1.  A form or version of something that differs in some respect from other forms of the same thing or from a standard.

Cabernet Sauvignon, the world’s best traveled red wine varietal, whose regional names span from Bidure to Vidure, attest to the adaptability and variability in wine making styles of this nobel grape. The Variant Series showcases the amazing array of possibilities when a craft winery can control all aspects of creating a wine from vine to bottle. The Variant Series Cabernet is similar in style to our Duet blend of lightly oaked, soft tannin and fruit forward Cabernet Sauvignon with a little Zinfandel to support the fruit and give a zip of spice. This is the red wine for those who thought they did not like reds. All the complexity and layers of a rich Cabernet but softer on the palate and can be chilled.

The poster-child for variant behavior is our White Cabernet Sauvignon which is now appropriately in the Variant Series. The White Cabernet Sauvignon is an extreme example of the possibilities of vineyard and cellar influence on a wine, turning a traditionally rich, tannic, dark red wine into a white wine with aromas of fruit and melon, yet still retaining the rich mouthfeel of a classic Cabernet Sauvignon. The “White Cab” still resides in its classic cobalt blue bottle but now with a clean silk-screened label and shares this new look with its fellow rebel, the Variant Series Cabernet Sauvignon.

Winemaker, Gus Vizgirda and team member, Mikayla, bottling the Variant Series White Cabernet.

Formerly known as Duet, the new Variant Series Cabernet Sauvignon is being bottled.

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