There’s a little something for everyone at Miramonte Winery. An indoor tasting room for casual sippers, an outdoor bistro for parties large and small, regular blind tasting events for the wine-curious, cabanas for a feeling of exclusivity, and live music with late-night dancing for merrymakers over 21. The winery is even dog-friendly and family-friendly before 5 pm.
About Miramonte
Owner Cane Vanderhoof’s interest in starting a winery aligned with the seemingly instant success of his wine bottle etching business and has a client list that has includes wine and champagne producers like Gallo and Dom Perignon, among others. In 2001, he purchased a small vineyard in Temecula and began studying enology at UC Davis. Interested in growing grape varieties that would thrive in Temecula, he focused on grapes from the southern Rhône, Spanish, and Portuguese regions that content with climates similar to Temecula. Winemaker Reinhard Schlassa of Argyle Winery in Oregon, also a UC Davis graduate, joined the team in 2008, and together, they expanded the vineyard to the 13 acres that it is today.
The result has been wines that consistently earn 90+ points and medals. The superior red wines to try on the tasting room’s long menu are Miramonte’s Opulente, a rich blend of Alicante Bouschet, Tempranillo, and Touriga Nacional, and both the Tempranillo, and Syrah. White wine standouts include the Albarino and Verdelho both earning awards at the recent San Francisco Wine Competition and OC Wine Fair Competition.
Experiences
Miramonte means “look at the mountain,” and its hilltop location treats guests to a view of rolling hills and mountains that stretches out for miles. The location initially made the winery a challenge to locate, and Cane told me that he placed torches at the bottom of the driveway just so his mother could locate the spot. He’s named one of his red blends “Four Torches,” as a nod to those early days and his mother. These days, Miramonte is one of the most popular wineries in Temecula with ongoing enhancements to keep it so. The Bistro, Miramonte’s on-site restaurant, opened in 2015 and luxury cabanas with dedicated servers were introduced in 2025.
Wine tastings take place inside the tasting bar and gift shop. It’s an interesting space that overlooks the fermentation tanks and is attractive but surprisingly windowless. There’s no need to miss out on the view though, guests can take their pours outside to a picnic area to enjoy the view. Glasses and bottles are available for purchase as well.
The Bistro is Miramonte’s casual, full-service restaurant that serves an eclectic, crowd-pleasing mix of California cuisine. There are flatbreads, salads, and burgers, but also Mediterranean Nachos and a pasta with charred poblanos, chicken, and pancetta. It’s a striking setup, all outdoors, with covered tables on a large terraced patio that leads down toward the vineyard. It’s a popular spot, and reservations are recommended, especially on the weekends.
Like a lot of Temecula wineries, Miramonte holds regular events to bring in the community. They’re one of the few that stay open past 8 pm on the weekends, and on a nice evening the winery can draw throngs of guests. (And packed parking lots, it’s best to rideshare.) There are regular salsa dancing nights with guided instruction, “Sunday Fundays” for families, live local bands that play into the night on weekends, and monthly blind tastings called Sunset Sips, where Cane puts one of his own bottles up against bottles of the same varietal from around the world.
At Sunset Sips, guests gather in the cabanas and are guided through the experience, usually by Cane himself. These events are a lot of fun with plenty of time for chatting with other guests. Fun is as much of the mission for the winery as the wine. It’s fine wine and a good time. And they do it well.
Miramonte Winery is open daily, and is family and dog friendly. 21 and over after 5 pm.
