The Wine Ranch Grill & Cellars is located at 24683 Washington Avenue in downtown Murrieta. Valley News/Shane Gibson photo
The Mystery WinoSpecial to Valley NewsIn mid-March, Temecula wineries bid good riddance to the last of California’s draconian COVID-19 restrictions. Thankfully, most local wineries had been quietly ignoring the protocols since at least last fall. To me, the dictates never made sense given the well-ventilated tasting rooms and outdoor patios of most wineries. Perhaps that’s why Gov. Gavin Newsom didn’t apply them to the Napa Valley winery he co-owns with Gordon Getty.Not that I’m bitter. In fact, one of my COVID-19 projects was learning to make wine, a passion I never would have discovered but for the shutdowns. I also finished a book of poetry for children and began writing these columns. Of course, millions of residents drank a lot more wine than we should have, which
