Riverside County

Riverside County holds Temecula — the Southern California wine country most Angelenos finally notice after the second glass. Granite benches at 1,500 feet catch the marine breeze through the Rainbow Gap by two each afternoon, and the summer nights cool fifty degrees off the midday peak. De Portola Road and Rancho California Road line the tasting rooms, most with shaded patios, water bowls, and hitching posts for a leash. Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Reserve opens leashed oak-savannah trails twenty minutes west. Pair a Temecula syrah with an afternoon hike. The valley pours wide open and the tasting rooms keep the dog water cold.