Reviews for Temecula Wine Country: The Undiscovered Jewel of Southern California

The average rating for Temecula Wine Country: The Undiscovered Jewel of Southern California based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2016-09-01 00:00:00 ktqxqtcy catuiile This is the true story of two women, Margaret (the author) and Angee, who decide to start a woman-owned winery in Indiana. In general, things go exceptionally well. There are the usual ups and downs as with any startup, but for Margaret and Angee, it's mostly up. They experience double-digit growth each year, their winery becomes known internationally, and their business reputation is excellent. They also go through a number of salespeople, of varying degrees of competence. After six years of long nights and weekends, and after failing to get financing for expansion, the decision is made to close the winery. Margaret and Angee already had a plan in place to take 90 days to complete the closing. That way, the creditors would be paid, and it could all be done the "right" way. The bank said No; they wanted their money now. Throughout the whole closing process, the (unnamed) bank exhibits a level of professional incompetence that borders on unreal. At one point in the process, Margaret and Angee are refused entrance to the winery, by the bank, in order to sell bottles of wine already on the shelves to raise money to pay off creditors. At another point, a barrel of unbottled wine has to be dumped because it has gone bad. Margaret and Angee are refused entrance into the winery in order to bottle and sell the wine. Around this time, Angee contracts an undiagnosed, chronic pain condition that puts her out of action for much of the closing process. A poorly planned auction for the winery's assets is held by the bank. It nets them a couple of percent of the value of the assets; if the bank had followed the Margaret and Angee Plan, they would have received over 90 percent of the value of the winery's assets. The reason for the bank's strange behavior is discovered later in the book. They are in trouble with the FDIC over their debt level, and have been told to reduce it, now. The American Dream of entrepreneurship becomes a nightmare of lawyers, bureaucracy and court appearances. This is an excellent book. It isn't just an interesting startup story, it's also a must-read cautionary tale for all small business owners. Don't assume your bank is one of the Good Guys; prepare yourself, financially, ahead of time. A good place to start is to read this book. At the risk of sounding like a cliche: This could happen to you!

Review # 2 was written on 2015-06-19 00:00:00 Joe Gambale I read it way back. I recall it to be very very interesting. Did you know that Cincinnati was very first location of wine production in America? Also did you know that current northern california wine share French roots (grafting). Some of the original locations of California Wine like Stag's Leap so close to where i live in South Bay, CA that I felt a personal connection. The opening where a Californian wine beats French wine is both dramatic and strong.