Fazeli Cellars

Fazeli Cellars looks different from the moment you turn off De Portola Road. The main building is Modern Moorish — arches, geometric tilework, a sense of mass that the wood-and-stucco wineries up and down the trail don’t share. It’s deliberate. BJ Fazeli, who founded the property, moved from Iran to England and then to the U.S. in 1989, built his career in direct-response marketing, and bought the Temecula property after a family day trip. He chose Shiraz as the estate’s benchmark grape to honor his Persian heritage — the bottles carry “Ancient traditions of Persia rooted in the modern expression of California” — and built the rest of the property around the same idea. There’s nothing else like it in the valley.

The first vintage came out in 2006. The current tasting room and restaurant complex opened in December 2015. Since then Fazeli has grown into one of the broader programs on De Portola — wide varietal lineup, full-service Persian-Mediterranean restaurant, regular live music, weddings, private events.

The wine

Shiraz is the bottle to start with, and the one that justifies the trip on its own. It’s the variety BJ planted his flag on, and the estate version sits in the riper, fuller end of California Syrah — black fruit, soft pepper, generous on the mid-palate. If you’ve spent time drinking Australian Shiraz or northern Rhône Syrah, you’ll recognize the family resemblance, with the warmth that Temecula fruit reliably brings. We cover the broader Syrah / Rhône scene in our Syrah in Temecula guide, where Fazeli’s Persian-influenced Shiraz sits alongside the leaner Leoness and Hart Family Rhône programs.

The Cabernet Sauvignon and the Petite Sirah round out the heavier reds — both estate, both worth a pour. The Mourvèdre rotates depending on vintage and is one we’d ask after specifically when it’s available. On the white side, the Viognier is the one to focus on. It’s a Rhône-family white that pairs naturally with the kitchen, and it’s a useful palate break between the bigger reds.

The full lineup runs to 20-plus varietals if you count the seasonal and limited releases. That’s broader than most estates this size, and it cuts both ways: a mixed-preference group will find something for everyone, but the depth on any single bottle is variable. Ask the host which lots are pouring well right now rather than trying to taste everything on the menu.

Baba Joon’s Kitchen

The on-site restaurant is a real reason to come, separate from the wine. Baba Joon’s runs a Persian-Mediterranean menu — kebabs, stews, rice dishes, mezze — and it’s A-rated. We’d order the Shiraz with whatever lamb is on the menu and the Viognier with the mezze plates. The food draws diners who aren’t necessarily there to taste, which is part of why the tasting room can feel busy on weekends.

If you’re trying to do both — a serious tasting and a restaurant lunch — book the table first and walk in for the tasting flight before or after. The kitchen is the limiting factor on a busy Saturday, not the bar.

The tasting and the grounds

The tasting room is unreserved — walk-in pours are the norm — which is a different model from the reservation-required estates on the Rancho California side. That openness is nice midweek and chaotic on weekend afternoons, especially when there’s live music on the patio Friday through Sunday or a wedding setup happening on the event lawn.

The architecture is worth the walk-around even if you don’t drink. The interior tilework, the arches, the way the building handles afternoon light through the windows — it all reads as intentional rather than themed, which is more than can be said for most “destination” architecture in California wine country.

What we’d skip

If you’ve only got time for one flight, skip the wider sampler and ask for a focused red flight built around the Shiraz, the Cab, and the Petite Sirah. The breadth of the full lineup is more impressive in concept than in any single tasting.

Who this is for, who it isn’t

Fazeli is for first-time visitors who want food and wine in one stop, for Shiraz and Rhône-style red drinkers, for mixed-preference groups where one person wants Cab and another wants Viognier, and for travelers who appreciate that a winery can have a genuine cultural story rather than a generic château pose.

It isn’t the right stop for a Tuesday — the property is closed — and it isn’t the place for a quiet, intimate sit-down on a weekend afternoon. The restaurant and event traffic mean the room hums.

Practical notes

Hours are 11 am to 5 pm Monday and Wednesday through Thursday, 11 am to 6:30 pm Friday through Sunday, closed Tuesday. No tasting reservations required, but restaurant reservations are strongly recommended on weekends. Parking is on-property and free. Live music runs Friday through Sunday afternoons. Best time of day for a wine-focused visit is Wednesday through Friday before 2 pm, when the room is quieter and the tasting bar staff have more bandwidth to talk through the lineup. The website lists the current bottle list and music schedule; confirm before driving out.