Morning Memo from Juliet for Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Morning Memo for Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Daily Temecula's intrepid crew of scienticians has been hard at work analyzing raw data to bring you....The Yogurt Index, our arguably statistically-relevant measure of a city's quality of life.



Manhattan has a population approaching two million yet their YI pales in comparison to Temecula's. How? Our 100,000(ish) population enjoys 15 (at last count) frozen yogurt shops. Factor in Murrieta's 100,000(ish) population as well and the two-city region is a veritable yogurt powerhouse, weighing in stronger than such traditional yogurt strongholds as Orange County's Irvine (population over 200,000 with a measly nine shops.)



And, we have Pinkberry.



Yup, Pinkberry, which created a sensation by backing up traffic as celebrities double parked to run in for their fix of original tart with fresh fruit topping, has a Temecula outpost on Winchester Avenue near Trader Joe's.



Irvine has a Pinkberry now, too (at the Spectrum.) See? Yogurt everywhere!



We are also the home of local franchise sensation White Lime, whose adorable shops and tasty yogurt are causing a frosty stir.



Yogurt Point. Another Yogurt Point. Mangoz. Wild Mango. Yogurt Island. And the list goes on...



So do you miss ice cream? Or are you happier with self-serve by the ounce with fresh toppings and clean rocks, pebbles, tile, and hip mod furniture?



Send me your yogurt stories. Love it? Hate it? Eat it daily? Eat it for breakfast? Eat it on a date? Did your kids get a White Lime gift certificate as their prize from the summer reading program at the Temecula Library?



FULL YOGURT INDEX REPORT COMING SOON!



MORNING MEMO FROM JULIET for FOURTH OF JULY WEEKEND, 2009:



Feeling tipsy? I want your pictures, ideas & info about what's going on in the Temecula Valley. Email me at editor@dailytemecula.com.



Follow Daily Temecula on Twitter (@dailytemecula)

. The Twitter feed on this page is broken. Did I break Twitter, or did Michael Jackson, Farrah Fawcett, the Orange Glo guy, and the people of Iran? There's plenty of blame to go around.



It was HOT here in Temecula this weekend. My car registered 104 degrees as I cruised into the parking lot of CVS formerly (for about three seconds) Long's Drugs on Temecula Parkway. I was happy to be able to pick up a bottle of local wine (I chose merlot from Van Roekel to bring to an afternoon meeting.) I love how even our chain grocery and drugstores carry wine from our local Temecula wineries. (Stater Bros usually has a very good selection.) Of course local grocery store and small regional chain Baron's The Marketplace has a fantastic selection of beer, wine, and other spirits. (It got its start as a wine shop.)

went all over the place this weekend handing out Daily Temecula postcards. If you see one, check out the back. Some of them have special Sharpie messages from me.



In addition to swimming, hammocking, and generally hanging out trying to beat the heat, I was excited to see the Ralph Love Plein Air Festival in Old Town. Old Town's own Spice Merchants were handing out samples streetside since all the busiest chalk action was right in front of their door.











While I was sweltering my way through Old Town I popped into the beautiful, peaceful Temecula Hills Winery at Villa di Calabro tasting room (on Main Street in the former Ville de Chene tea store.) Friendly proprietors Mike and Mindy Calabro were bustling around serving a full house of tasters, mostly from out of town since it was the weekend. I whipped out my Filofax right then and there and made a date with myself to come back for a tasting and learn more about their winery. (They make olive oil, too! Their bottles have really cute little corks on the front.)




Standing outside in their lovely garden, I thought how perfect a setting this would be for a milestone birthday, anniversary, shower, or girls' day out:







Stay cool out there as you have a wonderful day here in the beautiful Temecula Valley!



Juliet