Honeycomb Anyone?: Temecula, CA

My mom often tells me stories of her childhood which usually involves some element of mischief. My great grandmother used to own a plantation in Thailand filled with durian and mango trees and I think several other tropical fruits. My mom lived in bustling  Phnom Pehn as a kid and would often escape to my great grandma's sleepy country escape to play and of course gorge on ambrosial fruits. She like to describe with relish one of her childhood mischiefs which was to run into the forest, climb up a tree and dive elbow deep into a wild hive to retrieve golden sweet honeycomb. For the life of me, I can't imagine putting up with all the stinging for this indulgence. But my mom is quite headstrong, even to this day so I wouldn't put it below her.

This past Saturday I went wine tasting with friends in Temecula and one of the wineries we hit up was Leonesse. I ended sharing a flight since we had planned on visiting several wineries that day. The site was quite picturesque- a drive through the country to a lovely tasting room set atop a vast expanse of vines. The wine was quite delish and though the focus of this visit was suppose to be the wine... I ended up becoming intrigued with a little stand to the side of the tasting room. A woman with the Temecula Valley Honey Company had set up shop so I soon found my way in front of her table tasting honey. The honey was divine but what caught my eye were the square containers of honeycomb. I remembered my mom's story of risking life and limb to snatch honey from a wild hive and that's when I decided I had to grab myself some honeycomb. All the pleasures of enjoying this decadent treat without the consequences right?

We had about 12 people in our group feasting on light savory snacks so I figure I'd throw in this delightful treat to sample as well. This really was indulgence and luxury in a spoonful. The lady had recommend having this with a sharp cheese and warm sourdough but I didn't have any on hand so a simple spoon would just have to do. I could taste the fragrant flowers the bees had visited and the comb provided an interesting nice semi-chewy texture that encased the cells of raw honey. This delicacy was definitely too incredibly rich to have more than a few spoonfuls at a time so I'm quite glad that it would keep well under regular room temperature storage conditions. 

I didn't get a chance to chat long with the lady running the stand that day but she did mention that her stand was in several farmers markets throughout San Diego County. So if you are interested in finding this vendor, I'd check with your local farmers market or call them up to see what their schedule is.

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Leonesse Cellars
38311 DePortola Rd.
Temecula, CA 92592
11am-5pm daily

Temecula Valley Honey Company
41717 Lawson Circle
Temecula, CA 92592
951-533-6032