You are not here because you had plans. You are here because twenty hot air balloons drifting at dawn over a vineyard looked like exactly the right thing to do with a weekend in June. The Temecula Valley Balloon and Wine Festival has been running for decades for exactly this reason — it gives people a good excuse to do something beautiful. June 5-7, 2026 at Lake Skinner. The schedule is built around the launches: dawn flights when the air is cool and still, late afternoon wine tastings when it is not, live music across the weekend. The people who come every year say the part they did not expect …