text: BOB PRATTE: Balloons increasingly favor Winchester over Temecula; why is that? – Press Enterprise
  BOB PRATTE: Balloons increasingly favor…
  BOB PRATTE: Balloons increasingly favor Winchester over Temecula; why is that?
  Hot air balloonist Rusty Manning with Grape Escape Balloon Adventures prepares his balloon to take customers on a ride in Temecula, on Tuesday, June.14.
  Hot air balloonist Rusty Manning with Grape Escape Balloon Adventures takes customers on a ride in Temecula, on Tuesday, June.14.
  Hot air balloonist Rusty Manning, right, with Grape Escape Balloon Adventures takes customers on a ride in Temecula, on Tuesday, June.14.
  Balloons rise over Winchester where the Temecula Valley commercial fleet flies when winds blow from the east.
  Balloons float over Winchester. The Temcecula Valley fleet moves from the wineries to Winchester when winds reverse from their prevailing westerly direction and blow from the east.
  San Jacinto Valley residents can thank the weather when brightly colored hot-air balloons decorate the Winchester sky.
  I long wondered why the balloons fly above Winchester from time to time. After all, the Temecula Valley is known for its balloon rides over the Wine Country.
  "It's just because of the wind," said Rusty Manning, the dean of Temecula Valley balloon pilots who operates A Grape Escape with his wife, Cherise. "Sometimes it's better to fly in Winchester."
  In ballooning, wind is everything.
  While hot air balloons have lots of control going up and down, their course of travel is dependent on wind direction.
  Winds in the Temecula Valley predominantly blow in from the ocean and usually are light enough for flights in the morning. Unlike Del Mar, where balloons often are aloft in the evening, ocean breezes tend to be too powerful later in the day for ballooning in this area.
  "It's great for grapes, but not for us," Manning said.
  Sometimes, winds blow from the east and can be too strong. Rather than canceling, pilots often drive their passengers to usually calmer Winchester. Manning said they discovered about eight years ago that hills around the rural community can block east winds and be calm when conditions in Temecula are gusty.
  "That valley is in a bowl," he said.
  Manning said they move to the Winchester area about 20 times per year.
  He said the views there, including looking down on Diamond Valley Lake, are spectacular. Plus, there is plenty of room to land.
  The balloons usually take off near the intersection of Winchester Road and the Domengoni Parkway. James Horecka, a Disneyland staff architect who lives nearby, was surprised the first time he heard from inside his home the sound of a balloon's air-heating burners.
  "I love it, of course," he said. "They form beautiful color patterns. I typically notice them during mild Santa Anas."
  He welcomes winds from the east that bring them back.
  The 51-year-old Manning opened A Grape Escape in 1991. He's watched wind patterns ever since.
  "When I got my balloon license in 1989, I didn't know I had to be a weatherman too," he said.
  He listens to a recorded weather forecast from French Valley Airport and reviews local amateur weather stations on the Internet.
  The fleet typically flies early in the morning. An ideal wind speed on the ground is 2 mph and can be higher aloft. Manning said the limit is around 6 mph on the ground.
  Like pilots at other balloon companies, he calculates wind speed and direction to plan where to take off and predict likely landing areas.
  "We fly for about an hour," he said. "You want to be able to land in a good spot.
  "If it is windier, we go farther into town. We will cover 10 miles instead of five. It's all timing."
  Manning meets passengers at dawn at the Europa Village winery. Sometimes they take off from the winery. On other occasions, they drive to another take-off spot.
  A chase vehicle follows the balloon. Passengers are driven back to the winery for a champagne toast and continental breakfast.
  Last Tuesday winds blew from the south. Manning and his crew drove to the south side of the Temecula Valley near Highway 79 for the take off. As he predicted, Manning's balloon floated north for about eight miles and landed near Callaway Vineyard and Winery on Rancho California Road.
  "Sometimes you land in the same spot where you took off," he said. "You are not sure what's going to happen, you have to change plans in the air.