By no means am I a wine snob, but I want to provide you the reader with my wine background before you read this review. I have tasted wines at hundreds of wineries in California (Napa, Sonoma, Russian River, Anderson Valley, Sierra Foothills, San Luis Obisbo, Santa Barbara), Oregon, Washington, Italy, Spain. I have worked in the wine industry from picking grapes and destemming, processing to bottling and sales. Never in my 30 plus years of experience going to wineries have I been treated so poorly as my visit to Thornton Winery. First, to call this place a winery is a bit deceptive, It's more of a high-priced restaurant that sells food and Sparkling WIne than a WInery. We show up with a group of five ready to taste and buy wine. We are immediately told the winery tasting room is closed, that we will be seated on the patio of the restaurant. We sit down and are handed menus to order food and their wines. It was not the typical wine tasting experience...at all! The waitress is super pretentious and rude as hell. The first tip is, don't judge people that are customers, your billionaires could drive up in a Honda Accord. Anyway, we order a bottle of Thornton Brut and a couple of appetizers. I had to laugh because they are selling this Sparkling Wine at $56 per bottle. Veuve Clicquot, an excellent French Champagne sells for less at BevMo, but anyways the Thornton Sparkling Brut is not in the same league or ballpark. Wine Tasting is subjective, any great wine is one that you like. In this case, no one in our group of 5 liked this Sparkling. The appetizers show up without silverware, napkins. I guess the waitress truly felt we were savages. We tried for the next 15 minutes to get her or anyone else attention to no avail. She did not check on us or refill our water. To be fair, I did not drink any of the white or red wine, as the experience was already leaving a bad taste in my mouth. We paid the bill and asked if a manager was on the grounds. No manager was present, so we sailed down the road. If you read my other reviews, I like to give places a second chance. This time, I will not be going back under any circumstances, there are just too many better choices in Temecula and California to put up with this. read more

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I bought Santana tribute GA tickets for this event and was very disappointed. Here is was the winery website said "General Admission Ticket General admission tickets are on a first-come, first-served basis on our open patio. (Chair seating ONLY NO TABLES). Dinner purchase is not required but a bar and grill will be available for food and beverage purchase." Don't be fooled, there was no grilled food, but there was cold food from the ice chest. Plus the small cup drinks are way overpriced $16 each for baby plastic cups. Don't be fooled by this event if seating in the windy cold patio. The band was good, but we didn't stay, we left after the first drink and found out there was no grilled food. read more

Super weird set up. I really wouldn't call this a winery. It's basically a large restaurant with a tiny "tasting" room. The room for tastings is a sit down service with a server. It feel really uncomfortable. We ended up leaving after we stood around for a good 5 minutes trying to figure out where to go for a tasting. I don't think we will come back unless we are heading here specifically to have lunch. read more

Not our favorite Winery, but a place to try at least once. Has great view, super nice employees, it has a restaurant "Café Champagne" not that great really but does have good seating with views. I would recommend coming to this winery when its green to enjoy the view at least. read more

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Still disappointing service. You just don't feel welcome going there even with my friend who is a member. Like if you don't feel welcome as a member, why bother? For another friend, she was on the fence about joining and this experience really solidified it. I thought it was a consequence of the pandemic, but other wineries are top notch, and it became clear today that it is a company culture issue. I still like getting chocolate wine, but to become less worth it each time I go. read more

Walked out because of a few reasons 1. The hostess was incredibly rude. I was a walk in. It's a beautiful day outside and it's just a party of one. She walks me inside. I politely ask if it's a crazy wait to sit outside. She just says yeah. No explanation. Then tells me she's not supposed to seat walk ins but made an exception because it's just me. As she walks away she's mumbles "you should've had a reservation!" Yikes girl. This is my first time here and you're not setting a standard or making me feel welcome. I get having a hard day but have an ounce of professionalism maybe? 2. The sign on the street said "great burgers!" What they mean is great burger. Singular. lol. And who knows if it is actually as great as they say. 3. The menu seems quick overpriced for what the reviews and pictures look like. I sat there for a few thinking it over and if I'm going to spend $150 on a solid meal, I in no way want to feel like you're doing me some favor by seating me. I used to host. All you had to say was "yes I'm swamped with reservations, it'll be about X minutes/hours to seat you outside or I can take you inside right now." The fact that I, a patron have to teach you as an employee how to do your job is embarrassing! Safe to say I won't be back. read more

Came to this winery with my wife's cousin's. I am from Paso Robles wine country and I've always wanted to try the scene in Temecula. Thornton winery has probably the best food that I have ever eaten while wine tasting. They have a full service kitchen and their burgers are truly AMAZING! The wine is good, I would recommend going to Thornton for your second or third stop on your wine tasting day as their food will HIT THE SPOT! read more

Went there for lunch on a Sunday. The place is cute and it's nice sitting on the patio. Service was friendly and efficient. The food was good. My biggest issue with the place is the prices. We had 3 bacon cheeseburgers, 2 iced teas and a side of onion rings. The bill was $115. A cheeseburger is $29. I don't mind paying for good food, but $29 for a cheeseburger is not at all reasonable. The menu is also not very "winery" like. For example the special that day was a chili cheese dog. We went with the burgers because there was a sign saying they had great burgers and the rest of the menu wasn't very impressive. There are other wineries with much better menus at better prices. We did not have wine so I can't comment on that. read more

I joined this winery about a year ago and have enjoyed the wine and the restaurant and the tastings up until today! I was out in the area with my daughter for my birthday and we stopped in to pick my wine allotment that had been paid for and we wanted to do a tasting too. The person in the gift shop got my wine and the tickets for the tasting for us. We went over to the restaurant to get a table to do tastings and were told they were not taking walk ins even for just a tasting, even for members and even though ITS MY BIRTHDAY!!!! We could NOT do a tasting!!!! WTF??? Needless to say I am no longer a member nor will I ever return or recommend to friends! I find this unbelievable and insulting!!! read more

My sister and my second time visiting from Boston. Such unique and delicious desert wines. Must try the Chocolate/Sparkling flight. Beautiful views of the vineyard and surrounding vineyards. read more

Thornton Winery - The chocolate/Sparkling Flight - Wineries Near Me - Temecula, California

We sat outside because of covid. It was really dark but I could tell that it would be really nice in the daylight. I recommend a daytime visit. Our tasting was pretty good. No complaints. Pretty standard, nothing standout. read more

Thornton Winery - Champenoise flight - Wineries Near Me - Temecula, California

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Ambiance is outdated. Servers could also present themselves more like accordingly and less casual. Wine tasting was very organized though and the wines were good! read more

So I wasn't going to leave a review, but after driving past their sign again, the sign that says they have "Great Hamburgers" I decided they ought to know the truth if they don't already. For years, I longed to stop and try the burgers, and one Saturday, I finally did with my son. To my surprise, their only burger was $34. While I sat on a sticky camouflage plastic covered table outside, my greatly overcooked burger fell apart in my hands. The bun was a cheap brioche that flattened and tore when touched, cheese was nowhere to be found, flavor was greatly lacking, and the sauces that we were given on the side were old and crusty from sitting in the ramekin too long. The side of sweet potato fries were the burnt ends from the bottom of the bag and dripping in grease. We were greatly disappointed. I don't normally complain, but at that price, the burger was just ridiculous. Service, however, was good, and they did refund my burger but I tipped much more generously because I felt bad about pointing out the obvious, that the burger was pure crap. Please try to do better or remove that sign. read more

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I have never made a review before, but this restaurant was SO AWFUL that I had to write one. First of all, do people not communicate in this restaurant? After making a reservation they called me to push my reservation up early. I confirmed the change, but then they called me AGAIN TWO HOURS LATER to confirm the changed time. Also the restaurant did not believe that we reserved a table! A server showed us to our table, but then another server came up to us and told us that this table was not reserved for us. I explained that it was, but she pushed back AGAIN, and said that it's for a different party. There was no other table outdoors prepared for a reservation so I knew this had to be ours. I had to tell her again that I am *that* party, that it is under my name, I chose to sit outdoors, and the rest of the party is coming. I am not sure why she did not believe me. It might be because of the way we looked (we are Asian). The rest of the service continued to be awful. We had to ask three times to change the outdoors heater because it wasn't working. We also had to ask four times for someone to bring us hot water. And worst of all, the food came out ONE AND A HALF HOURS LATER. We saw TWO tables indoors who came after us and received their food before us. We were one of the last few tables left at the restaurant. Worst of all, the food was bland. I had the pasta which had no flavor. The other items, fish and chips, braised short ribs, and salmon were not good either. You would expect with a high price point to receive quality food, but I would rather go to an applebees. Ive had better food and service there. Additionally, we got a wine flight of the winemakers choice. And it tasted TERRIBLE. Later we saw that the wines were rated 3.5 stars and below. No wonder. Overall bad service, bad food, and bad wine. Don't come here. read more

Ate here for Valentines weekend. We sat at a wobbly table. Took forever to move us. Dry steak and slow service. So unorganized for a holiday in the rain. Waitress super nice Music made the evening. Not worthy of the price for the evening read more

Pretty good wine! I like this place mostly because they are one of the only ones in the Temecula Valley that offers sparkling wine. We almost always join wine clubs when we go to wineries, so, we joined this one too. So far so good, lots of different bubbles to chose from. The restaurant is good, not outstanding, but that's fine. The atmosphere is a little corporate, but, they're dog friendly, and we have heard they have pretty good concerts in the summer....waiting to report once we attend one. Go check them out if you're keen on bubbles! read more

Thornton Winery - Enjoying Thornton Winery! - Wineries Near Me - Temecula, California

This is the worst red wine I've had in temecula The estate red wine flight was awful $64 for 2 flights that had no complexity, no character, it was watery with acidity, there's no love in this wine......I've never rejected wine before but I couldn't do it.....the restaurant itself looks like its stuck in the 90's I couldn't even finish my flight as shown Not the best place to go if you want a relaxing wine tasting experience. Pretty disappointed in this place. Won't be coming back nor recommending to my friends in the food and beverage industry unfortunately read more

Thornton Winery - Wineries Near Me - Temecula, California

Nice outdoor seating! Cute cafe and restaurant. Portions are really big - prepare to share. There is live music at night but we were there for brunch. Arrive at 11am and it isn't busy. read more

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This is one of the few wineries in the Temecula Valley that produces sparkling wines at any kind of volume, and the product is excellent. We joined the club here on our first visit for that reason alone. The winery property itself is lovely, but has more of a corporate vibe than we prefer - more like Napa. It's also a bit annoying that they issue you a card with your wine club membership that you have to bring with you to get tastings or club discounts. Bear in mind that the card does not swipe and does not have any data on it. It's literally a plastic card with our name written in Sharpie. A totally unnecessary hassle when we could just show our IDs like everywhere else. This is probably the biggest reason I could only give four stars. Fix that, extend the tasting room hours, have everyone take a deep, relaxing breath and remember we're in Temecula, and this could easily be five stars. read more

Thornton Winery - Sneak peek of the moon over the winery! - Wineries Near Me - Temecula, California

The wine recommendation was great. We also enjoyed our desserts. We had the lavender Creme Brûlée and Peach Cobbler. The entrees we had were not good however. I would NOT get the flatbreads. My Margherita Pizza tasted like a frozen pizza. Not terrible but certainly not worth $20. The Lobster Ravioli Flatbread was also lack luster. The burger was good but also not a $20 burger in my opinion. I would stick with wine, appetizers, and desserts if I were you. read more

Thornton Winery - Margherita Flat bread pizza - Wineries Near Me - Temecula, California

I attended a few concerts at this venue last year, and unfortunately found the parking situation to actually be a hazard. I actually fell on the gravel, resulting in a permanent scar to my knee and weeks to have the pain resolve. An Incident Report was filed, but no one ever reached out to even check to see how I was doing, and during my last visit a Security Guard joked when I reminded her that I fell there previously, saying "oh, lots of people fall here". Quite concerning that they don't seem to care about keeping their guests safe here, at all. read more

Food was good and served fast. Wines were good with a few estate wines. Several options on menu for lighter meals to heartier options.

Was recently in Temecula to check out a few wineries and my friend recommended this one for our group. We tried the Chocolate Kiss and the Sauvignon Blanc - I was unimpressed with both though I'm not much of a fan of reds. I was even less impressed with the price - over $50 for one bottle of wine when tax and automatic gratuity was included (we were a party of six so I guess that's what happened.) I will say the air-conditioning was nice and we got to see the tail end of some Olympic coverage but I have no interest in returning here. read more

Came here with a friend for the first time. Our server was Lisa and she was incredible, great personality, super outgoing, friendly, and attentive. Make sure to ask for her, I hear she's been an employee there for a long time. Will definitely be back. I really liked their Pinot Gregor! read more

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I love this winery as it never disappoints! Thornton BRINGS IT TO YOU with great jazz concerts by world renowned artist, superb wine, food is great and the ambiance is truly all that. The staff is attentive and always welcoming. If you are looking for fine hospitality and enjoying the wine country make it your first stop. Just let your eyes look to the right as you first enter into the wine country which is off Rancho California Road exit in Temecula. Keep getting excited as you drive about two miles. Make a right at their entrance and ENJOY! You will certainly not be disappointed. Remember - going to a concert their will be one of your most unforgettable moments! read more

Thornton Winery - Peg & Ben at Vincent Ingala & Peter White Champagne Jazz Concert. Doesn't get any better! - Wineries Near Me - Temecula, California

If it was possible to leave (0) stars I would. DO NOT waste your time or your money here. Across the street is Bolero/Europa Village and you will actually enjoy yourself and learn about the wines you are drinking. After all, isn't that the point of going wine tasting, to enjoy yourself and learn. I digress, visited Thornton with the wife and the hostess as well as the server were extremely rude and unwelcoming. Wines fell extremely short on taste as well. All in all, go elsewhere to get a better wine tasting experience. read more

This review is for the music festival only Get here 20 minutes ahead of time and parking is fine Really small venue , maybe 200 people Food is priced as you expect Wine sold only by the bottle, not by the glass Beer sold by the bottle read more

Amazing building and great tour. It's like a castle and the desert. The food was fantastic, and I love the variety of wines. Beautiful restaurant great for groups lots of parking and wine tours for groups too read more

Thorton was the only Temecula winery that I visited for many many many years. The main reason was my husband used to work here for the jazz shows. Now we've had reasons to come to Temecula more often, so I have been discovering other wineries. Yet... I am still drawn back to Thornton. On our visit yesterday we started at fire kitchen for brunch and bubbles, then went to peltzer and rounded our day off at Thorton with a bottle of bubbly. Our server Christy was phenomenal. She is so efficient in the sense that she gave us attention yet was aware of all the other tables around her. That's pretty kick butt. I think I will likely be back soon read more

Thornton Winery - Wineries Near Me - Temecula, California

I would have to say this is a really nice winery! Heard somethings about the food so didn't want to eat. The wine was amazing and the staff were too. They were so accommodating and worked really hard for my friends bday which had about 15 people. They also let us bring in our pup. read more

The food, service and ambiance is perfect. And of course the champagne and wine is wonderful.

This is the worst winery that I have ever visited. 2 hour wait and another hour for my meal. I ordered a medium well and they gave me a bloody rare. I get discriminated because they served everyone them me. Meaning me and my girl feel invisible. Waiters look like they are incompetent and from high school. Worst service and worst experience. PS I love wineries. I'm just so sad I had to experience this. read more

Thornton Winery - Steak. "Medium well" - Wineries Near Me - Temecula, California

We come here probably twice a year at least, usually for special occasions, with the in-laws who are members of the winery. I don't even drink wine but the food is usually really tasty! Off the bat let me say, as this is a winery, the food is pricy... well pricy by my standards... appetizers $16+ ea, $16 for a beer, etc. -Service is always great - Appetizers are more delicious, entrees are good. - Relaxing atmosphere On this occasion, there were 5 of us visiting. We are that family that orders way too many appetizers, almost fills up on those, orders entrees anyway, takes home lots of left overs for the next day haha. The Brussel sprouts are always my go to, love them, but tried the roasted tomato bruschetta this time and loved that even more. DEFINITELY try both! The shrimp scampi was great, the charcuterie board was really good, and they brought us lobster something or other on bread that was great too! Entree wise - these were a little hit or miss this visit. My boyfriend ordered filet mignon medium-well and it definitely came out WELL WELL. Dry. Who orders a stake cooked more than medium anyway? Haha but none the less, for the price, he should have asked for a replacement but he sopped it in A1 and made it work. I got the portobello sandwich..... it was flavor full but essentially it was two giant slices of focaccia bread with a smidge of mushroom, spinach and cheese in the middle... maybe tomatoes too but I can't remember... I was just really disappointed the at the lack of "filling" in a $20+ sandwich. Other entrees ordered included the braised short ribs (just okay, a little dry too), halibut (apparently very good) and lobster ravioli which seemed to be the table favorite after we all tried some. Again, as I don't drink wine, I can't really speak to "real" wine but the amateur in me enjoyed the "Taste of Chocolate" flight! read more

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We came for a birthday brunch and wine tasting at 1pm. They had a sound check happening for a concert that night that was so loud we couldn't even talk. Terrible customer service that they would charge over $125 for brunch sounded by folks hauling instruments and shouting sound check 1, 2,3 over and over. Either close your restaurant, give your patrons the option through a heads up it'll be a sound check or offer a discount. With so many wineries to choose from, and being highly recommended, this is a great disappointment. read more

My fiancé and I attended the Will Downing concert for his birthday on October 4, 2025. we were excited as we have attended several concerts in the pass. My fiancé traveled from England , then we Fly from Texas to attend. However, we were very disappointed with the experience. First, we were served our dinner towards the end of the first act. two hours after the scheduled arrival time. Secondly, I became ill and my fiancé escorted me to the restroom as a gentleman to make sure I was ok. After a few minutes, he left me in the restroom as I needed some privacy. At that point a season ticket holder of the winery named Doug, followed my fiancé to his seat with another person (not security) and began to question my fiancé in a threatening manner regarding leaving me in the restroom. My fiancé is a respectful man trying to celebrate his birthday, instead he was harassed by two men regarding escorting his ill fiancé to the restroom. Management and security was notified the night of the event and a few days upon our return home. However, management indicated that Doug over reacted. but, they justified his actions. When I explained to the manager Peterson, she indicated that, that wasn't her problem and that she wouldn't expect no less from her guest. I could not believe what I was hearing. It appeared that she was ok, with two guest that traveled afar to patronize their winery (that appears to not be doing well financially), that was harassed by their season ticket holder. It costed $500, to see and listen to Will Downing. But instead we were harassed and missed the concert. We will never visit that winery again. South Coast Winery, attract a more classier and better behaved clientele. Plus better wine. read more

This was our first stop as part of our wine tasting tour. My bf and I had not had lunch yet and wanted to order food. We asked the gal that came to pour our wines and she said she would return with a menu. She came back at least twice without menus. Finally my bf got up and walked to the restaurant (Cafe Champagne) to order. She looked really young (21?) and inexperienced with the wines. He ordered the bacon burger for us to share cut in half with bacon on the side. The burger arrived without the bacon. The burger (and onion rings) w tax was $29... What a ripoff. The onion rings were a good size. Sorry no pics- we were starving. I've had better burgers and had I known before hand how expensive it was, I would have told my bf to order something else instead. The food is expensive here. I never went inside the restaurant so not sure what it looked like. The grounds have outdoor seating which is where we sat. I was disappointed that no one from the winery came to explain the wines, etc. When we arrived, they had paper handouts with the wines we would be sampling for us to read. They did however provide a plate with fresh fruit and cheeses- however no crackers. I browsed their small gift shop as well. Nothing stood out to make me want to return. read more

Love, love, love this place! Besides the amazing views, the service and wine are exceptionally delicious. Lobster flatbread..... The estate Syrah is a perfect drink for those of us who don't love dry red but not too sweet either. It is so lovely. They squeezed us in, had spectacular service and we drank ALL the wines!!! Ask for Lisa, she has worked there for many years and had immaculate service. Thornton is a wonderful stop while in Temecula. The chocolate flight is a must try, as well as the well known bubbles flight. I have yet to meet a Thornton wine/bubble I didn't absolutely LOVE!! #thorton #thortonwines #syrah #winelover #bubblesflight #temecula #winecountry #estatesyrah #chocolatewine #champagneflight #love #weekendoflove #temecula read more

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We went to Thornton Winery for Thanksgiving dinner, thinking it would be a nice change, but we were wrong. There were so many things that went wrong it would be hard to mention them all, but I'll hit some of the highlights. First, they tried sitting us next to the busing station, which was unacceptable, when you're spending that much for dinner. The table they moved us to was near the heater, which would have been fine except the heater only had two settings, melt you face off or off. Then when they turned off the heater they failed to turn off the propane; someone finally closed the valve on the propane tank after we complained about the smell. We were excited when the food arrived because everything looked great, but two of the four meal we ordered had to be sent back because they arrived at the table cold, which was unfortunate because the taste was excellent! Although you could tell he was new our waiter was very nice and really tried hard. He did a good job. As Temecula residents, we frequent the local wineries on a regular basis and we have been to Thornton several times for wine and the jazz concerts, so we know they can perform to a higher standard. This visit was an extreme disappointment and I don't think we'll go back anytime soon, there are lots of better choices! read more

Food was great, our server was wonderful. Not a great option for large groups as their system does not accommodate separating check so it made for a difficult end to the night. Mixed messaging by management led to a frustrating experience. There are many other places in the area that make this an easy process for groups as asking to separate, split or divide is not a lot to ask, especially when we were told it would be ok. If I could rate the food and server I would give 5 stars, but the experience I am giving a 1. read more

A concert was being performed & you purchased tickets based on VIP, tables to include dinner or General Admission. My husband and I purchased GA. After half time, many tables were empty and were empty from the beginning. We along with several other people moved to the empty seats. ONLY my husband & I were asked by your staff to move back to our original seats, of which we did. We observed several other people, who were not asked to be moved. I felt treated so unfairly. We know this because we met people who bought tickets last minute for their kids, who joined their VIP table the same to we went to our different table. With that said,I felt so horrible that we were treated unfairly. This is so unacceptable. read more