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

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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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

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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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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Went here for lunch with a friend and her parents last weekend. All was going fine initially. However, I ended the lunch mortified when a server ran after us insisting we hadn't paid our tab. She wasn't even our server to begin with which made the entire situation even more confusing. We had paid our tab 10 minutes prior and left a very reasonable tip only for another random server to practically accuse my friends parents of not tipping her or paying the bill. Not a great look for a winery with lackluster service to begin with. I think we saw our waitress once throughout the entire meal. I had to go to the hostess and ask if we could pay the tab, to which she replied smugly, "you'll have to find your server." Not let me help you and track her down for you but no me, the customer, needed to find her down so that we could pay the bill. So not cool. So many other wineries with warm employees that will not only do their actual job, but go above and beyond (especially when there's only two tables in the restaurant). read more

3.5 stars. Service was kind and flexible. Id read reviews about the food so we did not order with our group. The wine is very good though! I enjoyed the Barbera & the estate syrah the most. I also appreciated the many flight combinations offered. There is both indoor and outdoor seating and outdoor has some really effective blow heaters I've never seen before. I will say the appearance and vibe is pretty old school traditional...honestly a bit early 90s feeling. Didnt have a fun energy, more for the retirement crowd IMO despite the mixed age group present. read more

Thornton Winery - Estate flight. Very good. - Wineries Near Me - Temecula, California

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

We came from San Diego to see a Rick Braun/Richard Elliot concert at Thornton in July 2024. The venue is beautiful, clean, well organized, and the concert was EXCELLENT!! Mr. Braun and Mr. Elliott put on a high energy, top notch concert. They were accompanied by a drums, a keyboard and 3 guitar musicians. This was our first visit to Thornton, and this is what we learned: 1. When you arrive, you are guided to either the dinner pkg parking lot or general admission parking. The parking on the right of driveway is paved, the parking on left is a dirt lot. 2. We called in advance and were told concert starts at 7 pm, doors open at 6, people start to line up prior to 5. We arrived around 5 pm. The general admission entrance line is through the paved parking lot. There is no shade provided because it's pretty impossible to set that up in a parking lot behind and between parked cars. You can bring chairs, food, umbrellas while you wait. On our day, it was 89F at 5pm, but the breeze helped. We ate dinner prior in Old Town Temecula (traffic there was awful). We brought folding chairs, sun hats, water for our wait at Thornton. I saw folks who brought sandwiches to eat while they waited in line. The line is right behind the parked cars. You are allowed to use the bathrooms inside the venue while in line. 3. Our tickets were scanned while we waited and we were given a program to show that we had tickets. This really speeded up entrance into the venue when doors finally opened. 4. At 5:40, we were asked to put our folding chairs back in the car. We put the chairs and big hats away then. This is the only criticism I have, because we put our chairs away, and then stood outside for 40 minutes while the dinner pkg customers were seated. The general admission customers were not allowed to enter till 6:20. We had 2 people with back issues in our party of 4, and had not expected to stand that long. 5. You can only bring sealed water bottles into the venue. No food or other drinks are allowed. The program is also a menu. One can purchase food inside and wine by the bottle - no individual glasses, just bottles. 6. The general admission seating is first come, first served. It is in front of the stage, in rows of folding chairs. You can bring seat cushions, which we did. The cushions made the chairs much more comfortable. Most of the aisle and very center seats were marked as reserved. There were 6 rows of center seating in front of the stage, then a path, then 8-9 more rows. There were sections of row seating on the left of the stage, and a shaded section on the right of stage. The dinner pkg tables were in the back, behind the rows of general seating, about 4-5 rows of tables. One can see the stage from anywhere and the music was really loud. There was a shaded dance floor section in front, on the left of stage. The food tents were set up on the very left, right by the entrance. Bathrooms were clean, easily accessible. There is a gift/wine shop past the bathrooms behind the stage. 7. The concert started at 7:05, with a 30 minute intermission at 8:08. Concert ended at 9:20pm. We backed out of our parking spot at 9:28. Traffic was directed out of the lots to the main driveway and it took us about 8 minutes to get onto Rancho California Rd. There is no traffic light to help you make a left on Rancho California. 8. The temperatures in July on the day we went were 89F at 5 pm, 73F at 8 pm, and 71F at 9:30. I wore capri jeans, tshirt, and baseball cap and brought a jeans jacket which was all I needed in the evening (and I tend to get cold). 9. My husband has sensitive hearing and found the concert a bit too loud. He probably would have preferred sitting more in back or appreciated ear plugs. Our friends and I were fine with the sound. Overall, we found Thornton to be a beautiful and very well organized venue. The staff were very nice. We had a really great evening thanks to calling in advance and a little planning. read more

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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

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

Attended a concert here tonight and the musicians and sound were phenomenal. Two of my absolute favorites, and they didn't disappoint. Seeing them live was truly a treat. Having said that, we bought general admission tickets and there's huge room for improvement. (The dining option was sold out, and since we don't live in the area, we didn't want to purchase season tickets.) The website recommends that folks line up one or two hours ahead to get a good seat--and today it was 100 degrees with a blazing sun at 5pm. The line snaked through the unshaded, asphalt parking lot and was oppressive, as you can imagine. This is not a good practice and shows a lack of concern for attendees. A woman ahead of us suffered heat stroke and fell as a result. Someone in line behind me, said, yeah, that happened to someone last year. There are many simple solutions and this warrants some thought as to how people can line up for events without risk to their health and safety. read more

We had a really negative experience during a wedding venue tour. We were initially told we would meet with someone and tour the venue over wine and discuss possibilities and pricing. The event manager took over the tour from the representative we had spoken with and did everything she could to convince us not to get married there and kind of pushed us out the door. I'm sure it's a lovely venue, but we really didn't get a chance to see it. Didn't even get to try the wine... read more

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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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

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 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

Got the sparkling champagne which was great! The staff was very friendly and the food was okay. Very nice winery overall.

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

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

We love the exceptional quality of food. The customer service is excellent. The entertainment is always a good time. read more

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Going here after a full day of wine tasting was just what we needed! The atmosphere is beautiful. When you enter the staff is present (cant say that for many places here.) My meal consisted of the Mushroom crostini, Ceasar salad (dressing oN SIDE) and Lobster Ravioli! Bravo and Merci!!! Best Meal in a loong time- you can tell the chef is experienced and puts attention and detail to what they put out! The food is WELL seasoned without being too salty! Every bite is complimentary to the next. Can't wait to see what's next! Our server Ford was excellent, excited and friendly! Thanks for an outstanding Evening and I did not have to dress up to feel welcomed! read more

Great service by Looking Lisa and Ashley. Charcuterie board so beautifully presented. Crackers being on separate plate was a great idea. Loved it. One of the Best Charcuterie boards in Temecula read more

Thornton Winery - Amazing Charcuterie Board. So glad the crackers were presented separately. And service by Lisa and Ashley was delightful. - Wineries Near Me - Temecula, California

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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We went to Cafe Champagne for a birthday party and the location is great. We were seated quickly with a reservation and our server was awesome! Pros: Atmosphere, good service, the burger I got was delicious Cons: That burger was not worth $34 for sure and the other prices were insane also. The food was fine but absolutely over priced for what it was. read more

Wow Bradley you are amazing server gave me and my freind the best customer service and the from the hair to the beard you looked amazing. The Ambiance was just perfect. Thanks for the best experience. read more

They are quite expensive but beautiful views. I got the mussels and they were great. Really nice for a fancy get together, like an event. The food came took a while to come even though it seemed like there weren't very many people but the service was nice. read more

My husband and I ended up here solely due to proximity after we weren't able to get into Bolero (across the street) due to a wedding. Normally fine with dropping a decent amount on dinner if the food is really good, however unfortunately that was not the case here and the food is honestly exceedingly overpriced. My husband's input: "I just dropped $200 at the Carl's Junior of wineries" Our entrees were Salmon and Lobster Ravioli which were ok, but not great. The Salmon was cooked really well but the flavors were unbalanced, the the farro was flavorless and the purée was too sweet. The sherry cream sauce that accompanies the ravioli was delicious but the ravioli tasted like it might have been previously frozen. Also worth noting the fluorescent lighting outside was not the ideal dining vibe. Overall, certain elements of each dish were good (hence the 3 stars) but definiteellllyyyy not worth $41, $42 for an entree. Would not come back. read more

Wine is good. Food is not! I should have read other reviews before coming here and dropping $190 for an underwhelming meal. Good thing our server was nice. Will come back again but only for wine tasting. 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