Nestled in the heart of the Temecula Valley Wine Country, Thornton Winery opened in 1988. The winery combines old world style with new world taste to create award-winning and premium varietal wines. The Methode Champenoise process is used because it has proven to be the best for producing fine quality Sparkling Wine / Champagne.
Thornton Winery's old world charm and grace are most apparent when visiting the winery in Temecula. The winery, an elegant French-style chateau overlooking the graceful vineyards of the Temecula Valley, highlights Cafe Champagne, a breathtaking Terrace, Herb Garden, Gift Shop, and Champagne Lounge.
Thornton Winery's old world charm and grace are most apparent when visiting the winery in Temecula. The winery, an elegant French-style chateau overlooking the graceful vineyards of the Temecula Valley, highlights Cafe Champagne, a breathtaking Terrace, Herb Garden, Gift Shop, and Champagne Lounge.
Services
Be the first to hear about the 2022 schedule and on-sale date by joining our mailing list and following us on facebook and Instagram. For over 30 years, Thornton Winery has provided a stellar lineup of nationally renowned artists in an intimate and acoustically superb Mediterranean terrace. Beautiful Temecula Wine Country offers a memorable and unique concert experience for our Champagne Concert Series.
Steve and I welcome all of you to Thornton Winery. Our concept for the winery is great food, wines and music. In our family's travels around the world, we have been most fortunate to enjoy all of these. For many years, we have entertained family and friends at home with wine, dinner and music. Steve grew up in this environment and has committed himself to passing on this tradition to you, our extended family.
Our Champagne Lounge menu complements winemaker Tom Stolzer's premium wines and Champagne. Set amongst the lush green vineyards of Temecula's beautiful wine country. Visit Temecula Valley & experience a wine country private tour & tasting of selected premium champagne & varietal wine from Thornton's award-winning winery.
The award-winning, Cafe Champagne Restaurant at Thornton Winery is a "want to do" for every visitor to the Temecula Valley. Since 1988, from growing herbs to cutting home-grown flowers, every effort has been made to offer the perfect combination of French Country Elegance and Gold Medal-winning Contemporary Cuisine.
Cafe Champagne with their dedicated staff's expertise and artfully designed menu, has won the Gold Award for Contemporary Cuisine for eleven consecutive years from the Southern California Restaurant Writers Association. Consuming raw or undercooked meats, poultry, seafood, shellfish, or eggs may increase your risk of food-borne illness, especially if you have certain medical conditions.
Reviews (22)
Claudia Chun
Feb 01, 2022
Report
Price was way overpriced for what they serve. I tried many other winery and I wanted to see what Thornton Winery restaurant was like. Very disappointed on the menu selections and price was just crazy. If I am paying $31 for a flatbread I expect something different. They gave me a flatbread. It was sooo... sad I had to laugh..... it felt like a joke....
Veronica A.
Jan 30, 2022
Report
Hope was amazing she was our waitress she gave an amazing service. We love coming here! We are members and highly recommend this winery! We had Calamari, the Cheese platter and Brie En Croute for an Appetizers. We had Pasta, The
Lobster Ravioli, Margherita Flatbread, for our Entree. Consistent good service every time. Thank you Thornton Winery.
Lobster Ravioli, Margherita Flatbread, for our Entree. Consistent good service every time. Thank you Thornton Winery.
Evelyn Shigeta
Jan 03, 2022
Report
I have never been so frustrated! I am a member and have made 4 trips down to your winery. Each and every trip you have been closed. This last trip yesterday sealed it for me. I want to close my membership! I called, you answering machine said to check your website. I checked the website and you have nothing posted online. No calendar, nothing on social media, nothing! Google says your open so we make the trip down yet again to find, you guessed it, you are closed. I believe I have three shipments that I have paid for and cannot enjoy. At this point I don't even want them. Sad and frustrating!!
Ted T.
Dec 30, 2021
Report
A wonderful outdoor setting for a casual meal with wine.
Had a great lunch here with friends during a break between COVIS surges. Food and wine were excellent.
Had a bit of a problem with the check when some of our party asked for separate checks. But we eventually got it sorted out.
Overall a four star experience.
Had a great lunch here with friends during a break between COVIS surges. Food and wine were excellent.
Had a bit of a problem with the check when some of our party asked for separate checks. But we eventually got it sorted out.
Overall a four star experience.
Glydia C.
Dec 30, 2021
Report
Noel L.
Dec 09, 2021
Report
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
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
Bill G.
Dec 01, 2021
Report
Choose wisely my friends. When in Temecula you have a lot of choices. Thornton must near the bottom. The food comes at a premium price which is not a problem until you taste it and realize it must have been shipped in frozen. It is comparable to a low end chain restaurant. Being at Thornton was our third winery of the day but it was the first to serve really warm, I mean really really warm red wine.
The reason Thornton gets 2 stars is purely service. Our server Hope was incredible and she will be a star wherever she goes next in her career. All the best Hope.
The reason Thornton gets 2 stars is purely service. Our server Hope was incredible and she will be a star wherever she goes next in her career. All the best Hope.
Sudi S.
Nov 22, 2021
Report
My BF and I decided to check out Thornton this weekend because I love champs and I was eager to try their selections. Unfortunately, I never got a chance to. The winery felt very dull, and sort of outdated- like they needed a spruce up. The atmosphere was dry, the patrons looked dry, the gift shop was dry, and food looked dry.
My bf and I enjoying spending our time and money at the wineries but since we were completely ignored by the server(s) for the tasting we left and went down the road to Miramonte which had a great upbeat vibe, and a welcoming diverse staff.
My bf and I enjoying spending our time and money at the wineries but since we were completely ignored by the server(s) for the tasting we left and went down the road to Miramonte which had a great upbeat vibe, and a welcoming diverse staff.
Aaron Peck
Nov 18, 2021
Report
The venue was beautiful, the wine was great and the views absolutely fantastic. Unfortunately the service was a tad slow, we waited at our table for ten minutes before being greeted, and the food and wine flights both were ridiculously overpriced. A champagne flight, a plain Caesar salad and a piece of chocolate cake for 75 bucks.
Alexa G.
Oct 17, 2021
Report
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
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
Joy S.
Sep 14, 2021
Report
Whenever we are in the Temecula area, we try to stop at this winery. The draw for us is mainly their chocolate wine flight! So good! Four different types of chocolate wine: Milk Chocolate Kiss, A Kiss of Coffee, A Kiss of Mint, and A Kiss of Chocolate. Three of them are creamy, almost like a Bailey's, the other one is a red wine with a touch of chocolate on the palate. I'm not a huge mint fan, so that wouldn't be my favorite, but I'd be hard pressed to pick a winner out of the other three. The only downside is the price of the tasting flight. For the price of four tastes, we
Karen Berryhill
Sep 03, 2021
Report
Went to hear the band B.I.G. for Thornton Winery Friday night music and dinner. We had a ball! The band was excellent. Our server was Ashley. It was her first night but you could not tell. She rocked it. The dinner menu is limited for this event. We had the artichokes for an appetizer. They were delicious. The hamburger is large and more than enough. The salmon was a little over cooked but still tasty. Finished with Creme Brule for dessert.
Brandon Laguatan
Sep 03, 2021
Report
Miguel Udave
Aug 31, 2021
Report
Jill Eastmanrealtor
Jul 25, 2021
Report
Had a wonderful lunch today with my friend and client Melissa. I love Thornton Winery. I love their food, I love the views, I love that they are pet friendly and it has become my little getaway place. Come up here with a client, have a wonderful lunch enjoy the company the conversation and enjoy the views and then go back to work and to life.
I was so hungry when I got here today I did not wait to take pictures of the food I will have to do that in a future review. Come on up do some winetasting and give yourself some time away.
I was so hungry when I got here today I did not wait to take pictures of the food I will have to do that in a future review. Come on up do some winetasting and give yourself some time away.
M. Spencer H.
Jul 16, 2021
Report
I have nothing but good things to say about lunch at the Champagne Café, Christy was an excellent server and incredibly attentive without being overbearing. The food was delicious, I highly recommend the Summer Salad which was light and refreshing but still filled me up. My dining partners enjoyed their meals as well (Turkey club, fish and chips with a blood orange mimosa). The sweet potato fries were good and I snagged a couple from the side of the Turkey club.
It would've been ideal to have the option to choose your flight rather than the have the prescribed options. This actually deterred
It would've been ideal to have the option to choose your flight rather than the have the prescribed options. This actually deterred
Cassandra Lesinski
Jul 01, 2021
Report
This was our first time at Thornton Winery and the restaurant. We had a very relaxing lunch, celebrating our 10 yr wedding anniversary. The food was Incredible and service was very pleasant! I had A Kiss of Chocolate wine and I loved it so much that my husband bought me a bottle to take home. We will definitely be returning.
Alice W.
Jun 08, 2021
Report
I chose Thronton as one of the wineries we visited because it specializes in bubblies.
Tasting: Sadly, I wasn't too impressed with the wines here. They have different kind of tastings and we chose to do the champagnes flight since that was what the server recommended. It was just okay. I'm not a fan of sweeter wines or ports, so we avoided flights with those kind of wines. I guess it just depends on what kind of wine you like.
Parking: There's ample parking around the side of the winery so we had no issue with finding parking.
Pets: We brought our dog and he was allowed into
Tasting: Sadly, I wasn't too impressed with the wines here. They have different kind of tastings and we chose to do the champagnes flight since that was what the server recommended. It was just okay. I'm not a fan of sweeter wines or ports, so we avoided flights with those kind of wines. I guess it just depends on what kind of wine you like.
Parking: There's ample parking around the side of the winery so we had no issue with finding parking.
Pets: We brought our dog and he was allowed into
Cyndi S.
Jun 06, 2021
Report
We are new parents to this adorable pup and have no experience traveling or dining with a dog. With that being said, Thornton made all three of us feel welcomed and valued.
We came for lunch without a reservation and although there was a 30 to 45 minute wait we decided to stay. Great choice. The hostess recommended we grab a glass of wine and enjoy three grassy area with our fur baby. As you can see, she was very happy with this plan!
Short 30 minutes later we were seated at a nice shaded table enjoying a delicious burger and flatbread.
Why not five stars? There was not an option for outside
We came for lunch without a reservation and although there was a 30 to 45 minute wait we decided to stay. Great choice. The hostess recommended we grab a glass of wine and enjoy three grassy area with our fur baby. As you can see, she was very happy with this plan!
Short 30 minutes later we were seated at a nice shaded table enjoying a delicious burger and flatbread.
Why not five stars? There was not an option for outside
Megan H.
Apr 30, 2021
Report
This was our last stop on our self-guided wine tour. We came around 5 PM as a walk-in for their wine tasting and restaurant. They said they were only seating reservations at the restaurant, but if we were only wine tasting we could sit at another dining area. We chose that option and ordered a Sweet flight. Their chocolate wines are a must try!
Our server, Travis, was great! He was attentive and working hard. It looked like they were short-staffed, but Travis always made sure we were okay and got us what we needed. We really appreciated it! Thornton has a classy and elegant feel perfect for small
Our server, Travis, was great! He was attentive and working hard. It looked like they were short-staffed, but Travis always made sure we were okay and got us what we needed. We really appreciated it! Thornton has a classy and elegant feel perfect for small
Joyce L.
Mar 23, 2021
Report
Amazing views of surrounding vineyards, as the winery is on a little hill. Both indoor and outdoor tasting/dining is open in March 2021. Outdoor area seemed to have the better view.
We made a reservation to dine in to secure a spot since they can get very busy. They seemed a bit understaffed and rushed but still a good experience overall.
A fun and unique thing to try is their chocolate wines!
We made a reservation to dine in to secure a spot since they can get very busy. They seemed a bit understaffed and rushed but still a good experience overall.
A fun and unique thing to try is their chocolate wines!
Angelica Yang
Nov 10, 2020
Report
First time here, it was a great experience. Our waiter Lisa was attentive and sweet. We got the shrimp scampi pasta, the lobster mac and cheese pizza and the homemade soup, which was all delicious. We even got dessert. We enjoyed their champagne flights. Before we lefted we also got three bottle. Would recommend this places.
