Wine tasting rooms add different flavor to Old Town Temecula

A taste of Wine Country without the country is becoming a trend in Old Town Temecula.

Old Town wine tasting rooms offer the chance to sample local wines and buy bottles and souvenirs. Similar rooms have operated in Temecula Valley Wine Country for years.

While Temecula and Wine Country are synonymous in many minds, Wine Country itself is outside the city limits.

Kimberly Olson pours a glass of Dolce Innocenza in a tasting room and gift shop off Old Town Front Street.

At least three wine tasting businesses are operating in Old Town, and city planners are reviewing several other applications, according to city Director of Planning Debbie Ubnoske.

Tesoro Winery has had a tasting room on Old Town Front Street for about eight months. Owners Buzz and Kimberly Olson are also building a winery in Wine Country.

Buzz Olson said the 1,300-square-foot Old Town tasting room and gift shop allows Tesoro to cater to a different type of customer, one who might not even know Wine Country exists.

Tesoro and other venues are part of a construction boom changing Old Town into a more downtown-like district with tall buildings, restaurants and boutique-style shops. The city is building a $66.1 million civic center complex that includes a City Hall, a parking garage and a town square.
 
Wine Country is also growing, with 19 new wineries or winery expansions planned.

Temecula Valley Winery Management plans to open a tasting room in a soon-to-be-completed building at Old Town Front and Fifth streets.

The Wine Collective will occupy two floors and include a private tasting area for VIP customers.

Patrick Bartlett, company executive director, said the high volume of tourists in Old Town, as well as shops catering to lovers of fine foods, make a tasting room appealing.
 
"There's a whole, cool wine and food vibe happening," he said. Bartlett's company offers space for fledgling wineries to crush grapes and store and bottle their product.

Temecula Hills Winery Villa di Calabro is planning an historic Main Street building.

It could open in mid- to late January.

The winery will continue to operate out of Wine Country. But co-owner Valerie Andrews said the city offers fewer regulations than Riverside County, allowing the business to stay open later and host music in a walkable, urban environment.

As more tasting rooms come to Old Town, Olson thinks Tesoro will benefit.

"A lot of people don't want to drive to Wine Country," he said. "(The rooms) give people the opportunity to park their car and visit several wineries."