Thornton Winery to be sold

By: CHRIS BAGLEY - Staff Writer | Monday, December 4, 2006 8:02 PM PST ∞

WINE COUNTRY -- Yet another of Temecula Valley's original wineries is poised to change hands in coming months in what longtime observers say is a reflection of the local industry's recent growth.

After two decades in the local industry, the Thornton family intends to sell its winery along Rancho California Road, near the western entrance to Wine Country. A deal now in escrow is expected to include Thornton Winery, the Cafe Champagne restaurant and the surrounding 20 acres of land, co-owner John Thornton said.

Thornton declined to name the buyer or discuss tentative terms of the sale; closing the deal is expected to take months, not days, he said.

"It wouldn't be in escrow if we didn't expect to close" the sale, he added.

It would be the fourth of the valley's original wineries to sell since April 2004. That's when Vincenzo and Audrey Cilurzo sold their namesake winery and its vineyards, which they first planted in 1968, to Imre Cziraki, who now runs the operation as "Bella Vista Cilurzo."

Callaway Winery, whose vineyards were first planted in 1969, changed hands in late 2005. Ely Callaway founded the winery before moving on to develop a golf-club empire. Allied Domecq, an international beverage conglomerate, owned the winery for a dozen years before selling it to a Del Mar-based investment partnership last year.

Last month, Peter Poole announced the sale of Mount Palomar Winery, which his father, John, founded in the early 1970s.

Like Thornton, all three are near Butterfield Stage Road at the western edge of Wine Country.

Thornton was founded in the early 1980s as Culbertson's Winery, by Martha and John Culbertson, who already operated Fallbrook Winery, a few miles to the southwest.

John Thornton was part of the business early on as a key investor. He took over the winery's operations in the mid-1980s, later giving it his family name.

Meanwhile, the Culbertson family sold the Fallbrook winery; they still live in Temecula near Wine Country.

Thornton Winery focused on sparkling wine, first exclusively, and later in tandem with other wines. Thornton's sparkling wines consistently fared better in competition than its other offerings; they were judged tops in the local wine area in 2005 and '06.

Audrey Cilurzo said the sale of Thornton would be a sign of maturity in the Temecula Valley wine industry, especially if the buyers are outsiders. New wineries have also continued to spring up in the last year under the management of both locals and newly arrived entrepreneurs.

"Those of us who were there in the beginning, we sat around and waited for customers," she said. "Now, the place is just booming. People can come in and buy a place that's doing 'x' number of dollars.

"New people come in with new ideas and fresh perspective, and that adds excitement to the valley," she added.

-- Contact staff writer Chris Bagley at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2615, or cbagley@californian.com.