How Temecula Wine Country Plans To Compete With Napa, Sonoma

TEMECULA, CA -- When you think about wine country, Napa or Sonoma may come to mind first. But Temecula's 40 wineries want to change that.

The region is working on enticing more visitors with the help of marketing and zoning changes, according to The Los Angeles Times. The newspaper reported that the Riverside County Board of Supervisors approved a plan to change zoning laws that would make it easier for businesses to build wineries.

"With the zoning changes, the region would be able to support twice as many wineries in the valley," the Times reported. "To lay the groundwork for future growth, the Eastern Municipal Water District in Riverside County completed a $19.7-million project in 2015 to hook all the existing wineries along Rancho California Road — the main thoroughfare for the wine region — to the local sewer system."

Plus, the region is increasing tourism taxes to pay for marketing campaigns with the hope that it will attract more wine lovers to the region.

But, the wines itself, will draw visitors too.

"(Wine producers) point out that since 2014, Temecula Valley wineries have won several silver and gold awards in the California State Fair wine competition — a contest that had previously been dominated by wines from Napa and Sonoma counties," the Times reported.

Read The Los Angeles Times report here.

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