by Nancy Hughes
The Temecula Wine Country – also known as Southern California Wine Country – is a very special place in our own back yard. We are lucky to have this amenity to enjoy – with beautiful views, excellent wineries, great restaurants, spectacular wedding locations, cooking schools, and for the adventurous – Horseback Riding, Hot Air Ballooning, and jeep rides! There are big changes coming to the area – read on for current activity – and check back in future issues for other new developments!
You may have noticed the construction along Rancho California Road – the installation of the new sewer line by Eastern Municipal Water District – which has been slowing traffic in the area – but is going to make a big change to our Wine Country. In past years, all of the wineries had been using septic systems to handle the sewerage, but recently the Regional Water Quality Control Board has not allowed large septic systems – in an effort to protect the ground water basin. According to Bill Wilson of Wilson Creek Winery – it had been impossible to get approval for any large scale development of winery or hotels because of a lack of sewer accessibility, and so development had been limited. But with construction of the sewer line – winery owners are now able to process plans to add the needed construction to handle the large number of visitors to the area, and our valuable ground water basin will be protected.
According to Wilson, the installation of the sewer line will be a huge benefit to the area – There will be increased interest and activity in the area from new and larger wineries – which is a change from the predominance of “Family” wineries that we have now.
While many of us would like to see the Wine Country retain its rural charm, we will certainly see larger developments in the future – but there are rules in place that will help keep the density low and charm – such as the fact that all wineries are required to have at least 75% of their properties planted to vineyards.
The Wine Country has played a large part in the expansion of the tourism industry here. According to John Kelliher, owner of the Grapeline which provides wine tours here, they have seen double digit growth in their business in the past few years, and expect this trend to continue. As a Board Member on the “Visit Temecula Valley” Tourism group, Kelliher has received the annual reports that study the impact on jobs in the area related to tourism- which was 6,900 jobs in 2013- and should see a substantial increase in the new study for 2014 which is due in May. Jobs are so important to maintaining a stable economy, and the growth in the Southern California Wine Country should continue to be one of the positive areas providing jobs for our population.
Nancy Hughes is with Rancon Real Estate at 27740 Jefferson Avenue, Suite 100, in Temecula. www.thenancyhughesgroup.com – (951) 704-4644.
