Danza Del Sol, Masia De La Vinya Both Thriving Under New Leadership

TEMECULA, CA — Grapeline Wine Tours founder John Kelliher has joined Danza del Sol and Masia de la Vinya as president, owners Ken and Tina Smith recently announced. Kelliher will serve as president to head up the wineries' current and future expansion.

Ken Smith, owner of the Kentina Hospitality Group, which includes multiple properties, including Galway Downs, Danza del Sol, and Masia de la Vinya, discussed bringing Kelliher to the team.

"My vision is for guests who visit (Danza del Sol and Masia de la Vinya) to feel like they’ve found a place where they can celebrate life. I want it to be an exceptional place that people love, a place they want to return to with friends and family to share in the joy they feel when they visit," Smith said in a recent news release. "I am confident that John shares this vision and has the ability to help bring that vision to life."

Kelliher, with his wife Kim, are co-founders of Grapeline Wine Tours, which began in 2002. Together, they own Stryder Transportation and bring proven leadership and extensive experience to the two Kentina Hospitality wineries, according to Smith.

Patch was invited out on a recent fall afternoon to Danza del Sol Winery to sample the latest wines and talk expansion plans with Kelliher.

A trip down the De Portola Wine Trail

In early October, the ride out along De Portola is bookended with green-leafed vines from neighboring wineries. Some vines remain heavy with fruit, while others have been freshly harvested.

Danza del Sol is known for its courtyards and fountains. The tasting room, located at 39050 De Portola Road, is as approachable as the vintages that winemaker Justin Knight produces. Danza del Sol has a Spanish-style setting that was favored by locals from when it was first planted in 1972.

By 2022, it came into its own with the purchase by Galway Downs owners Ken and Tina Smith under their Kentina Hospitality arm.

Now, changes are planned for Danza del Sol Winery, Kelliher explained. The 40-acre vineyard will see many updates within the coming weeks and months.

Before any touring of the property began, he insisted on a toast to all that Danza del Sol is and all that it will become. We clinked glasses with the good wine club crystal. Our toast sang a resounding chime from the upstairs deck. Behind us, the current wine club member tasting room was slated to be transformed for all winery guests. New plans are in the works for more "in the vines" tastings for members, he said.

The Spanish-style winery is known for its sparkling Espumosa. The sparkling wine is best served cool and has hints of pear, green apple, and an oak undertone on the palate.

On a warm day, consider the grenache Rose, light with peach and citrus flavors, and any time is right for Danza del Sol's Super Tuscan blend, which is a meal in itself with bright fruit and chocolate, velvet finish. But it is not just the wine people come to drink at Danza Del Sol. The location offers stunning Temecula Valley Wine Country vistas and uninterrupted vineyard views.

"Danza del Sol's wedding venue is the first on the list of improvements," Kelliher told Patch.

The large barrel room in the middle of the vineyard has been gutted, allowing for new restrooms to be built, as well as a retrofit of the back wall to become nearly solid glass. The outside wedding space will remain open and in the middle of the vineyard. However, inside will be a luxurious spot for events and receptions once it is completed early in 2024, he said.

More Danza del Sol improvements will include a relocation of the tasting room to the broader, more open patio of the current "members only" tasting room, he said. Kelliher and the Kentina Hospitality Group are planning to make Danza del Sol one of the premier stops on the De Portola Wine Trail.

Further up the road, the boutique winery Masia de la Vinya, also recently brought under the Kentina umbrella, will be under Kelliher's attention.

"Masia is a favorite to the locals, with many coming over after 5 p.m. to sit and enjoy the mountain views," Kelliher said. He assures that the winery will continue to be a spot for relaxing under the trees, with an even better seating offering for guests who wish to sip and enjoy the view of Mount Palomar in the distance.

"Come for the wine, stay for the view," he said.

Ken and Tina Smith first bought Galway Downs, a sprawling horse estate just east of Temecula, off Los Corralitos road. That property has grown and changed as it has hosted soccer tournaments and steeplechases through the years.

Their Kentina Hospitality Group has partnered with Wedgewood Weddings, a privately owned wedding operator, for some of the most gorgeous wedding backdrops in the valley. Now, Danza del Sol has joined that umbrella of wedding locations.

Though John Kelliher's attention is focused on the wineries, Kim Kelliher makes sure the Grapeline Wine Tour business keeps rolling.

During the pandemic, they say they were not considered "essential." Kim says she spent most of her days returning money or scheduling out future small group tours if and when they were allowed to reopen for business.

Post-pandemic, they have amassed a fleet of vehicles, including a snazzy convertible Mercedes tour bus purchased during the pandemic, to take visitors on unique tours with some of the friendliest drivers in the industry.

"Since that time, we focused on the private tours," she said. They have also grown their business into northern California with private tours to Paso Robles and Sonoma area vineyards.

Through the years, the one thing John Kelliher felt was a winery to pour his soul into. Now, he has that with the Danza and Masia properties.

The Grapeline Tour Company was voted the 2020 top Wine Tour Company in America, according to USA Today. Since the pandemic, private tours are a much bigger draw, according to Kim Kelliher.

Visit Danza del Sol and Masia de la Vinya in Temecula, and tell them Patch sent you. Send your wine country pictures to your Patch editor for a chance to be featured on Patch.com.