SARATOGA SPRINGS — Another Finger Lakes winery, Thirsty Owl Wine Company will be opening a new tasting room, eatery and wine store in the former home of the Kimberly Inn at 184 South Broadway next year.

In early October, Saratoga Shoots wrote a blog post about the rumors circulating of the possible opening of a Thirsty Owl tasting room on South Broadway.

On Monday, Oct. 31, Ted Cupp, who owns the wine company with son Jon Cupp, confirmed the speculation.

“I just purchased the building — we’re really in the early stages of the planning process right now,” Cupp said.

Over the next several months, the Cupps will have to tackle the often lengthy process of obtaining a liquor license and submitting plans for the business to the city planning board.

If all goes according to plan, the Thirsty Owl tasting room should be up and running by July 1, 2012.

“We hope to have a pretty large tasting room and some light fare, but we haven’t decided what that will be just yet,” Cupp said.

The business will be operated on the ground floor of the property and the former inn’s second floor will be leased as some sort of residence.

“This will be our first tasting room other than our site on Cayuga Lake,” Cupp said. “My family raised horses and we’ve been coming to Saratoga for years — it’s a great area.”

The Thirsty Owl Wine Company is based in the town of Ovid in the Finger Lakes region. I will be speaking to Cupp in about six weeks once the plans for the Saratoga Springs tasting room are more solidified so stay tuned for more information on this story.