The most beautiful time of the year

I am thankful for the nice and cool weather we are having in Ramona. While the North East and Midwest regions are under some awful snow storms, we’ve had some rains. But other than that, our weather has been beautiful: cold mornings with a little bit fog and sunny afternoon. The last two weekends have been absolutely golden and warm. Our evenings and nights are chilly, but it’s a nice and snuggly kind of chilly weather. Our vineyards had the most gorgeous fall colors this year, thanks to the wacky (not typical Southern California) weather that we have had all year long. The grape leaves changed their colors daily. The vines and their leaves have a new look every day. God is very artistic after all.

Since we opened our tasting room, we have had a very positive experience. So far, the local folks in Ramona, especially the members of Ramona Vineyard Association and Ramona Wineries Association have been exceptional in their support of our tasting room. I am surprised and touched by the generous and collaborative spirit exhibited by the local winemakers in Ramona. People from all over San Diego County found out about our tasting room and went up the hill to Ramona to visit our winery, even when it rained. Our friends, neighbors and relatives have been wonderful. Despite the fact that they have tasted our wines many times, they still came by and bought some more. Without the support of these good and kind hearted people, our winery would not have had a chance for survival. I truly believe that it takes a village to nurture a boutique winery.

Christmas has always been my favorite holiday since childhood. As it turned out, our holiday celebration has started much earlier this year since Thanksgiving Day, thanks to invitations to holiday parties to which we could not say No. So far, there have been four holiday parties with good company, good food and excellent wines! My waistline can attest to that (I will go on a diet next year, after the Lunar New Year!). With all of the excitement of opening our tasting room and holiday celebration, I am a little behind in getting our Christmas cards mailed and presents wrapped. All that will have to wait until after our winemaker dinner at Barona on Saturday. Ah, c’est la vie.

We look forward to another out-of-this-world gourmet dinner prepared by Chef Duncan at the Barona Oaks Steakhouse. As we have anticipated, our winemaker dinner at the Barona Oaks Steakhouse is another sold-out event. Several of our wines will be featured and paired with food exquisitely prepared for us and our guests. Although there are other choices for the main course, I can’t wait to indulge myself eating a juicy and tender steak and drinking a glass of our Mourvedre or Merlot estate-bottled wine! Life is good!


Cheers! A votre santé!