United States surpasses France as top wine-consumption nation

Ag Alert, the weekly newspaper for California Agriculture, reported in their March 23, 2011 edition that the United States surpasses France as top wine-consumption nation, with wine shipments to the U.S. from California, other states and foreign producers growing 2 percent in 2010 from previous year to nearly 330 million cases. The estimated retail value of these sales was $30 billion, up 4 percent from 2009, according to the wine industry consultants Gomberg, Fredrikson & Associates in Woodside.  While wine consumption is still a low 2.6 gallons per capita, Americans’ interest in a lifestyle with wine and food has grown and more Americans believe that moderate consumption of wine is part of a healthy way of life.

According to the report, California wine accounted for 61 percent volume share off the total U.S. wine market with sales at 199.6 million cases, up 1 percent from the previous year.  Chardonnay remains the leader, up 5 percent with 53 million cases. Cabernet Sauvignon also grew rapidly, rising 6 percent to nearly 33 million cases.  Other California bottled varietals growing significantly in sales included Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, Riesling and Muscat.

The facts reported by the Ag Alert newspaper could have happened at a better time for those of us in the wine business in Ramona Valley.  We’re thrilled by the news. As the interest in Ramona Valley as a wine destination region grows, the enthusiasm and can-do attitude along with a unity sentiment have grown stronger among the members of the Ramona Valley Wineries Association (RVWA) and the Ramona Valley Vineyard Association (RVVA). 

We continue to be amazed by the Ramona community and San Diego County’s support for the local wineries.  Everyone who showed up at the two meetings that were held at our winery was excited about the emerging Ramona wine trail.   Among the attendees, we had people from all over San Diego county as well as visitors from out of town.  Both meetings were well attended, especially the RVVA meeting which was standing room only.  There were at least 50-60 people attending the last RVVA meeting held at our winery last week.  When I watched the excitement and confidence expressed by the attendees at the gathering, I got goose bumps because it reminded of a scene in the Bottle Shock movie when the Napa Valley vintners got together at the Chateau Montelena winery to decide who should represent them at the 1976 Judgment of Paris tasting held at the Intercontinental Hotel. A bottle of Montelena Chardonnay 1973 took the top prize in the white wine competition; Stag's Leap Wine Cellars' Cabernet Sauvignon 1973 took the honors in the red wine category. This twist of fate forever changed the fortunes of Napa Valley wineries and the global wine industry as a whole, as it was revealed that French wines were in fact not unbeatable.  TIME Magazine published George Tabor's article about the event that changed the way the world perceived wines from American and put Napa Valley on the map.

Cheers

Pruning Theory

Pruning is actually a parental task, it requires us to supervise and correct our unruly prodigy. It is actually a painful task at a certain level, like spanking a child you love to prevent an unsafe condition from being repeated or promoted. It is difficult and unnatural to culminate perfectly viable and healthy foliage from future life, and I do feel sad at the loss of future potential, but I celebrate the greater good. The pruning of life promotes growth albeit lateral growth, in the needed direction and hopefully in the needed location.

Pruning as I have said before is the process of making thousands of decisions very quickly with the hope and faith that most of these decisions are correct. Not all can be correct, we will make mistakes like correcting a child, and sometimes we will wish we were less harsh or more lenient.

My great grandfather and great grandmother were Native American and believed that family is the most important element of life; they went to great lengths to protect family and to promote family. My great grandfather was a viticulturist and vintner and he treated the vines as family. He believed the vines should be treated with respect and manipulated on a minimal basis. I think he believed that nature should not be circumvented, let the bees, yellow jackets, birds have what they need to survive. There will be enough for the wine remaining, because we respect them……

I enjoy working the vines with my son, we do not engage in copious verbal communication, we rely on non-verbal communication as my great grandfather, grandfather, and father would have understood. The vines understand our purpose and forgive our transgressions; the vines understand they are a means to an end, not an end unto themselves.

I truly respect the vines and the land, like harvesting a deer or rabbit I consider the bounty sacred and not to be wasted or taken for granted.

When pruning I’m not in a hurry, time stands still for me. The ‘oxen is slow but the earth is patient’ has meaning for me. I don’t think of the 10,000, I concentrate on the one in front of me and then move on to number two.

I respect the land and the land gives back to me its bounty……..

Happy Valentine's Day!

What are you going to do to celebrate Valentine's Day with your sweetheart? Dining out at your favorite restaurant? Cooking your sweetie's favorite dish? Dancing away at your favorite nightclub?  Whatever you do, don't forget to share with your sweetie a bottle of Mahogany Mountain wine made with lots of love.

While we celebrate our Valentine's Day on earth, a celestial rendez-vous is scheduled for today. Check out some really cool pictures:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/feb/13/nasa-craft-set-for-valentine-rendezvous-with-comet/

XOXO

Love is in the air! Wine and Chocolate Weekend at Mahogany Mountain Winery

Be Our Valentine! On the weekend of Feb. 12 & 13 from 1 - 4 pm, we’ll have a wine and chocolate pairing. We’ll feature each of our wines with yummy chocolates. Hope to see you there!

Cheers!

Happy New Year again! Happy Lunar New Year 2011!

The Lunar New Year falls on the first day of the first moon on the lunar calendar. For 2011, that day lands on Thursday Feb. 3. Most Lunar New Year announcements for 2011 will call it the Year of the Rabbit, as the zodiac depicts in China, Japan and Korea. The Tet New Year is the most important and highly celebrated cultural holiday of the Vietnamese people around the world. The Vietnamese people represent the rabbit years as cat years.  As the folklore goes, the pronunciation of the rabbit in Chinese is similar to how the cat is pronounced in Vietnamese language.

According to the Chinese zodiac, 2011 is the year of the golden rabbit, the fourth sign in the Chinese zodiac which consists of 12 animals. The rabbit is believed to bring a year of calm and quiet after the year of the fierce tiger in 2010.

The Vietnamese year of the cat symbolizes sensitivity, gentleness and kindness.

Although we’ve survived the year of the Tiger in 2010 just fine, from what I read about the Rabbit or Cat Year, I really look forward to the Lunar New Year 2011.   Imagine a calm, peaceful year for wine making, wine drinking and wine food pairings!

Cheers!

Holiday Winemaker Dinner at Barona Oaks Steakhouse

Our 2010 holiday winemaker's dinner was a huge success with our guests.  The weather was perfect, cool and clear. We were thankful that the rain storm came the day after!


We really enjoyed the evening. We were touched by Barona Oaks Steakhouse’s generosity and kindness to us and to our guests.

We have fond memories of course after course of delicious food paired perfectly with our wines. The 5-course gourmet meal created by Executive Chef Duncan was paired perfectly with the Mahogany Mountain wines.

The evening was off to a fabulous start with a glass of Mahogany Mountain White Zinfandel paired with Cured Pork Rillette served with a cider mustard sauce– such a great pairing!

Next we enjoyed an appetizer of House Smoked Salmon with Root Vegetables Remoulade. The Mahogany Mountain 2007 Zinfandel paired wonderfully with this second course.

The following course was, presented in a cappuccino cup, a very unique and tasty Wild Mushroom soup. The Mahogany Mountain 2007 Merlot paired with this course was outstanding.

At last we were presented with the Main Course. Our guests had a choice of Dry Aged New York Steak with Mushroom Crust, Slow Cooked Scottish Salmon with Herb Fingerling Potatoes and Swiss Chard, Stuffed and Roasted Free Range Chicken with Roasted Carrots, Spinach and Sage Jus.  The main course was paired with the powerful 2008 Mahogany Mountain Mourvedre or the robust 2007 Mahogany Mountain Zinfandel.  I chose a beautifully presented Dry Aged New York steak served with Potatoes Au Gratin topped with delicious morsels of ham and Baby Asparagus.  Both of the wines, Mahogany Mountain Mourvedre and Zinfandel, paired so well with the juicy and tender steak. Yummy!

Knowing a delicious dessert would be waiting, I saved some room. The Mascarpone & Pistachio Stuffed Pear poached in Mahogany Mountain Port, Cinnamon Ice Cream and Warm Chocolate Sauce was unbelievably good together and definitely a sweet treat we would like to enjoy again. The Mahogany Mountain Vintage Port paired with this final course left us all smiling with a warm fuzzy feeling inside.

The service provided by the Barona Oaks steakhouse’s staff was friendly, gracious and impeccable. We all walked away from the evening with many happy and delicious memories.

Many of our guests told us how much they enjoyed our winemaker's dinner at Barona and would look forward to the next one.

Our compliments to the Barona Oaks Steakhouse, Executive Chef Duncan, and Manager Scott.

Merry Christmas and Best Wishes for a Prosperous and Happy New Year!

Cheers!

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!