Winery gets approval to sell wholesale

By: BRADLEY J. FIKES - Staff Writer | Monday, August 2, 2004 9:43 PM PDT ∞

FALLBROOK ---- Having won awards as an amateur, Cougar Vineyards & Winery is turning pro.

Fallbrook-based Cougar Vineyards recently received approval from the county of San Diego to operate as a wholesale winery, owner Rick Buffington said Monday.

Next year, Cougar plans to sell a white wine, the first to be produced under the county's "wholesale limited winery" ordinance, Buffington said. A federal permit to sell the wine is also needed, but should be issued soon, he said.

The ordinance, adopted in 2002, makes it easier for small wineries in agriculturally zoned areas to do business without having to go through an expensive permit process. It also allows wineries to produce up to 7,500 gallons a year to sell to stores, restaurants or over the Internet, but Cougar cannot sell on the premises or have a tasting room. At least 25 percent of the grapes used in the wine must be grown at the winery.

Buffington pays the bills as a software developer. He and his wife, Jennifer, are longtime amateur winemakers.

Up until now, Cougar Vineyards has been making wine purely on a noncommercial basis, for friends and to enter into amateur competitions. Awards include a silver medal at the 2004 Orange County Fair in the port category for a berry port made by Jennifer Buffington. A Barbera took first place at the 2004 San Diego County Fair in the Italian varietal category.

San Diego County's wineries are tiny by comparison with the commercial giants such as Gallo or Callaway Coastal Winery in Temecula. Cougar has just 1 acre of vineyards, while large wineries will have many thousands of acres. However, the wineries are seen as promoting agricultural tourism, which the county encourages as part of its support of tourism.

For its first wine, Cougar plans to purchase white varietal grapes, and have a vintage ready next spring or summer, Buffington said. The winery is already growing Sangiovese Montepulciano and Malbec varietals, but the red wines made from these grapes take longer to prepare for sale. The winery's Web site is www.cougarvineyards.com.

Buffington plans to sell more than wine. A software developer, he is preparing a vineyard management program that will run on Palm or PocketPC-platform hand-held computers. The program will let vineyard workers and managers enter data from field observations on the spot, so it can be downloaded when back in the office.

The Buffingtons started making wine as a hobby more than 10 years ago while living in Texas. They expanded production after moving to Seattle, bottling under the name Cougar Mountain Winery. About three years ago, they moved to Fallbrook and joined the San Diego Amateur Winemaking Society.

Contact staff writer Bradley J. Fikes at (760) 739-6641 or bfikes@nctimes.com.

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