2006-2007 Orange Book: Internet Directory
Ramona Viticulture Designation

Ramona Viticulture Designation

In January of 2006 Ramona was designated an American Viticultural Area (AVA) by the Federal Taxation and Trade Bureau. The first step towards making Ramona a “wine destination”, this action makes Ramona the third Southern California location to achieve this status, joining Temecula and San Pasqual Valley.

The Ramona AVA includes some 89,000 acres of land that are already home to more than twenty commercial vineyards, nine bonded wineries (meaning they are legally allowed to sell wine to the public) and two tasting rooms open to the public.

Bill Schweitzer, a spokesperson for the Ramona Valley Vineyard Association, explains why achieving AVA status is important to Ramona and its vintners. “This is a major step for the rapidly growing wine producing area around Ramona. Dozens of local property owners are currently working very hard to learn about modern viticulture and wine production, and we’re all excited about the potential of this area to produce high quality wine. Before Prohibition this region was home to hundreds of acres of quality wine grapes. We are really enthused about the opportunities an AVA gives us.”

Schweitzer explained why Ramona is a good-grape growing area: “Ramona is at an intermediate elevation, about 1,000 feet above sea level. That keeps us above the fog line, so our growing times are longer each day. We are a thousand feet lower than Santa Ysabel and Julian, so there’s less chance of late frost and our climate is temporized by the ocean,” he said.

Ramona’s soil is good too. “It is almost all decomposed granite, which has a lot of minerals and nutrients for the grapes,” Schweitzer said.

In terms of sunlight and altitude, Ramona is a lot like southern Tuscany, a region in Italy known for producing Chianti. It is also similar to the Livermore Valley area in Northern California, another well-known wine-producing region.

Key to developing Ramona as a wine region is increasing the number of acres in grapes. The AVA helps do that by giving an incentive to those who might be interested in growing grapes to consider Ramona. Places that have more than ten tasting rooms are more likely to become a destination place and that would greatly benefit Ramona.

According to Schweitzer, “The first stage is to get more volume, more acres in grapes and more wine produced. The second stage is to become a known quality grape-growing region for tourists. We want tourists to come to Ramona to buy Ramona wine and take it home. The third stage is to break out and get a quality crop that is equivalent to other places in California. Each stage requires more learning, more volume and more time.”

Schweitzer, who has been growing wine grapes for about five years, is a retired computer programmer who resettled in Ramona from the Silicon Valley. He currently has about six acres in grapes.

Today Ramona vineyards grow mostly red grapes such as syrah, sangiovese (used in Chianti), merlot and cabernet sauvignon. That is because Ramona’s climate is more suited to the reds. However some whites are grown, such as warm weather sauvingnon blancs, muscat and some chardonnay. “We are looking for a white grape that will fit the climate,” said Schweitzer.

Ramona has been traditionally an avocado-growing region, but wine grapes take much less water. An avocado tree takes 40 gallons of water a week while a grape vine takes 6-10 gallons. You don’t need to water all year round, just for three and a half months. Older vines take less water because as their root systems grow they get more water from the ground. Grapes are also tolerant of Santa Ana winds and winter storms, which can be a problem for avocado trees.

Probably the first prominent wine-grower in Ramona was John Schwaesdall of the Schwaesdall Winery, whose establishment can be seen quite prominently when you drive into Ramona on Hwy 67. It has been producing wine since the 1980s.

Another interesting winery is the Pamo Valley Winery run by Bill and Jennifer Jenkin. Bill Jenkin, who is running for the state assembly, is something of a rarity among wine makers, a teetotaler!

You can learn more about Ramona’s AVA at www.ramonavalleyvineyards.org