Wine & Beer

Written by: Barbara Pape

A beautiful day at Cougar Vineyard & Winery was spent listening to live music, watching the NFL on a big screen in the air-conditioned barrel room and feeling the excitement in the air as the winemaker and owner himself proclaimed 2017 as the best year in over five for the Temecula Valley wine region. After five years of drought, the rains finally came and conditions were conducive to not only more than doubling the volume of grapes on the vine, but to improving the taste and quality of grapes overall. A lack of rain means too much salt in the soil, which can result in compromised grape quality. This year however, the salt washed away, creating sweeter fruit and much, much more of it.

One varietal in particular, Falanghina, was being fermented now for bottling in early November. Cougar Winery was the first in the US to have Falanghina recognized as a varietal grown here in the US, by the TTB, which regulates the wine labeling industry. Brought here from Italy, Falanghina is an ancient grape from the Campania region of southern Italy and a mainstay for Cougar when creating their delicious, crisp, white wines.

With considerable character, flavors include floral, herbal and tropical fruit notes. Pairing well with seafood and pasta the wine has a citrus fruit character on the nose, with notes of bitter orange, orange peel, tangerine and candied fruits. On the palate, Falanghina is dry with high acidity.

Cougar expects to bottle two to three times more wine this year, giving them plenty of inventory for their popular Temecula tasting room and loyal wine club members, even leaving some available for them to library and store, for a change. Of course more grapes equates to more barrels needed, more tanks being purchased and more manpower necessary for each new bottle, all daily challenges in an industry they love.

Even amidst all the good news as the result of an outstanding year for wine production in Temecula Valley, there’s still sadness in the air here at Cougar with the news coming from Napa, Sonoma and Mendicino Valley in northern California, due to the devastating wildfires this fire season. In addition, and quite the opposite of the fire damage, freezing temperatures occurred this year in Italy and France, creating what could quite possibly be a supply and demand issue with wines in the years ahead.

#cawinestrong is a charity, formed to help those affected by the northern California wildfires and Cougar is donating $1 for every bottle sold in October to support their fellow winemakers.

Enjoy a Two For One Wine Tasting at Cougar Winery using the PassPort To San Diego Coupon.