FIRST WINERY IN LA MESA HOLDS GRAND OPENING JUNE 22-23

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By Miriam Raftery

June 16, 2013 (La Mesa) – The public is invited to sample award-winning wines, savor food and live music at the grand opening of the San Pasqual Winery at 8140 Center Street in La Mesa.   The festivities will take place Saturday and Sunday, June 22 and 23 from 12-5 p.m.   Cost is $20 in advance or $25 at the door.

The decision to move its wine-making business from Pacific Beach to La Mesa was motivated by a need for more space and a desire to be close to San Pasqual Winery’s existing tasting room in downtown La Mesa.   The new facility will be triple the size of their existing winery, supplementing the existing tasting room with a second La Mesa location.

“A few years ago, Linda and I were looking for a wine bar to buy or start up,” Mike McWilliams, co-owner of the winery, told ECM’s “Vines and Wines” host Greg Maness in a n interview for our upcoming East County Magazine radio show.   

California had just changed the law to allow wine to be served by the glass at a winery bar.  So the couple bought San Pasqual Winery, a company that had its roots in north county but later moved operations to the beach area.

“We fell in love with it,”  Linda McWilliams said of the winemaking business.  They opened a tasting room in La Mesa’s downtown village that has become a draw for locals and visitors alike, offering live entertainment, classes and other events on a regular basis along with wine tasting.

Known as pioneers in the local wine making industry, the McWilliams convinced the City of La Mesa to change the law, which had long forbidden wine making in city limits.  Mayor Art Madrid proposed the change, which La Mesa’s planning department supported and the city council approved in December.

San Pasqual Winery’s specialty is passionfruit wines, made from passionfruits grown in San Diego County.  The couple also makes a wide variety of wines using grapes grown throughout San Diego County.

“San Diego County is the fastest growing wine region in the state,” says Linda, who is vice president of the San Diego County Vintners Association.  Our county now has over 71 bonded wineries.

The Association is working to raise awareness that “besides the beaches and the zoo, and all the other things  we are a winery destination,” said Linda, who sees a thriving future for our region as an “agritourism” destination.

“San Diego is a perfect place for grape growing, “ she explained.  “We have so many different microclimates here, we can grow just about anything within our borders.”  She predicts our region will ultimately have a full range of wine varieties produced locally – provided the supply of locally grown grapes can keep up with fast-growing demand.

“We  really need to put some vines in the ground,” she concluded.


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