Getting to Know Temecula Wine Country

By: Christine Dull

Have you ever tried a glass of Fiano di Avellino?  How about Greco di Tufo?  If these wine varietals sound foreign to you, that's because they are -- they're unusual Italian varieties that are not yet authorized for planting in the United States.  But one local winery is already offering these wines for sale in Temecula, and is planning to grow its business on the success of little-known Italian varietals like these. 
Cougar Vineyard & Winery opened on De Portola Road on Thanksgiving weekend of 2006, and from the start has been focused on wines that originated in Italy.  "We like Italian food, we like Italian wine," says Jennifer Buffington, owner/winemaker of Cougar, along with her husband Rick.  "When we started thinking about what we wanted to do here, we had people telling us that the Italian varietals do really well in this area.  It's a very similar climate to Tuscany.  So we decided that we wanted to do something a little different than the other wineries and stick with the Italian theme."
They've planted the red varietals Sangiovese, Montepulciano, and Aglianico, along with white Vermentino grapes, with plans to add Primitivo and Pinot Grigio in the next year.  They've also sought out hard-to-find Italian varietals, even going across the border to source Cortese, Fiano di Avellino, and Greco di Tufo white grapes.  "We're definitely one of the first ones to have those here," says Rick.  "We got those out of the Guadalupe Valley down in Mexico, because they're not really available here in the United States.  Actually, Greco di Tufo is not a varietal that is recognized in the U.S., so we couldn't even put it on the label.  But the grapes make really good wines.  The Greco is real fruity and the Fiano is kind of like a Pinot Grigio, so we liked those flavors.  The Cortese is really similar to a Chardonnay.  I think if people like a non-oaked, non-buttery Chardonnay, a stainless-steel fermented Chardonnay, then they'll probably like the Cortese."
Though the Buffingtons are fairly new to the Temecula winery scene, they've been making their own wine for more than a decade.  Wine started out as a hobby, with their first winemaking venture a Pinot Noir created from a 5-gallon kit.  A move to Seattle, living on Cougar Mountain (hence the winery's name), allowed them to expand their home winemaking by purchasing good quality grapes from Eastern Washington.  They joined the Boeing Beer and Winemaking Club, bought more equipment, and caught the winemaking bug.  After five years in Seattle, they decided to move back to the San Diego area.  "We wanted to find a place with a little bit of acreage where we could plant a vineyard," says Rick.  "We ended up finding a house in Fallbrook on 3 ½ acres, and planted Sangiovese and Montepulciano, Italian varietals."
The Buffingtons became active in the San Diego Amateur Winemaking Society and started to win awards for their wines.  Since they were on agricultural property, they decided to get permits to become a "wholesale only" winery, allowing them to bottle under the Cougar Vineyard & Winery label for commercial sale at grocery stores, restaurants and on the Internet.
Soon, their wines popularity became hard for them to manage in addition to their regular full-time jobs.  "We had to stock the stores ourselves and it was a lot of work," says Rick.  "We kind of figured out that to get serious about this, we really needed to have a tasting room somewhere.  We came up here to Temecula, found this property, and ended up buying ten acres.  It keeps getting bigger, and then we grow."
When they first opened commercially in 2004, Cougar produced 82 cases.  Three years later, they are up to 3,000.  "We're thinking we'll top off at 5,000 cases," says Jennifer.  "We want to keep control of the quality."  While Jennifer still has her full-time job and Rick has made Cougar his main job, they handle the winemaking duties together.  Right now, Cougar is offering traditional varietals such as Chardonnay, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon alongside their unusual Italians, but as they expand their planting and production, the Italians will be coming to the forefront.  "We're still playing around with different varietals, figuring out what people like," says Jen.  They're hoping that as the winery continues to grow, they'll both focus solely on Cougar. 
Their next goal is to build a new Italian-themed tasting room that will improve upon their current steel production structure.  "We have plans for a new Tuscan-style building, with a fireplace inside, about 2,500 square feet," says Rick.  "It'll actually cover most of the front of our current building, and we're planning windows so that you can still see the barrels and the production facility," says Jen.  "We're making a winery that we would like to go to, and hopefully that's what other people will like too."
The Italian villa is now waiting for permits, approvals, and construction, and the Buffingtons are hoping to have it completed by October.  In the meantime, as you sip Italian wines with names like Primitivo, Cortese, Sangiovese, Greco di Tufo and Fiano di Avellino, you'll feel like you've already been transported to the hills of Tuscany.  Take a journey to Cougar Vineyard & Winery at 39870 De Portola Road, or contact (951) 491-0825 for more information.
Visiting Our Vineyards is a continuing series featuring the wines and wineries of the Temecula Valley.
When you visit the local wineries, don't forget to mention you read about them in Neighbors!