VASCM: [santacruzmountains] SCM/CC appellations [1 Attachment]

[Mica Raas]

Hello All:

My name is Mica Raas. I own the Winemakers Studio in Watsonville. I have
worked both inside this AVA and outside of it. I have worked in both
production and distribution. For the most part I try to stay out of the
fray but I think that there are a lot of issues here that are going unsaid
and against my better judgement I am going to say them.

1.) Most of the wineries and growers in the AVA are tiny. Being able to
capitalize on the advertising from a large organization would be extremely
helpful to all of us.
2.) The current production of the major wineries in this area
is predominately of grapes grown outside the AVA. This had made for
little recognition of what should be and is grown here or the AVA
in general.
3.) Although most of us believe Pinot Noir is the grape of choice for this
region, we are not known for it. The only major wineries from this area
known outside the bay area are known for Bordeaux.
4.) Some of the vineyards that are currently considered Santa Cruz
Mountains AVA are below the 400' threshold. This has been overlooked
recently and these are some of the better vineyards.
5.) The current boundaries of the AVA were setup poorly and do little to
increase quality or specialization. For Example: Bonny Doon has little to
do with Coralitos and neither has anything to do with Los Gatos, or
Saratoga.
6.) Although wineries and grape growers of this region have worked hard to
get there name out there, we have for the most part been over advertised
and outspent be the larger AVAs. The 78 or so wineries cannot and should
not try to compete with Napa and their $100,000,000 spent advertising in
the last three years.
7.) We, for the most part, are considered Central Coast AVA anyways.

I think that being part of the Central Coast AVA is something that needs to
be investigated further. It would make it easier to sell fruit from this
region and could drive fruit prices up if marketed correctly. We are all
very small fish in a very small pond and although this may
seem advantageous to us to stay small that leaves us forgotten on the
larger stage and easily maligned.

During the last economic up swing the Santa Lucia Highlands went from
nothing to one of the dominate players in Pinot Noir. For most of the
wineries here it is imperative that this area becomes known during the next
economic up swing. If you do not believe that this may be helpful to us
than I am all ears for a better idea; however, if nothing changes we will
all suffer in obscurity. My belief is that it is easier to grow large in a
lake than in a puddle.

Mica Raas
owner/winemaker
Mica Cellars
831 227 4916


On Thu, Dec 15, 2011 at 8:35 AM, Ed Muns <ed at munsvineyard.com> wrote:

> Tom Legan wrote:
> > To John,  Why?  What rationale do you use to make your
> > proposal?  I strongly disagree.
> >
> > Tom Legan
> > Legan Family Vineyards
> > Grower for Skove
>
>
> There are arguments on both sides of this proposal.  Here is the text
> (below) of John's proposal, giving his rationale.  Mary Lindsay posted this
> here yesterday.
>
> Regards,
> Ed
> ------------------------------------------------------------------
> Ed Muns
> Muns Vineyard - www.munsvineyard.com
> Facebook - www.facebook.com/munsvineyard
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> -----------------
>
> SCM Appellation1982-2012
> /Thirty Years later...time for a tweak to Central Coast boundary/
>
> Proposal:Re-draw Central Coast boundary to include SCM
>
> Note how Northcoast includes Napa and Sonoma without issue (Did Robert
> Mondavi ever wake up and complain that he was part of
> Northcoast?)
>
> *Advantages of having SCM inside Central Coast*
>
> 1.Quality Protection
> With proposed new Central Coast line, wineries would have ability in
> challenging vintages to downgrade SCM wines to Central Coast, thereby
> maintaining quality integrity of SCM wines.
>
> Central Coast Appellation has developed significantly in reputation since
> 1982, and would provide wineries better option to sell wine, instead of
> having to use generic California Appellation.
>
>
> 2.Blending Option
> With SCM as part of Central Coast, winemakers would have more flexibility
> to
> blend in SCM wine into CC blends.Presently only 15% SCM wine can go into
> Central Coast blends.With new boundary wine could be up to 100% SCM.
>
> *3.**See Map*
> If you look at map, is there any more "Central" or "Coast" area in
> California. SCM iscertainly more CC than Livermore.Also, some existing
> low-elevation vineyards would get upgraded to Central Coast.   Central
> Coast boundary could simply continue up coast line, at Hwy 92 follow east
> along Hwy 92, follow SCM line south and intersect with present Central
> Coast
> line.
>
> Would require building support in SCM and completing application to TTB.
>
> Looking for 3-4 person committee
>
> I would appreciate your feedback Please contact me at:
>
> John Bargetto
> jbargetto at bargetto.com <mailto:jbargetto at bargetto.com>
> 831.475.2258 x17
>
>
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