Mariposa Wine company officially opens tasting room
Saturday, July 29, 2006
By Annette Nordine
The Mariposa Wine Company Tasting Room is officially open, said Michael Leven, winemaker for the company operating just north of Madera in a former pistachio processing plant.
While scrambling to be available for Madera Wine Trail patrons in June, Leven said, the hundreds of details involved have finally come together, qualifying the winery for its "official soft opening to see how everything shakes out."
"Our official grand opening will be in September, however," he said. "Gov. Schwarznegger has officially declared September as California Wine Month, and we plan to use this as the focal point for numerous special events at our winery. Members of the Madera Vintners Association are working together to offer various opportunities to further expose the public to our quality Madera wines at our eight local wineries."
Leven said the local association will also use the month to bring greater awareness of Madera wines to the Bay Area through KGO radio personality Gene Burns, who hosts a three-hour wine and food trail show. Additionally, Leven said, the Madera vintners will be working on a tie-in with the Golden Gate Yacht Club, the America's Cup, radio and retail and restaurants to promote the local wines.
"Every weekend we'll have a great activity planned," he said. "We want to encourage the local people and their out-of-town guests to come to the wineries and taste our wines."
Today, visitors to Mariposa Wine Company will find a landscaped facility complete with a large trellis-covered wooden deck and fountain. Large French doors lead to the rectangular-shaped 1,200-square-foot tasting room accented by a locally made solid wood bar complete with brass foot rail. Large windows offer an inside view of the barrel room.
"We're promoting an up-scale image," said Leven. "Mr. Spencer, our winery partner, has spent a lot of time and effort to make it as beautiful as possible. He had solid hickory plank flooring installed in the tasting room rather than polished concrete. The colors are warm and inviting.
"Deanna Bailey, our retail and hospitality manager, is extremely knowledgeable about wines, and absolutely wonderful in the tasting room," said Leven. "All of our wines are available for tasting. Our brands include CrU, Carmichael Vintners and Yosemite View."
The tasting room is open daily from 11 a.m.- 4 p.m. daily, or call 673-6372 for an appointment. The winery is located north of Madera at 20146 Road 21, west of state Route 99.
