La Finquita Winery & Vineyard

Which came first, the wine or the label?

That’s the question that first came to mind when I learned about . That’s because winery owner Mario Bergeron also has a parallel business called Global Appellations, Inc.,which preceded his winemaking venture and which remains a fulltime “day job.”

“We make custom labels for individuals, for various occasions, home winemakers, and corporate, including small wineries,” said Bergeron. “We also sand-carve artwork on wine bottles.”

The company offers a variety of designs which clients can customize with their names or any other information. A beautifully etched snowflake was among the Christmas-themed designs offered. For baby showers you can get a wine label depicting a sign for a “Baby Delivery Service” with a stork at the top and the name of the shower-givers displayed on the sign. Then there are wedding cakes and bride-and-groom figures for, well, you get the idea.

It’s a business that has earned Bergeron a national clientele and media attention. Global Appellations has received coverage in The Wall Street Journal, The Boston Globe and The Dallas Morning News, among other publications.

Bergeron is of French Canadian ancestry and grew up in Quebec, no stranger to an appreciation of wine. He was working as a wine broker when he and his San Diego-born wife, Diana, saw some etched wine bottles on a visit to Napa in 1994. He liked the design but saw “they were all generic.. I started thinking about personalizing.”

He started Global Appellations in 1995, and operated it in Napa for the first few years. He offered just labels or if clients wished, the wine to go with them, using his contacts in the industry.

Bergeron had always wanted to have a winery of his own. He checked out potential sites in Oregon and Napa before finally coming to San Diego “for the climate and the opportunity.”

The Bergerons moved to Ramona in 2005.  Their house, built in 1988, was named “La Finquita” by its original owner. “That means little farm or plantation,” Bergeron said.

The house sits on eight acres, with two acres in vineyards. When the Bergerons moved in, the land was mostly in kumquats and oranges. They established La Finquita Winery & Vineyard in 2007. That same year they bottled their first wine, a cabernet sauvignon made with grapes from Valley Center, Bergeron said. The winery is working on bottling an estate cab and syrah this year.

They are also working on updating the winery’s website. Global Appellations keeps them pretty busy, which is why their tasting room is still open by appointment only. He added that since they work out of their home they are always available to people on their email list or by word-of-mouth to open up the room for events. They had a Father’s Day celebration which Bergeron said was “awesome.” Visitors included a horseman who rode over from the International Equestrian Center.

“It took only 30 minutes travel time,” Bergeron said. “We have equestrian facilities.”

Bergeron is planning more public events. Follow them on Facebook to hear about them.