"There have been a lot of hurdles, but it's been great," Jennifer Jenkin said of her experience as owner of Pamo Valley Winery. "This is my passion, my hobby, it's everything to me."

Pamo Valley was founded as a private vineyard in 2000 by Bill Jenkin, Jennifer's former husband. They began selling grapes to local wineries in 2003, and moved to bottling and selling wine under their own label in 2004. In 2007 Jennifer Jenkin assumed sole ownership of the Ramona vineyard. To this day, Pamo Valley is the only woman-owned winery in San Diego County.

"It's great to see your product come out of the ground, to see it evolve," said Jenkin.

She has planted varietals including Orange Muscat, Viognier, Primitivo, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Sangiovese.

Jenkin also uses grapes from other Ramona Valley growers to extend and supplement her inventory.

"We keep close track of them," Jenkin said. "We actually imprint on the bottle's label from which vineyard the grapes came."

Her winery's story reflects what I've been discovering about the solidarity of the winegrowing community in this valley: growers share their grapes and their knowledge to produce the best product they can.

For two years under Jenkin's ownership, the winemaker was John York. York is a fellow winery owner, having established his Hellenback Ranch Vineyard in 2006. He turned the winemaking reins over to Jenkin in 2009, but he remains a consultant and educator for Jenkin and other valley growers. York is a former president of the Ramona Valley Vineyard Association (RVVA) and currently serves as the association's program coordinator.

Jenkin likewise pitches in to help her fellow grape growers. Among other tasks, she  serves as the RVVA's webmaster.

When family and friends come over for informal tastings and express their satisfaction, "It brings a smile to your face," Jenkin said. "You think of all the work that went into it."

More and more people are appreciating that work. Pamo Valley won gold medals at the 2009 Ramona Valley Competition for its 2006 Estate Syrah and a 2007 red blend called Seduction. Jenkin also garnered a silver and three bronzes at the same competition.

The winery also earned bronze and silver medals at the 2009 National Women's Wine Competition (NWWC). Held annually in Santa Rosa, the NWWC attracts competitors from wine regions in the United States and around the world. Jenkin was especially proud of her winery's achievement against competition from 2,000 wines submitted by over 500 winemakers.

At this time, Pamo Valley is a wholesale operation, selling wine to restaurants, stores, at special events and through its own wine club. Jenkin has her sights set on opening a tasting room in June 2011.

San Diego County restaurants serving Pamo Valley wines include D'Carlo's in Ramona, Barona Oaks Steakhouse in the Barona Casino, and Yanni's Bistro and Cellar in Poway.

Yanni's Bistro co-owner Yanni Pihas told me he has been serving Pamo Valley's Sangiovese at his restaurant and wine bar for more than two years.

"We try to support local producers," said Pihas, who said he serves a number of wines from Ramona Valley as well as other San Diego County wineries. "I wouldn't carry them if I didn't consider them worthy of being served."

When I asked him about the quality of the wine from Ramona Valley, Pihas replied,  "It's not yet at the level of Napa or Sonoma but they're moving in the right direction."