Woof 'n Rose Winery and Vineyard

If I were giving a medal for the most imaginative name for a Ramona Valley winery, Woof ’n Rose Winery and Vineyard would be a definite candidate. In my limited experience— roughly two-and-a-half months — I can say they rank up there with Cactus Star Vineyard at Scaredy Cat Ranch for giving me a hook on which to hang my curiosity.

The Woof and the Rose reflect the interests of winery co-owners Stephen and Marilyn Kahle¸who, in addition to cultivating grapes and making wine, are longtime dog-owners and rose lovers. Their original “vineyard dog,” a Black Lab and Cocker Spaniel mix named Rebelle, is immortalized on the winery’s logo.  Two sprigs of green, each with a red rose at the end, seem to form a collar below Rebelle’s noble head. Family canine companions and rose bushes have their own pages on the winery’s well-illustrated website. There’s also a section on the extended Kahle family, who help their parents in the small family winery model characteristic of the Ramona Valley wine community.

Residents of Ramona for 25 years, the Kahles planted their first vineyard in 1995 with some Zinfandel and Petit Syrah cuttings from friends in Temecula. They were exclusively growers, supplying grapes to other winemakers until about five years ago when they decided to go into winemaking themselves, according to Marilyn Kahle.

Today three acres of their five-acre property are planted in grapes, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec and Petit Verdot. These are the only five varietals that can be used for their signature Bordeaux style, Kahle explained.

“Each year our blend is a little different,” Kahle said, talking about the complexities of winemaking. For example, she spoke of Merlot grapes planted in their original vineyard, “when we were still learning.” On their website, those grapes are described as “virtually dry farmed,” because that vineyard doesn’t have the automatic watering system that their newer vineyards have. But the quality of the wine produced from these “stressed” vines was such that they chose not to change how they were growing it.

Woof ’n Rose’s 2007 Estate Reserve Merlot, made from those above-mentioned grapes, won a bronze medal at the 2009 Southern California Wine Country Competition in Temecula. Their 2007 Estate Reserve Cabernet Franc won a bronze in Temecula that same year.

Among other honors received by their wines: a bronze at the 2010 Finger Lakes International Wine Competition in upstate New York for the 2007 Cab; a bronze at the 2010 Lum Eisenman Ramona Valley Wine Competition for their 2008 Merlot, and another bronze at Temecula in 2010 for the Merlot.

You can get a complete list of their honors on their website, www.woofnrose.com

I want to mention one more: they also won a bronze at Temecula in 2010 for their 2008 Eglantine Estate. That wine, a blend of Cabernet Franc and Merlot grapes, is named for a European Rose variety known by the Latin name Rosa Caninus, or “Dog Rose.”  This almost makes me want to own a winery for the names I could put on the labels. But no, I’ll leave that to the Kahles.

Woof ’n  Rose Winery, 17073 Garjan Lane, Ramona. 760-788-4818. Tasting room hours by appointment.