California Winemakers Woo Costa Rica
It may sound a little crazy for three Lockeford, California, boutique wineries to go on a wine-tasting and educational-seminar tour in  Costa Rica in order to sell their higher-end wares to German and French tourists.

"To be in the boutique wine industry, you have to be really crazy anyway," Craig Watts, one of the three winemakers who will make the five-day jaunt in early April told the recordnet.com . "It's a long road to profitville."

The owners/operators of the Watts, Macchia and Pasos wineries hope to get their vintages into higher-end hotels, restaurants, boutique stores and markets. The winemakers will hold tastings as well as seminars on various aspects of their craft.

Antonio Pasos will discuss oak and barrels. Watts will talk about his family's history in farming and grape growing. Tim Holdener of Macchia Winery will talk about different grape regions.

The three wineries, located at Vino Piazza hope to expand their efforts to other Latin American nations.

"There is a pretty affluent culture there," Watts said. "Not everyone in the country is going to drink our wine. But there's a lot of tourism from France and Germany, so we want to tap into basically the tourist crowd. Given the competitive nature of all the small wineries our size, it's in our interest to look outside the United States."

Watts' wines sell in the $10-to-$40-per-bottle range, most running between $14 and $20. Watts said even the low end is likely unaffordable to most Costa Ricans.

Costa Rica is a small market, but it is growing. More than 20,000 cases of U.S. wines, mostly from California, were sold in Costa Rica last year, a 37 percent from the previous year.