01 Sep Business Spotlight – Mountain Sangria
Business Spotlight: Mountain Sangria
Mario & Tracy Vargas started Mountain Sangria after fifteen years of being told “you need to sell this”. Mario originally had a passion of becoming a chef when he had stumbled upon sangria in Washington state with his wife Tracy when they had lived there in 2010. He then used his cooking passions to create his own sangria which today has grown into seven different varieties, two of which are mulled wines only available in the winter time. The mulled wines, Glühwein, were a creation when they had lived in Germany while Tracy finished her last four of twelve years in the US Army. Mario is originally from El Salvador and the couple had met while Tracy was serving in the Peace Corps from 2003 to 2006. The Vargas’ moved to the Yampa Valley in 2016 and Tracy is now the Neurologist at UC Health.
Mountain Sangria was formalized in 2021 and had continued making the Sangria for friends and family while they found a place to produce the product. In 2024, Mario had met some local business owners in Hayden and was encouraged to enter the Hayden Business Pitch competition. Mario and the whole family participated in the 2024 pitch and won 2nd place! The awarded prize money was very beneficial to the business and helped set them up for a successful 2025.
The Hayden Business Pitch Competition is a pitch-based competition aimed to empower local entrepreneurs to start or expand their business. The intent is to support businesses that may provide significant economic and community impact as well as businesses that may have less access to traditional sources of capital. The Hayden Business Pitch Competition for 2025 is November 15 at the Hayden Center Auditorium. Applications open September 1st.
In early 2024, Mountain Sangria partnered with Alpenglow Beverage to produce their products right here in Hayden and their products can now be found at Hayden Taphouse, as well as many other stores throughout the valley. After a successful launch, Mountain Sangria decided to attend multiple events throughout the valley. Attending the Steamboat Farmers Market they have sold out multiple times and have already started to increase their production volume to suit demand. Today, Mountain Sangria has seven varieties including Peach, Spicy Peach, Mixed Berry, Passionfruit & Dragon fruit, Pineapple, Red Gluhwein, and White Gluhwein. Mario takes pride in using fresh local ingredients as much as possible such as peaches from Palisade, CO and wine from Alpenglow Beverage and Palisade.
Cheers to another success story of Hayden Businesses and a nod to the growing food and beverage scene within the Yampa Valley. If you haven’t tried Mountain Sangria yet, be sure to stop by Hayden Taphouse or Steamboat Farmers Market. Be sure to follow Mountain Sangria to stay up to date!
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Do you have a business recommendation for the Hayden Economic Development Commission Business Spotlight? If so, please reach out the Tegan Ebbert at: Tegan.ebbert@haydencolorado.
