Enjoy an intimate day of wine tasting in this elegant 1930's building specializing in local LA vineyards.
Built in 1917, this winery is the last remaining downtown Los Angeles winery. Established by Italian immigrant Santo Cambianica - an avid Catholic who managed to outwit Prohibition by producing sacramental wine - this establishment remains operational today.
Malibu Wines & Beer Garden
Diverse factors contributed to the decline of wine production in Los Angeles County, such as urbanization and parasitic disease that destroyed many vineyards. But an enthusiastic team of winemakers is making a comeback by crafting high-quality wines from grapes grown locally.
Summer Somewhere's owners create an outstanding rose from grapes from Malibu Wine Hikes' Malibu vineyards and partner with them to offer tours that combine wine tasting with scenic mountain and canyon views from their West Hills estate.
Jasper Dickson became fascinated with winemaking through visiting vineyards with his father, sparking his fascination and leading him down an exciting path of wine production. Now he brings this passion into Strange Family Vineyards; together with his nurse wife they handpick all their grapes by hand before producing world-class sparkling wine, Pinot Noir, and Chardonnay varieties which you can buy at the tasting room housed within an old LA city hall building made entirely out of brick recycled from previous construction work.
Angeleno Wine Co.
Jasper Dickson and Amy Luftig jointly own and operate this winery in Los Angeles County and source grapes from local vineyards for use in producing their wines, such as syrah, zinfandel, grenache and even single varietal albarino wines. All barrels used are stainless steel.
The couple have managed to garner significant local support and interest with their wine club of over 500 members, which supports their mission that California grapes can flourish when grown closer to home. Together with other small, experimental winemakers they promote this idea of localized vineyards producing world-class California wine grapes.
They are also working to restore LA as a winemaking region; as the first new urban winery since Prohibition. A visit to their Chinatown cellar feels like stepping back through time - Dickson is quick to remind any new volunteer that California winemaking began here rather than more renowned places such as Napa Valley or Santa Barbara.
Byron Blatty Wines
Byron Blatty Wines specialize in limited-edition wines of exceptional quality from vineyards located within Los Angeles County. Co-founder Mark Blatty had one key requirement when they first launched their project in 2014: all grapes must have been grown within LA County.
At first this was difficult: established vineyards are rare in Los Angeles County due to being converted to citrus groves, other crops or bulldozed for urban development. So the Blattys began investigating Alternating Proprietorship agreements as well as gathering grapes from smaller sites throughout Los Angeles County.
Their 2018 Byron Blatty Proprietary Red from Lobo Vineyard in Malibu Coast AVA is an impressive display of what's possible when wine from Los Angeles-grown Cabernet Sauvignon meets Napa Cabs; yet stands apart with 93 points from Wine Enthusiast as its own individuality. A true show stopper!
Cavaletti Vineyards
Before Los Angeles became home to millions of residents and freeways, it was one of California's major wine producing regions. Now, producers such as Angeleno Wine Co, Byron Blatty Vineyards, and Cavaletti Vineyards are working toward bringing back wine production in LA.
Patrick Kelley is the founder of Cavaletti Vineyards in Los Angeles and sources his grapes from vineyards within 109 miles of home, specifically Ventura and Santa Barbara counties; additionally he farms Schoolhouse Vineyard in Los Angeles County on top of the San Andreas Fault.
At a time when many sommeliers and restaurant owners are turning toward cooler climate regions for wine sources, it is encouraging that some producers are exploring Los Angeles grapes as potential producers. Our wine of the week comes from Swayze Vineyard in Los Angeles County: their 2019 Alicante Bouschet boasts big flavors while still possessing bright acidity that keeps its flavors on point.
