Interesting developments for Abe’s winery. Not sure I’ve ever heard of a winery completely moving hundreds of miles from its original site…
I signed a lease this morning.
There is so much to tell you, but I am going to be brief now in my breathless excitement. Just get you the facts. A more thorough narrative later.
I have been working on this specific building for more than a year. It is absolutely without compare. It was built in 1912 on a lot that had been a vineyard until about 1900, planted and owned by the pioneering Los Angeles grape-grower and winemaker Luis Wilhardt. It was renovated as a gallery/exhibition space a few years ago; I first set foot inside when I was looking at a building nearby (some of you visited it with me) and was drawn by a crowd waiting to get into a Shepard Fairey show. The space is breathtaking. It will take some work to make it into a winery-- but not that much. We are ready to move in and start making wine in our usual simple and fairly medieval way. Immediately. Harvest 2019 in Los Angeles is on.
Now I want to tell you a little bit more about how we are going to run things in this new space. But make sure that you read to the bottom: there are a couple of events that I want you to know about that are going to take place immediately.
I have already told you that I have brought in my friend Raj Parr to be a colleague in this adventure. We are each going to continue to make our own wines in collegial autonomy, but we are also going to collaborate on an utterly new and joint project: The Los Angeles River Company. We will make wines for this joint project together from exclusively Southern Califorina fruit at the new winery, and will make a couple of small batches for Raj, for his Raj Parr Wine Club. The first harvest of these wines will be this year, and the first release next Spring.
We are also going to take full advantage of this magnificent space to offer you not just a tasting room, but a bustling city of daily activity: lectures, seminars, symposia, openings. And a kitchen: guest chefs, special dinners, parties. We have a plan for how we are going to care for and cultivate the life of this city: we are going to base it on a society, a kind of alliance defined not just by showing up but by becoming a member of the society. We will limit membership to 1000 members for the first year or two, as we learn what we are doing and gradually make more wine. If you are one of the Founders, you are already a member, in perpetutity. If you are an Obligant, you too are already a member. I will explain separately how the transition to the new society will work for you.
Congrats to Abe and Raj! Abe has been mulling a potential move to LA since at least 2005 and in earnest the past five years, looking at a number of properties. The location selected was originally a vineyard and just a block from Majordomo. Looking forward to visiting as well as the future SoCal collaboration efforts with Raj.
Red Car and Drew both moved from Santa Barbara County to the North Coast about 12-15 years ago - Red Car to Sonoma and Drew to Mendocino.
Perhaps San Diego County? Some interesting things happening there these days in terms of both vineyard sites and grape varieties, and some very good quality fruit from what I’ve tasted from several producers there.
A few years back, Abe indicated he would continue to produce wines in LA from his current sources (Sonoma, Napa, Contra Costa, Lodi, etc), but would be exploring new potential sources from Ojai to San Diego County, possibly even Baja. That said, since announcing the collaboration with Raj, their IG story feeds have shown them walking vineyards in (IIRC) Ontario and Cucamonga. My guess would be that any first effort would most likely come from one or both of those areas.
That would be an interesting choice. It’s a hot area with mainly sandy soil. There’s not much vineyard acreage left there (probably less than 1,000 acres of over 45,000 acres about 80 years ago), and that acreage continues to dwindle. Only three small wineries remain in the area out of about 60 producers in earlier years. Lopez Vineyard, planted 1918, is by far the largest vineyard in the area with over 300 acres squeezed between freeways, office and industrial parks, and shopping centers. Lopez is nearly all Zinfandel, and Grenache and Zin are the most widely-planted varieties in the region, though there is also some Alicante Bouschet, Carignane, Cinsault, Mataro, Mission, Palomino, and Golden Chasselas. Carol Shelton’s “Monga Zin” from Lopez Vineyard may be the best-known wine made from the region’s grapes. It would be cool if Abe and Raj are also able to make interesting wines from that area’s fruit.
Weird. With earthquakes in the news, you think he would want to move east. Since the wines are weird, he could just as easily move to someplace weird like Marfa Texas and nestle in behind the Prada shop.
On another note, does anyone drink the wines anymore? Haven’t seen a recent tasting note…
I see that a new winery is opening up in downtown LA. It’s called Angelano and is located about a mile from the San Antonio winery. Acc to the article, they are sourcing grapes from the vineyard in Agua Dulce, which is somewhere between the San Fernando Valley and the desert. I drove by the vineyard one time after calling on a restaurant called Chene Francais, a huge place that must do all of its business on weekends. This area reminded me of scenes from cowboy movies of my youth. Perhaps that’s where some of these movies were shot.
Angeleno Winery has been around for a few years, but looks like they just got licensed to pour at their facility. CT shows vintages from 2016-2018, along with a few NV. Most wines from Alonso Family Vineyard in Agua Dulce, but CT also lists 2018 Verdejo/Zin bottlings from vineyards noted as Clay Station and Suess.
Angeleno is only a block away from where Abe’s new winery will be.
I presume this is the article that Mel is referencing:
I ll add a post about Agua Dulce that talks about the movies filmed there, inc Blazing Saddles and Duel.
Has anybody actually drunk these wines?? The Agua Dulce Vineyard looked a little thirsty to me…Buying grapes from Lodi is a great idea and I am sure they enjoy the ride over the Grapevine.
There are a few LA based winemakers now and the scene is growing. Angeleno has been mentioned, Byron Blatty and Cavaletti are a couple of the other small ones who take most of their fruit from within LA county. The Blending Lab, Hoi Polloi, Discovino, Pulchella also LA based wineries, but take most of the fruit from Central Coast. Abe will be a big player. My embryonic winery is also LA based, but I take my fruit from all over - Lodi, Santa Barbara, Sonoma, Sierra Foothills etc.
I have heard a few rumors about a North Bend to LA flight (no clue what airport but please let it not be LAX) and if that happens we will visit Abe’s new venture for sure.
