Thanks for the note, Rich!!
When I discovered that I could not qualify for the discount price for the Cameron Hughes “Lot 522” Contra Costa Red Blend, I decided to pass on buying any.
Perhaps I was a fool…
Drew, not sure these articles have come up here before, on vineyards in the “Lamorinda” region of Contra Costa County. Lamorinda is a portmanteau of the three largest communities in the area, Lafayette, Moraga, and Orinda.
From the Edible East Bay publication in 2008:
The Hidden Vineyards of Lamorinda
From the East Bay Times in 2015:
Grape growers, winemakers thrive in Lamorinda
As you know, this region was approved for an AVA about a year ago. As that 1903 map of Contra Costa County (posted earlier) shows, there were vineyards and wineries in the area at that time. I don’t know whether any old vines still remain though.
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Those are good articles, thanks Ken. The Captain vineyard has such an amazing view. I love those steep hillsides from the Caldecott tunnel to Mt Diablo. I’ve been to Captain and had the wines from Bill English and Bullfrog but would like to explore the area more. They are so close by but I rarely think of visiting the wineries when I want to go tasting. I’ll have to change that.
So much good wine out there may man - I probably would not have taken the extra step to order the wine either…but when it’s staring at me with that ridiculous $8.99 price tag every single time I walk through the wine section in Costco…it’s hard to say no to 
These two photos are from MTP at Bedrock, taken at the sandy soils of Contra Costa. 
Compare the evolution of the earlier vineyard shots (just Delhi Sand and vines) to the following stages of cover crop soil rejuvenation:
From an email sent by
"The Neyers 2015 Carignan ‘Evangelho’, and Some Thoughts on Maxime Magnon
"My life with Kermit Lynch has been intertwined with scores of talented winemakers from France and Italy. At a tasting recently, I was asked to name one producer that in my mind stood out from the rest. It’s an impossible task – like naming a favorite wine, perhaps, or selecting a favorite child – but I confess to hesitating briefly when I thought of Maxime Magnon. Maxime lives, grows grapes and makes wine in Corbières – Villeneuve les Corbières to be exact – and he farms nine parcels of very old Carignan vines in these rugged hills overlooking Perpignan, 15-20 km inland from the Mediterranean. He farms organically, without a tractor, using instead the farm animals he raises on the property. His vines range in age from 60 years to well over 100 years, and the three separate bottlings he produces are simply ethereal, wines of great complexity and finesse, loaded with flavor. They go down so easily you can think only of silk.
"Tadeo, Barbara and I spent a lovely spring day with Maxime a few years ago, exploring his vineyards, tasting his wines, and finishing up with an al fresco lunch that he cooked in the vineyards over vine trunks that had been pulled out the preceding winter. On the way up to the top of the hill in his mud-spattered old Range Rover, we stopped at his local bakery to pick up a few baguettes, then he ran into the cellar to draw off a couple of bottles of his homemade olive oil and grab a few bottles of wine. By the time we arrived at his lunch site, the fire had been burning for a half-hour or so and was ready for the first course, grilled Calamari that had been marinating in olive oil, garlic and his personal wine vinegar. The next course was grilled brisket of veal from one of Maxime’s fall calves. ‘This one did not mind,’ Maxime told us, turning the strips of veal over the red-hot coals. ‘He ran away, so now we eat him.’ He was delicious too, especially accompanied by a slice of grilled baguette dipped in olive oil. To this day, I look at this meal as one of the best I’ve ever been served in France.
"Carignan is the second* most-widely planted red grape in California, and a few weeks after our return, Tadeo called me to say that he had found a Carignan vineyard in Oakley, in the northeast corner of Contra Costa County. The vines were own-rooted (not grafted on to Phylloxera-resistant rootstock) and thought to be more than 130 years old. The grower, Tadeo told me, would love to sell them to us.
"Tadeo makes this wine traditionally, crushing the grapes by foot over a period of a month or so while they ferment using the native yeast collected on their skins during the ripening.
"The finished wine is soft, aromatic, complex and silky, and I don’t mind saying that the 2015 Carignan from the Evangelho vineyard is one of the most important successes ever at Neyers Vineyards. We still have some available for purchase. Now if we can just find a disobedient calf.
- Bruce Neyers"
- I don’t believe that this is true, but I leave that for more knowledgeable folks.
Thanks for the post Drew. As per your note-yeah not true. A useful link https://www.nass.usda.gov/Statistics_by_State/California/Publications/Grape_Acreage/
Two photos of Contra Costa vineyard, from the Facebook page of Mr Cody @ Bedrock…
I stumbled upon this place not to long ago…
Old School Family winery
Sean
Thanks Sean!!
I have contacted the winery in the past, but they don’t ship to my alligator-filled cabin on the Muscadine-covered levees of Louisiana.
The prices of the wines are insanely affordable, so I was incredibly tempted to try them out.
Morgan Twain-Peterson Instagram post:
https://www.picuki.com/media/3100640333604463601
“Had a wonderful visit to the old-school and lovely Viano Vineyards in Martinez today. With dry-farmed vines going back to the 1880s on what was once known as Vine Hill, Viano is the last survivor of what was once a great winegrowing tradition in this part of Contra Costa County. The wines are a bit rustic but offer a glimpse into what redwood aged reds of yesteryear tasted like, and the core of fruit and natural freshness infused by the nearby bay is clear to see…”.
Image: “Viano Vineyards, Martinez, CA”
Dirty & Rowdy posted this video* of the Evangelho Vineyard, the “CoCo Grand Cru”.
- I have no idea how to embed a vid-yo.
The following photos were taken from a post on Mr Morgan Twain-Peterson’s Facebook page. He stated that the dominant grapes in the Bedrock “Pato Vineyard” blend are Petite Sirah, Mataro, and Zinfandel.
An East Bay Times article details plans by the City of Oakley to dedicate two separate plots of public land to the cultivation of wine grapes.
Since the 1980s, many ancient vineyards in eastern Contra Costa been ripped out to accommodate the growing population of Bay Area commuters.
Oakley’s leaders decided that bestowing newly-paved roads with wine-themed names does not sufficiently honor the area’s viticultural legacy. Mr Alan Lucchesi, who manages many local vineyards, has been approved to carry out the ambitious new plantings…but for only a few years.
East Bay Times
“Vineyards to Pop Up in Vacant City Lots”
by Aaron Davis
March 1, 2017
“…The first, one-acre lot is located northwest of the intersection of Neroly Road and Live Oak Avenue and sits adjacent to recently owned parcel purchased by Lucchesi. The lot was set aside by the county as a possible future site for a fire station, but the city said that the station would not be financially feasible within the next five years. Until then, the city felt that leasing the property to Lucchesi would save on maintenance costs as well as bring in a little revenue from the license fee.”
Before you get your hopes up, Mr Lucchesi has not been hired to establish permanent vineyards. In fact, he will be paying for the privilege to cultivate grapes from the first site for +/- 5 years.
The project’s long-term goal is for the City to collect extra revenue. The venture might sufficiently fund the fire station’s construction, in which case the grapevines will be uprooted.
"…Another lot that the city leased to Lucchesi was a 17-acre triangle lot, dubbed the ‘Cunha Donation Parcels’, that sits just west of the Ironhouse Sanitary District building on Main Street.
"According to the staff report, only three acres of the lot along the border with the sanitary district building are able to be planted…".
“Lucchesi has been tending vineyards in Oakley for over two decades as part of the Lucchesi Family Farms [now Brownstone Growers, LLC], which was passed down from his grandfather Dionisio Lucchesi. Lucchesi looks after over 400 acres of private and publicly owned vineyards, ultimately sending some off to his brother Mark, who crafts wines at the Lucca Winery in Ripon.”
I found my heart swell with pride upon initially reading this article’s title. However, my hopes were shattered almost immediately. I will have to be content with the limited span of this endeavor.
City of Oakley
“5.2 Consideration of License Agreements with Alan Lucchesi to Plant Grape Vines on certain City-owned Properties, specifically on a 1-acre Parcel located on Live Oak Avenue (APN 041-021-014) and within a portion of a 17-acre parcel north of the BNSF Railroad at about 7th Street (APN 037-191-025) (Bryan Montgomery, City Manager)”
February 28, 2017
EDIT: Added article details & map images of the leased plots.
I was able to snag a 2013 Bedrock Evangelho Vineyard (Heritage) while I was in another state…has anyone had this wine? What time (if any) does it need/deserve in the cellar?
I think most of the 2013’s need a bit more time. I will defer to the more experienced tasters.
Photo of some Evangelho Vineyard Zinfandel grapes from the Facebook page of Mr Twain-Peterson (Bedrock):
Stolen from another post/thread…
SF Chronicle
“Bedrock Wine Co. Takes Over Contra Costa’s Old-Vine ‘Evangelho Vineyard’”
by Esther Mobley
August 2, 2017
“Morgan Twain-Peterson in his vineyard on August 17, 2011.”
photo by Audrey Whitmeyer-Weathers, The Chronicle
"In a deal that marries already intertwined Bay Area wines and vines, Bedrock Wine Co. has taken over the ‘Evangelho Vineyard’ in Antioch.
"…‘For Frank, whose father started farming the vineyard in 1938, the idea of being forced to sell to a developer was repugnant,’ wrote Twain-Peterson.
“In the deal announced Tuesday, Bedrock purchased 10 acres of the vineyard from Evangelho. The remaining 26 acres are owned by PG&E and leased to Evangelho; Bedrock has taken over that lease. Manuel Carranza, the vineyard’s longtime foreman, will stay on. ‘He’s the tie that binds out there,’ said Twain-Peterson…”.
Mr Jake Neustadt of Bedrock Wine Company gives a run-down on the varieties found in the Evangelho Vineyard of Antioch, California.
In the “Evangelho Vineyard” video hosted by Jake, he states that the vineyard is interplanted to Zinfandel, Mourvedre/Mataro, and Carignan. He then explains that there are blocks which are regarded loosely as the “Zin block” or the “Mataro block”, based on the dominant variety in the given section of the vineyard. Each year, the makeup of the Bedrock “Evangelho Vineyard” wine will contain more or less of certain blocks in pursuit of the best end product.
Some pics of Old Vine Oakley Petite Sirah I picked earlier today. I thought you might appreciate these Drew.
Awesome pics, Matt! Are you a “Wineo”, or do I need to sign up for another winery waiting list? 
From MTP’s Facebook page…
