Harvest is here!

Harvest has already started here in LA, and some of our members have gotten grapes out of the vineyards and into their wineries already.

For many people, the archetypical picture of a winery in their heads is from Europe, with an estate and winery buildings surrounded by row upon row of grapes in a beautifully tended vineyard.

This is not the case with many wineries in California, especially small production wineries. For many of those, the vineyard and winery are separate not only in location but in ownership, with winemakers purchasing grapes from independent vineyard managers. Over time, some winemakers and particular vineyard owners develop relationships and come back year to year, even perhaps being consulted on vineyard practices. That is the case with the Alonso Family Vineyard, in Agua Dulce, about an hour north of the city of Los Angeles. Each of the founding members of LA Vintners, Angeleno Wine Company, Byron Blatty Wines, and Cavaletti Vineyards have been using grapes from Juan Alonso for years.

New on the vineyard scene for LA Vintners member wineries is Rock Farm Vineyard, up in the Antelope Valley. Angeleno harvested a ton of Grenache from Rock Farm last year and used it to make a lovely rose. According to Amy Luftig of Angeleno, that rose “blew our mind.” This year they went back for that Grenache but added Primitivo and Viognier. Patrick Kelley, of Cavaletti Vineyards, got Grenache and Viognier, but added Grenache Blanc and Picpoul to his tally. He says might also get some more red grapes later in the season.

It gets hot up there in the Antelope Valley. Kelley says it was over 100 degrees many days this summer. So the harvesting is done at night, before it gets too hot, and the grapes delivered to the wineries in the light of day.

Rock Farm is new to LA but is managed by one of the top vineyard managers in California with a long history of quality operations: Jeff Newton. It’s great to have this quality fruit available to Los Angeles Vintners! Look for these wines in the future from our member wineries.