L.A.’s Oldest Wine is back: A 250-Year-Old Vine Revives a Forgotten History
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A remarkable story of revival is unfolding in southern California, where a 250-year-old grapevine at Mission San Gabriel is yielding a limited-edition wine, Angelica, reconnecting Los Angeles too its rich winemaking past. Launched on November 28 by Angeleno Wine Company, the wine-priced at $75 a bottle-represents more than just a taste of history; it’s a testament to perseverance and a rediscovery of a legacy largely lost to time.
From Neglect to Revival: The Mother Vine’s Second Life
The story began when Terri Huerta, director of mission advancement at Mission San Gabriel, sought assistance with a sprawling vine that had become a landscaping challenge. What she didn’t anticipate was sparking a movement to resurrect L.A.’s oldest wine. The vine, affectionately known as the “Mother Vine” due to its role as the source for cuttings that populated California’s early vineyards, boasts a trunk so massive it takes two people to encircle it. For centuries, it flourished unnoticed, its bounty of grapes largely ignored.
“The vine was full of fruit, and I told them it was just a nuisance every year,” huerta recalls.But a chance encounter with winemakers Jasper Dickson and Amy Luftig of Angeleno Wine Company changed everything. They recognized the vine’s historical significance and the potential to recreate Angelica, a sweet wine once favored by California’s Spanish elite and even mentioned in the diaries of early governors, effectively becoming the state’s first commercially produced wine. The project received the blessing of the mission’s pastor and the archdiocese, even incorporating the mission’s official seal.
The team unearthed historical records detailing a recipe for Angelica, a sweet wine fortified with brandy popular in the 1700s. According to a document from the 1800s, Angelica was created by “mixing one gallon of grape brandy with three of grape juice, fresh from the press,” resulting in “a thick, sweet and strong drink, yet of very delicate flavor.” The brandy fortification was crucial for preservation in an era lacking refrigeration.
Following this historical blueprint,Angeleno Wine Company,led by winemakers Jasper Dickson and Amy Luftig,began experimenting. They pressed the Mission grapes, fortified the juice with brandy, and employed the solera system-a traditional Spanish method of blending wines across multiple vintages-aging the wine in oak barrels. Initial batches were reserved for wine club members,quickly selling out,paving the way for a public release this year. The current Angelica release incorporates grapes harvested from 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024.
A labor of Love and Historical reflection
Harvesting the grapes is far from the idyllic vineyard scenes frequently enough depicted. “Everyone has to bring ladders becuase we’re picking like this,” Dickson explains, describing the process of reaching fruit growing high above the mission courtyard, “We’re literally placing ladders on ancient monks’ tombstones to reach the fruit above the graves.”
Volunteers,like John Pryor and his daughter Meg,contribute to the annual harvest,gaining a tangible connection to the past. “You’re not in a vineyard. You’re in a garden at a Catholic church. The vines are trellised 12 feet high and go on for a hundred yards,” Pryor described. for Meg, the sheer age of the vine was notably impactful. “whenever we’re there, I’m thinking, ‘People were doing this a century ago, two centuries ago,'” she said.
However, the revival also prompts a necessary reckoning with the past. Huerta acknowledges the mission system’s reliance on Indigenous labor and the potential contribution of native plant knowledge to the vine’s development.”You can’t tell Mission history without including all the parts,” she emphasizes. “You can’t tell one story without telling another story. Winemaking has always been a part of L.A. history. The grapes were brought by the Franciscans. They didn’t just start here in California. They started in Mexico, so its complexity makes it interesting, but it also makes it controversial.”
Angeleno Wine Company plans to continue releasing limited batches of Angelica annually, as long as the Mother Vine continues to thrive. This remarkable project serves as a potent reminder that even in the heart of a modern metropolis, the roots of history can blossom anew, offering a taste of the past and a glimpse into a forgotten future.
