Angeleno Wine Company – Realizing a Dream

Amy Luftig Viste and Jasper Dickson were good friends who shared a passion for wine.  Jasper worked for the highly regarded retailer, Silver Lake Wines, and Amy was avidly pursuing knowledge through classes about wine.  Amy realized she was more interested in the production end of wine rather than service, such as becoming a sommelier.  Jasper moved closer to his dream by making wine for DeRose Wines in Hollister, CA.  Every time the friends got together, they talked about the wine industry.  Eventually, they started to discuss opening a business.  Was it possible?

Where there’s a will, there’s a way!  They decided one Sunday in October of 2015, over bottomless mimosas, to stop talking about starting a business and take action.  They developed a business plan and in the spring of 2017, began the process of raising funds. Los Angeles County provided some seed money and crowd funding raised additional money.

Amy and Jasper wanted to establish their wine making business in the heart of what used to be Los Angeles’ wine district.  Few people are probably aware that grapes were being grown and wine was being made in Los Angeles years before the industry became established further north. The business partners eventually located a perfect spot and opened Angeleno Wine Company in June 2019.

Where are they purchasing their fruit?  Most of it is coming from Alonso Family Vineyard located east of Santa Clarita.  In 1995, Juan Alonso planted 50 grapevines, against the advice of others who discouraged him from doing so. Every year thereafter, he continued to plant and now grows Grenache, Syrah, Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Albariño and many other varietals.  Jasper and Amy also purchase some fruit from Marcus Bokisch in Lodi, one of the growers who inspired Jasper to work with the Spanish varietals he loves.

Angeleno Wine Company is producing an impressive number of wines, some from obscure grape varietals.  Jasper loves being able to exercise his creativity, trying blends and techniques that he thinks are interesting.  They are working on twelve different wines currently, five single varietals and seven blends. Amy and Jasper’s bottles and label styles are unique – all of their bottle labels are screen printed rather than paper and some of the bottles are inspired by the shape of those used for wine in the 1800’s.  One of the label designs, Amy explains, is their homage to Jean Louis Vignes, who arrived in Los Angeles in 1931, bringing grapevines from his native Bordeaux. His first winery was built under an enormous sycamore tree that provided shade and an image of that tree graces the Angeleno label design.

Now to some of the wines!  I tasted the five currently available that include SuperBloom White, 100% Verdejo; The Meadow, a lovely rosé made from 100% Graciano; Albariño made from a unique Spanish clone; Grenache; and Zanja Madre, a Tempranillo and Grenache blend.  I’ve never encountered a Graciano rosé – it is very crisp, bone dry, and perfect for warm weather sipping.  Their Albariño was different from the Spanish varieties we typically encounter.  Made from a clone that Alonso brought from Galicia, Spain, it is more layered and complex and an excellent food wine.  Think paella!  I loved both of their reds, particularly the Zanja Madre.  This is another example of the creative blending going on at Angeleno Wine Company.  The wine features the lovely fruit of the Grenache grape, complemented by the earthiness of the Tempranillo.  I hosted a party over Labor Day weekend and had guests taste four of the wines (I selfishly kept the Albariño for myself!) and the rosé and both reds were very well received.  Preferences seemed to be evenly split between the single vineyard Grenache and the Grenache Tempranillo blend.

As a former entrepreneur, I am so excited for Amy and Jasper.  They are producing excellent and unique wines in an historic area of Los Angeles.  The city and local business owners hope that the area will attract more wine makers and complementary businesses in the coming years.

If you’re a local – or are visiting Los Angeles – stop by Angeleno Wine Company.  You will not be disappointed.

Cheers!