Vineyards With A Hollywood Connection For Wine Wednesday
I’m always looking for something new to try, like wines from vineyards with a Hollywood connection for Wine Wednesday. I recently sat in on a virtual tasting with Paul Warson, the new wine maker at Moraga Bell Air Vineyards in California. The vines are not in Napa, not in Sonoma, not in Paso Robles either. They are in Los Angeles’ Santa Monica Mountains.
In addition, the land that is home to these vines used to be owned by famous director Victor Fleming. Think Gone With The Wind and The Wizard of Oz. He sold the land to aerospace engineer Tom V Jones in 1959 who planted vines to pay homage to Jean Louis Vignes. Vignes made wine in downtown LA in the 1830’s, long before Napa entered the scene. Today, the property belongs to Rupert Murdoch.
About the wine for Wine Wednesday
The first wine we opened during the virtual tasting was a sauvignon blanc that was super fragrant with tropical notes. On the palate it was concentrated, rich and included those tropical fruits along with lime zest. It made me salivate a little bit, and envision a plate of oysters. Only 300 cases were made.
The red wine has been produced since 1989. The newest vintage is a blend of mostly cabernet sauvignon with merlot, petite verdot, and cabernet franc. It had a big nose full of fruit, spice and herbs. Very enticing with lots of red fruit, spice and even a touch of cola.
Moraga is small production and is only available for shipping direct from the winery. Until just recently, the winery was not open for tours and visits. However, they are now available by appointment only. In addition, Moraga Bel Air has a second label in which up and coming artists design the labels. Moraga then gives a percentage of the proceeds to a charity of the artists’ choice.
Here are some photos of the vineyards with a Hollywood connection for Wine Wednesday
