Stuart Douglass Byles

Los Angeles Wine: a History from the Mission Era to the Present (American Palate) Stuart Douglass Byles

The renowned California wine industry, famous for northern vintages, actually was born near El Pueblo de Los Angeles. Spanish missionaries harvested the first vintage in 1782 at Mission San Juan Capistrano, then cultivated enormous vineyards at Mission San Gabriel. Their replanted vine-cuttings took root on Jose Maria Verdugo's 1784 Spanish land-grant in what became Glendale. Jean Louis Vignes brought Bordeaux winemaking experience to L. A. in 1831, and initiated wine trade with San Francisco. By 1848, Los Angeles contained 100 vineyards. Author Stuart Douglass Byles traces the little known L. A. wine tradition through vintners of the San Gabriel and San Fernando Valleys, Anaheim and Rancho Cucamonga, Temecula Valley and Malibu, and details the San Antonio Winery heritage, a holdover business from old Los Angeles days.