NEWS: Cool SF Chron article re Cucamonga vineyards

[Jenise]

For those unaware, Cucuamonga is an area about half way between Los Angeles and Palm Springs.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/t ... 2038&ei=21

Confession: I have a case of Raj Parr's red blend ("primarily grenache") coming.

[David M. Bueker]

I wish I could understand where Raj Parr’s head is at. He did such amazing stuff with Sashi Moorman at Sandhi and Domaine de la Cote, but seems to have lost interest.

[Jenise]

Well, I hope his head was level when he made the Hofer Ranch grenache this story mentions. That's what I bought. He priced it at $70, I paid $15. Cheap entertainment for ex-Angelenos like me.

[David M. Bueker]

Wow. That’s a discount!

[Jenise]

Yeah, and I was such a fan of the Domaine de la Cote. That's why I impulsively jumped on this deal. Instantly regretted it, however cheap. So I was glad when this article fell into my lap yesterday--might not be a disaster after all.

That's quite an interesting historical piece by Esther.
I find the wines from Cucamonga have a certain rough/coarse terroir-driven character that I don't find particularly appealing. They don't have the high-toned aromatics you get from grapes from cooler climes.
That said, those very old vines give a certain character to those wines. I think Abe Schoener makes the best & most interesting of the Cucamonga wines. Carol Shelton's are also pretty good.
Very early on in my wine journey, I had an Aunt & Uncle & two cousins who lived in Upland/Ontario. I did a visit to the Galleano Wnry there in Rancho Cucamonga. Very underwhelmed by their wines but was mightily impressed by the huge oak ovals they used.
Interesting that the article didn't mention Brookside Wnry which was based in Rancho Cucamonga & was once one of the Nation's largest wineries. Brookside has returned to operation but as a North Coast producer w/ no connection to Cucamonga. They had a bunch of tasting rooms in SoCal before they folded. The wines solidified Cucamonga's reputation for mediocrity.
The article mentions that there was once Nebbiolo planted there in Cucamonga. I wonder if any of those vines still exist?? If so, it would be interesting, given Nebbiolo's propensity to mutate, tho propagate a vnyd from those old vines.
When I used to fly Southwest into Ontario International, when we were landing, I look down & see all the remnants of those old vnyds below me. It would always cause me to start sobbing uncontrollably, bringing the stewardesses on the run to see what was the matter. They didn't understand.
"Cucamonga": Back in the early 1800's (that really was before my time, be assured), there was a small stagecoach stop there in what is now Cucamonga where the stage would stop for lunch. It was so small, they lacked a cook for lunch. The station owners would come out to the stage, throw open the door, and shout "Is there a cook among you"....hence the "Cucamonga".Your TomHill trivia lesson for today.
Tom

[Jenise]

Tom, love this response! I grew up in Whittier and remember Ontario as mostly walnut and olive orchards. I didn't know about the grapes until I landed at Ontario airport and saw the dried up old vineyards as I was driving away. That was a shock!

I do remember Brookside! The buildings were always on the edge of whatever town they were near (cheap land? different tax rates?) and were vaguely adobe in appearance, like the early Taco Bells. As a kid I would have had no need to know of them except to notice the buildings, however, my neighborhood buddy's father was a doctor and he would go out on house calls on Saturdays, often taking Sally and I with him. He was an alcoholic as I now recognize such things, and while we were out he'd usually stop at one over near the Whittier/West Covina border to load up on half gallon bottles of wine. He paid Sally and I $5 ea (the equivalent of six months' allowance for me) not to tell our mothers!! Forgive me if I've told that story before.

The only wine I've had from here was a wretched Carol Shelton Zin, which was either overripe or cooked or both, either of which can result in those bug spray flavors I despise. Perhaps the latter, as there's no way she'd still be going to such great expense to ship those grapes north for the wine I recall tasting.