Hidden Vineyards of LA
Nestled at the very edge of the California coast, near Los Angeles, sits a suburban area known as the Palos Verdes Peninsula. Its lush landscapes and stunning views of the ocean create a different atmosphere than the hustle and bustle people usually associate with LA, even though the peninsula is considered part of LA County. Horseback riding is popular here, with stables hidden down back roads and behind neighborhoods. It is also a popular place for peafowl to roam. They can be seen parading across roofs, while their loud calls travel through the air and can be heard for miles. A small outdoor mall at the top of "the hill," a nickname given to the area of Palos Verdes by its residents, is usually quiet for the most part. Students from the nearby high school are the main patrons, usually seen hanging out at Starbucks doing homework after school or going to the movies with their friends.
Palos Verdes is not as well-known as some of its neighboring beach cities. The major landmarks are Wayfarers Chapel, also known as "The Glass Church," which is popular for weddings and frequently seen in television shows, the Point Vicente Lighthouse, Trump National Golf Club, and Terranea Resort.
What many people, even residents who have lived here for many years, may not think of Palos Verdes as, is a place to grow and produce wine. Jim York, Owner of Catalina View Gardens, wants to change that and put Palos Verdes on the map as a wine growing region. Catalina View Gardens has seen much success since they first planted their grape vines in 2013.
"This year we harvested 20,000 pounds of grapes," York said. "It was our best harvest ever; they had really dark colors and everything turned out great."
The vineyard continues to see a steady increase in the number of grapes they produce by the time of their harvest, which is in the third week of August every year. Once the grapes are picked, they go into containers until they are ready to be processed and barreled to become wine. After that, the finished bottles will be packaged into cases and shipped around to different restaurants and stores in the area.
However, Catalina View Gardens does not just produce grapes; they have other crops too. At this time, they grow heirloom tomatoes, avocados, artichokes, and much more. York is currently working on expanding his garden after the city recently approved him for 25 acres of agriculture.
"We're gonna put in 150 different fruit trees," York said. "We're gonna do a lot of figs, apples, and pomegranates."
These additions were requested by Bernard Ibarra, who is the Executive Chef at Terranea. The luxury resort is one of the places with whom the vineyard has a close partnership. Ibarra uses the vineyard to house chickens, keep bees, and grow fresh crops that he uses to cook for guests every day. The resort's employees also come over to the vineyard to pick more fresh ingredients whenever they need them.
With its prime location on the southwest side of the peninsula, overlooking the Pacific Ocean, the vineyard is also highly sought out for television filming and weddings. It has a special area specifically for receptions with walls covered in vines, flowers, and grapes.
"We did this to mimic Italy or Greece with the different plants," York said.
There is a rich history behind the land on which the vineyard sits. Originally owned by the Bixby family, the 16,000-acre peninsula was bought by Frank A. Vanderlip Sr., also known as the "Father of Palos Verdes," in 1913. Vanderlip was originally from Illinois. He went to study at the University of Chicago and started his career as a financial reporter for the Chicago Tribune in 1889. He then moved to New York and made a name for himself in the banking world, which eventually lead him to California. In 1916, he built his estate overlooking the ocean cliffs in Palos Verdes, and helped develop many of the places that are well-known in the community.
The most important of these developments was called Marineland of the Pacific, which was the largest oceanarium at the time of its opening in 1954. It was also considered one the first major amusement parks, preceding the opening of Disneyland by one year. The park was very popular until it closed in 1987, after which the area was left abandoned. In 1994, the property was bought by York and his business partner. They were determined to restore the land to its former glory, by building something sustainable that the public could also enjoy. After years of hurdles, development for the luxury resort, Terranea, finally began in 2007 and was completed in 2009. When his business partner decided to sell his 94-acre portion, York accepted the offer to buy it. At first, he was unsure what to do with so much land. But soon, he realized that a garden with fresh produce could be a huge benefit for the new resort.
Catalina View Gardens is not the only vineyard on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, although York said that it is the largest. There are actually eight vineyards in the area, but only a few produce wines that are available for sale to customers.
Villa Oneiro, which means "house of dreams" in Greek, is one of those few and is run by husband and wife, Dimitri and Leah Bizoumis. Dimitri Bizoumis specializes in pediatric dentistry, and got his pediatric dentistry certificate from The University of Southern California. He now teaches there as a Professor of Pediatric Dentistry. Leah Bizoumis is also a graduate of USC where she received her bachelor's degree. The Bizoumis' are a big part of the Greek community, since they are both originally from Greece. They, too, have partnerships with restaurants and stores in the Palos Verdes area. They have also donated their wine to multiple events at St. Katherine Greek Orthodox Church in Redondo Beach.
Another winery listed in this area is called Rebel Coast Winery. Although they are in the area, they do not have a physical vineyard. Instead, they are a virtual winery. Derek Martindale, who is charge of operations management, customer assurance, and photography, explained that Rebel Coast Winery gets their grapes from Napa and Sonoma Counties. Then, they mix the different grapes together to make their own unique wine blends. They currently have two: Sunday Funday White Blend and Reckless Love Red Blend.
Rebel Coast Winery was started by Chip Forsythe during his years in college at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. He originally started out on a wrestling scholarship, but soon realized his passion for wine. This caused him to change his major to wine and viticulture studies.
