To many winemakers, the time of harvest is the busiest of the year. This is the time when the maker goes out and sorts different grapes for the wines they are going to make for the year. Here in Los Angeles, winemaker Jasper Dickson has started his harvest and is executing the whole process in his small winery.

That’s right – in Los Angeles. If I told you that winemaking was a thing here, you would probably think I was crazy. But, in fact, Los Angeles was the key start to winemaking in California. Some might say that places like Orange County were the beginning, but in reality, farmers started settling on that side of the city because of the lack of space to put their own vineyards in Los Angeles. Crazy to say that here in the Montrose area 10 minutes from GCC you can still find a small vineyard called Stone Barn Vineyard.

Many claim wine country is Northern California. Places like Paso Robles or Santa Barbara, which is more central in the state, are key places to winemaking (which they are these days). Yet, as Angeleno Wine Co. presents, Wine Country used to be in Southern California and this is what Dickson is trying to bring back. It has been more than a hundred years since L.A. had its own winery. This summer, Dickson, and his business partner, Amy Luftig, celebrated their grand opening. Hosting a party that welcomed about 600 visitors from all over the city, they poured four wines that were made from grapes grown here in Los Angeles County.

“After working for so many years in the wine industry, the passion grew on me,” Dickson stated. “You meet so many great winemakers with small wineries that all chase the same dream of providing the best product for the people.” When asked what his vision was for the next couple of years he answered: “I’m trying to grow a brand for Angeleno Wine Co. Maybe expand our spot here and eventually sell the product out of state.” Angeleno Wine Co. hosts tastings throughout the weekend. As of right now, they’re only open to the public during the weekends as they spend most of the week making wine or hosting private events.

“You can always find us on our Instagram which is where we post most of our information like pop-ups we do,” Dickson said. “Also, we encourage everyone to come here to Angeleno Wine Company. Our winery is your winery.”

Gabriel Ponce can be reached at [email protected]