I have blogged about the Mission grape before in Red Grapes of California and California's First Woman Vine Grower and Two Horticultural Wonders.
This episode featured Terri Huerta, the Director of Development and Communications at Mission San Gabriel and the vine growing on the property known as the Mother Vine or Trinity Vine. From photographic evidence it was deduced to have been in existence as far back as 1765.1
In 2020, Huerta reached out to three Los Angeles winemakers Jasper Dickson and Amy Luftig from Angeleno Wine Company, Mark Blatty from Byron Blatty Wines and Patrick Kelley of Cavaletti Vineyard to see if they could propagate the vine. The winemakers noticed the grapes growing on the old vine and came up with the idea to make wine from one of the oldest grapevines planted in California.2
Harvest day came on November 3, 2024. Volunteers with BYOL (Bring Your Own Ladders), reached up to the grapes growing on a pergola. 3
As the harvest ended, a bottle of Angelica, with a depiction of the Mother Vine as the label, was served to the harvesters. The volunteers sipped beneath grape leaves that swayed in the cool breeze, noting the sweet and fruity nature of the wine.
Post Script: Something I learned about the Mission grape. From DNA tests conducted in 2014, the grape vine at Mission San Gabriel is a hybrid betweenVitis girdiana, a wild grape native to Southern California, and Vitis vinifera.1 The Mission grape is a prolific varietal that originated in the Castilla - La Mancha region of Spain and brought to California by the Franciscan Friars.
The Mission Grape is also known as Listán Prieto in Spain, as Criolla Chica in Argentina and Pais in Chile.
References:
1. Scerra, Jennifer, "The Unfurling Story of the Homestead’s Grapevines", The Homestead Museum, May 27, 2020.
2. Snyder, Garrett, "Wine from the ‘Mother Vine’: A trio of L.A. winemakers are harvesting historic grapes at San Gabriel Mission", Los Angeles Times, October 9, 2020.
3. Romano, Natalie, "How ‘Angelica’ was born: Winemakers honor San Gabriel Mission", Angelus, November 21, 2024.
4. Duzdabanyan, Ani, "Los Angeles wineries release bottling from 18th century vine", Decanter, November 29, 2023.
5. Agran, Libbie, "The Mission Grape – Five Centuries of History in the Americas", Wine History Project, February 25, 2021.
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It is interesting that some would think that the ancient vine growing inside the Mission San Gabriel’s walls has been around since 1865. This vine’s own plaque says 1775, which is the year the Mission moved here from the Rio Hondo, after that settlement was destroyed by a flood. According to the Mission, no vines were planted here before 1775 (this vine should not be confused with the so-called “Mother Vine” across the street, at the Grapevine Arbor. That was brought here as a mature stalk and planted in 1861). With regards to the previous mission site, there is no record of vines being grown there either - which makes sense, since cuttings arrived later. Anything cultivated at the former site would have been destroyed by the flood. In 1772, Junipero Serra himself was alarmed that the first SG Mission site (Mision Vieja) had a wine shortage (they may have had some, perhaps from the odd barrel brought over via ship & horse). In 1773, he complained that there was no wine at this mission. Even in 1777, from the new Mission site, he wrote a letter to the viceroy of Mexico, raising the idea of bringing in vines from Baja (therefore contradicting the notion that he brought vines in 1769). This confirms that the missions were slow to take up winemaking. In 1783, he wrote a letter from Mission SG giving out that this location still had no wine, when others did (like SJ Capistrano). This is why 1775 seems questionable, since the more agreed upon sources (such as UC Davis) concur that 1778 was the year that Spain’s vitis vinifera was introduced, and 1779 was the first year that it was planted, at Mission SJ Capistrano. Later that winter (1779-1780), Missions San Gabriel and San Diego finally received cuttings. 1779 was also the year that Mission SG began construction of its current structure. Too, there doesn’t seem to be any record of this ancient vine inside the Mission’s walls as being cultivated for wine; it may have been simply planted for shade, and its ripe fruit plucked for food (though in recent years, local winemakers have been cultivating its grapes for Angelica). California’s first vintage was likely in 1782, from the vineyards of SJ Capistrano. If Mission SG had planted vines before this, where would they have gotten cuttings from?
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ReplyDeleteThank you very much for your explanation and filling in some interesting history regarding the Mission Grape and Mission San Gabriel.
Welcome! I would be keen to hear any more thoughts on this topic…
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