Robin and I just returned from a quick trip to Southern California. The idea was to follow the route of our honeymoon 30 years later. A few differences this time around--we were able to stay in motels instead of in a tent, and we tasted (and purchased) a lot more wine.The extremes of the state were very interesting to me. Our first stop was in the little town of Hopland. We swung into the tasting room for Graziano Family of Wines. Bob Meadows, the tasting room manager was incredibly friendly and knowledgeable. I almost felt as though I knew the Graziano family after we visited with Bob.
A poster on the wall proclaims, "It's really too bad that Puritans got here before Italians." I couldn't agree more. This beautiful Italian family was forced to become outlaws when the ill-guided puritans of the 20th century were able to pass prohibition. Proud, law abiding, farmers who's gift of making beautiful wine was now against the law. We've done less intelligent things as a country, but I can't name any right off the top of my head. Luckily the family was able to survive and are now making thick, dense beautiful red wines from vines some of which are more than 75 years old. If you stop in get some "Primo Roso Red" for $11. It's a great wine for weekday meals. It's a blend of Zinfandel, San Geovesi and Nebbiolo. The wine maker, Gregory, must be a classic over-achiever, making wines under four different labels by my count.
When it comes to prohibition, here is a very strange tidbit for you to consider--it's still illegal to make wine in Los Angeles County. No, I'm not kidding. The powers that be never got around to repealing the prohibition laws against making wine, so you still can not legally do so. Denise Skogstrom who with her husband, Tim, owns and operates the Cornell Winery and Tasting Room filled me in on some of the struggles of trying to make and sell wine there. they have been battling for two years to open a tasting room. Their funky, bohemian looking shop is pictured above. They were busy that day, so I just asked Denise what was the best value wine in their shop that represented the terroir of the area. She led me straight to Malibu Valley Vineyards and suggested the Meritage which is a classic blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc. At $15 a bottle it's a tremendous value and is no doubt sold out by this point. The kicker is that the grapes are grown in the area, but at harvest have to be transported across the county lines to be produced and bottled. (Can't Los Angeles do any better than that?) If you live in the area, call your local politician and let your voice be heard. Make it legal to make wine in Los Angeles County today. I'll join you on the picket lines (in spirit if not in body.)
And speaking of out of body experiences, try driving down the Malibu Coast to the tasting room for Rosenthal Vineyard. It looks like an old hamburger shack right on the highway in Malibu. The wine tasters match the location. On average they have 3% body fat and are all well tanned and beautiful. All three of the young women behind the bar looked like movie stars, and one was sharing stories about her most recent video shoot. To an Oregonian the experience made me feel as though I was on a different planet, not just in a different part of the Pacific Coast.
My favorite sales person on the whole trip was Jessica Lauren Richmond, or "Dallas" as her friends know her. Dallas works at the Malibu Family Wines. The winding, steep hillside drive is worth the trip. Dallas who has a degree in theater and works promoting a band called "The Peculiar Pretzelmen" was a joy to visit with. She was knowledgeable about the wines, and handled several groups of tasters with grace and aplomb. The tasting bar is one of the most unique I've ever experienced. Maybe it just seemed exotic because it was outdoors--you just wouldn't do that in Western Oregon! It's a Kontiki type of set up with a lean to roof jutting out from a small pouring area. 
There are picnic tables and huge umbrellas spread over an attractive, comfortable lawn just beyond the tasting area. Every weekend they have live concerts on Friday and Saturday nights. The cost of admission is the purchase of at least one bottle of wine, and that should be very easy. They have two different tastings and of the bunch I liked their '02 Semler Estate Cabernet the best. It's a big, hot weather red wine with a nice balance of tannins, fruit and acid with complex flavor components that seem to build on top of one another in your mouth. We got a case. I wish Jessica, aka "Dallas" all the best, and thank her for her hospitality, and I hope when she visits the Pacific Northwest again to promote The Peculiar Pretzelmen she'll give us a call, so we can do the same. And, please, anyone, let's repeal prohibition in Los Angeles.