Special Guest Visits the Sierra Pelona Valley Wine Festival

I’m no sommelier -- far from it. And generally, I leave such commentary to the more qualified and refined palates, à la Eve Bushman. But I enjoy mellifluous pours and delicious eats, both of which were on hand in abundance at Reyes Winery this weekend.

So I, along with about 1,000 others, came to the Agua Dulce vineyard Saturday for the second annual Sierra Pelona Valley Wine Festival with more than a few questions.

In addition to a wicked sunburn, a nice buzz and the fill of a prodigious appetite, I gleaned a few pieces of information I felt worth sharing.

First off, let’s address the massive elephant in the room. Many of you might be scratching your head, as I did, trying to locate on a map where on earth the Sierra Pelona Valley is, since I’ve lived my life under the impression Magic Mountain is in the Santa Clarita Valley, and territories north of Acton and Agua Dulce are in the Antelope Valley. As it turns out, both assumptions are true.

This northern portion of the Santa Clarita Valley is part of an American Viticultural Area -- a federally designated wine grape-growing region, part of a rich tradition that stretches back only four years officially; however, La Chene owner Juan Alonso was credited by many for the first planting of wine grapes in the Santa Clarita Valley we know about 20 years ago.

Accordingly, the Sierra Pelona Valley AVA festival seemed more a celebration of what could be for the area, an optimism wholeheartedly embraced by everyone there -- from Baracoa Lounge owner Rick De La Rosa, who operates a six-month-old Cuban wine bar and restaurant in Lancaster, to backyard winemakers like Soundsations owner Danny Mascari, who bottles his Bouquet Vineyard collection on his family’s property in Saugus.

In addition to a welcome break from any discussion of billboards, the event also offered up its proceeds to the College of the Canyons Culinary Arts Institute. The college is developing its reputation as a home for those interested in pursuing the epicurean arts, which will soon be boosted by its own harvest of grapes from the Newhall-based Pulchella Winery vintners.

Robert Reyes of Reyes Winery planted grapes in 2004, and it took four and a half years for him to get license from Los Angeles County, allowing him to begin the 15-acre operation that exists today in earnest.

For Reyes, like many of the vintners on hand Saturday, the art of winemaking was more a labor of love than one for profit. “This is a passion for me,” he said during a tour of his facility, sharing the story of how his now 94-year-old grandmother would let him sample the wine she would make when he was a young boy in the Dominican Republic.

This is evidenced by the invitation extended to Agua Dulce Winery. Agua Dulce Winery operates a competing business less than 1 mile from Reyes Winery, and was welcomed onto Reyes Winery.

Steve Wizan, who runs the 90-acre Agua Dulce Winery, brought their fantasma, their cabernet and their zinfandel, noting all three are blends. “Blends are really hot right now,” Wizan said. While the fantasma is their most popular, Wizan recommended the zin, because its peppery taste provides an excellent compliment to barbecue. “It’s barbecue season,” he said. “The cabernet is our biggest award-winner.”

Wizan and Reyes agreed both businesses benefit from any increased exposure and attention the businesses can draw to the area.

Reyes’s vineyard grows five varietals, chardonnay, merlot, zinfandel, syrah and cabernet, which he uses to make nine wines.

While a festival to celebrate an “I Love Lucy”-type grape-stomping harvest for College of the Canyons’ first wine grape crops might be at least a year away, the growth of options for vinophiles is undeniable.

While the college awaits the fruits of labor from the California Zinfandel grape vines donated by Remo Belli Vineyards planted on the western side of its Valencia campus, there are quite a few good options available today.

Mascari joked that maybe he was ready to take his operation to the next level, following a steady stream of support from hundreds who took samples Saturday.

And let’s not forget Pulchella Winery, and Steve Lemley and Nate Hasper, who helped support COC’s effort. Or Stephen Hemmert and his Oasis ZInfandel, which is sold at La Chene.

“That’s my style -- competition is good,” said Reyes, who also had success as a computer programmer and in the real estate market before deciding to paint and make wine in his retirement. “It’s synergistic. If we can all do it together, we can all get something out of it.”

For a complete list of the Sierra Pelona Valley vintners, click here.