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We’ve mentioned, but never really did a full post on the Avila Adobe Old Vines. And this being the second vintage with the things looking really good for vintage #3, well, it’s probably time.

The running gag around the Old Homestead here is that we make the things most sane people buy. One of those things is wine. Michael is the winemaker, and in his real life, he’s the archivist for the City of Los Angeles. That’s how he happened to talk to Chris Espinoza, director of the El Pueblo State Park in downtown L.A. about the grape vines on Olvera Street, the oldest street in the city. Michael specifically asked about the vines growing in the courtyard of the Avila Adobe, the oldest building still standing in the city.

Well, Chris said it was okay if Michael harvested the grapes on the vines to make wine. Michael did some research and found out that these are possibly the oldest vines currently growing in the state. In fact, they’re so old, that the University of California, Davis, did the DNA test on them for free, with the results being that the vines are a match for the old vine at Mission San Gabriel. Alas, we’re not sure of the date of that one, either. But we’re guessing the Avila Adobe vines are around 150 years old.

So, that’s how Michael came to make angelica, a local version of sherry, from the grapes he picked. In addition, last year, he organized and moderated a symposium on historic wines at the Adobe as the El Pueblo foundation’s first fundraiser. The silent auction even featured a few bottles of the first vintage of angelica – which was (and is) insanely tasty. At least, Anne thinks it is, and even accounting for bias, there is the reality that she hates stickies and really hates sherry.

This second vintage is coming along just as nicely, with bright fruit flavors and just enough tang to kill any cloying sweetness.

Better yet, the vines which Michael has been caring for, along with winemaker and friend Wes Hagen, are doing really well and it looks like we’ll get another good harvest this September.

If you happen to be in Los Angeles next Thursday, July 20, be sure to check out this year’s symposium, which will be celebrating the centennial anniversary of one of the oldest wineries still operating in the state, San Antonio Winery, which opened its doors in Los Angeles in 1917. The event will take place in the courtyard of the Avila adobe from 6pm to 8pm

We’re going to make this a quick one. Our friend Leah Canon, of Schmor Wines, came up with this seriously cool label in honor of our democratic process – Elephant and Donkey wines.

An event planner, Leah was looking for a label that would go with a good party. Or at least, a really big party. Can’t get bigger than our two main political parties, so she went with it. By the way, it’s the same wine – a lovely syrah blend – in both bottles.

Leah is slowly building her business and hopes to eventually have an event center and winery to go along with the wines. She got into bottling and selling wine as a way to enhance her event planning business.

No matter which party you’re voting for, we get that this election cycle has been more than a little stressful. So go ahead, order some Schmor Wine, open a bottle and try to relax. Just don’t forget to vote on November 8.

And here’s another installment on the Women Winemakers of Chablis. We’ve got nine total. Today, we’re featuring Clotilde Davenne, in the Chablis region of France. Chablis is also the delicious white wine made from the chardonnay grape (remember, European wines are usually named after where they’re made, rather than by what they’re made of). This series is from a group of email interviews with six women winemakers from the Chablis region, translated from the original French by someone else because Anne’s French is in terrible shape. We asked each woman the same three questions.

1)    What makes Chablis different from other wines made from chardonnay?

Chablis is a different chardonnay, as it comes from a very particular soil in a region where the climate is also special. Soil and climate are the combination that makes this Chardonnay expression so unique. The wine is fresh and straightforward, right, vivid.

2)    If my reader sees Chablis on the label of a bottle of wine, what should she expect to taste in the wine?

The tasters should expect a wine expressing minerality. Rather complex and aromatic. Neither soft nor sweet.

3)   Finally, how are things changing for women winemakers in France? In the U.S., making wine is still very dominated by men. Are there more women becoming winemakers? Do women make wine differently than men, and if they do, what do they do that’s different?

• Wo men who make wine are still few, but talk about it more and more. Wine consumption by women is less taboo and it is the women themselves who speak about female wines. I do not know if there are more women than in the past, but for sure we talk more about it. Women who make the wine often are successful because they make wine on the harmony of flavors and tastes. The wines are characterized by their elegance and not by the power of the alcohol.

And here’s another installment on the Women Winemakers of Chablis. We’ve got nine total. Today, we’re featuring Lucie Depuydt – J.Moreau et Fils, in the Chablis region of France. Chablis is also the delicious white wine made from the chardonnay grape (remember, European wines are usually named after where they’re made, rather than by what they’re made of). This series is from a group of email interviews with six women winemakers from the Chablis region, translated from the original French by someone else because Anne’s French is in terrible shape. We asked each woman the same three questions.

1)    What makes Chablis different from other wines made from chardonnay?

The soils and the climate in Chablis give to the Chardonnay different aromas than other places in the world.

2)    If my reader sees Chablis on the label of a bottle of wine, what should she expect to taste in the wine?

On the nose, grapefruit, white blossom, mineral notes. Freshness, almond, lemon on the palate and always this minerality, even after several seconds

3)   Finally, how are things changing for women winemakers in France? In the U.S., making wine is still very dominated by men. Are there more women becoming winemakers? Do women make wine differently than men, and if they do, what do they do that’s different?

More and more women are becoming winemakers, but it’s the beginning… I think that very often women make wines with more precision and delicacy by selecting perfect grapes and making ageing in the most exact and precise manner possible, to avoid any imperfection…

And here’s the next installment on the Women Winemakers of Chablis. Today, we’re featuring Laurence Séguinot, Domaine Daniel Séguinot et Filles, in the Chablis region of France. Chablis is also the delicious white wine made from the chardonnay grape (remember, European wines are usually named after where they’re made, rather than by what they’re made of). This series is from a group of email interviews with six women winemakers from the Chablis region, translated from the original French by someone else because Anne’s French is in terrible shape. We asked each woman the same three questions.

1)    What makes Chablis different from other wines made from chardonnay?

The Chardonnay grape was born in Burgundy. It thus reaches its full potential and nobility in Burgundy’s soils, especially those of Chablis, where the Kimmeridgian terroir gives our wines their purity and minerality.

2)    If my reader sees Chablis on the label of a bottle of wine, what should she expect to taste in the wine?

From a Chablis wine, we expect delicacy, freshness, strong minerality and authenticity of the Chablis terroir, with floral or citrusy notes depending on the vintage.

3)   Finally, how are things changing for women winemakers in France? In the U.S., making wine is still very dominated by men. Are there more women becoming winemakers? Do women make wine differently than men, and if they do, what do they do that’s different?

There are more and more women winegrowers in France. At least, today, they make themselves more visible. Maybe they used to be fewer, or perhaps they were simply working in the men’s shadows.

Women have a different palate from men’s and I believe we approach winemaking differently. We strive for delicacy and elegance first and foremost, a way to please and charm all palates.

We’ve been trying to catch up with Cindy Steinbeck for a number of years now, ever since we met her at a Rhone Rangers tasting. She and her family own Steinbeck Vineyards and Winery. Steinbeck is the head of marketing, wine sales and public relations for the business. However, what got us excited are Steinbeck’s Crash Courses that she gives in the vineyard. They’re a series of tours the family gives on winegrowing, as opposed to winemaking.

The family has 520 acres planted out in 13 different varieties, 99 percent of which are sold to other wineries in the area, including Eberle and San Antonio.

So we asked Steinbeck why it’s important for consumers to know what happens in the vineyard.

“Wine starts in the vineyard,” she said. “The soil, wind, rainfall, those all affect the flavor of the grape. It’s a sense of place.”

As in that word wine geeks love to toss around “Terroir.’

Steinbeck says, yes, it’s for real – even in her family’s vineyard.

“On the south slopes of my vineyard, the grapes taste slightly different,” she said. “Grapes don’t grow in a vaccuum. Evey single factor is beyond our control. It’s not like making Bud. This is completely related to nature.”

But even though grape growers are mostly at the mercy of Nature, there are things that can be done.

“If I add too much water, then I’m going to grow too much leaf,” Steinbeck said. “If I have too much green leaf, I get bitterness [in the wine.] Too little canopy [leafy coverage], I’ve got raisins.”

For her, growing grapes is as much about art as it is knowledge, especially when it comes to knowing the best time to pick the grapes. Using instruments to measure the sugar in the grape can help, but there’s nothing like tasting one to see what’s happening.

“I’ve got to bite the seeds, to bit the skins in my teeth,” she said.

The family has been farming in the Paso area since the 1860s, and were growing wine grapes back then, as well. Cindy’s grandparents bought the current family farm in 1921, but grapes were grown on the property until 1982, when the family went into business with Gary Eberle, an early winery in the area. Today, the Steinbecks have 520 acres planted out with 13 different varieties of grapes, with 99 percent of them sold to folks like Eberle and San Antonio wineries. The one percent the family keeps is made into wine that they sell under their own label.