Review: SommTV's "The Oldest Vine"

The city of Los Angeles stands today so very different from the year the Mother Vine was planted at the site of the Mission San Gabriel in the late 18th century.

The Oldest Vine the latest SommTV original film tells the story of the Mission vine planted at Mission San Gabriel Arcángel in Los Angeles and follows the Los Angeles Vintners Association's harvest of the vine to make the historical wine, Angelico, from its fruit.

The story begins with the history of winemaking in LA and the boom of winemaking in 19th century and early 20th century. Not much explanation is provided for the arrest of winemaking in the region but the narration by LA Vintners Association members make it clear, what we see today would give you no indication of this past.

Narration by SommTV's Claire Coppi guides the viewer through the history of Spanish conquest and expansion right into the history of Mission San Gabriel. The Mission's history is outlined from its foundation in 1771, its role within the network of missions in the area and of course, winemaking.

In their plans to revitalize tourism and community engagement at the Mission, Director of Development and Communications Mission San Gabriel Arcángel Terri Huerta saw an opportunity to highlight the winemaking history of the Mission and the vineyards as a part of the tour. Huerta said, "Wow, it would be really great if we could incorporate the wine story here, the vine story. And then I came across the LA Vintner's Association." She contacted the LA Vintner's Association for help and they made fast friends in their shared passion for its history.

Mission San Gabriel Arcángel's original request was for assistance in propagating the vine to plant baby vines for the 250 year anniversary. The LA Vintners Association members toured the Mission and grapes were hanging from the pergolas. They asked what the Mission did with the grapes and Huerta said they did nothing, they fed the birds. Kelley and the Vintners Association said, "Okay, time out. We can do the cuttings, but we can make wine with this. So that's kinda how this whole project got started."

Throughout the documentary, each winemaker expresses with great passion their commitment to the heritage of LA winemaking, the traditions lost to urbanization, and highlighting the unique terroir and conditions of the valley. Once the center of winemaking in California, Los Angeles' economy took a hard hit during prohibition which was further degraded by urban sprawl and other economic difficulties. The memory of wine in LA is faint, but the Mission Grape vine called the Mother Vine at Mission San Gabriel stands as a testament to its history and continues to produce fruit.

The LA Vintners Association was founded by three wineries spearheading the revival of winemaking in LA-- Angeleno Wine Company, Byron Blatty Wines and Cavaletti Vineyards.

Byron Blatty summarized the goals of the LA Vinters Association in the film, "We're all trying to elevate LA wine, we're trying to bring awareness to LA wine and we're also trying to make people aware of the history of Los Angeles wine."

The community built is palpable-- the documentarians captured the connection and collaboration of the LA Vintner's Association and the 4 winemakers. Patrick Kelley from Cavaletti Vineyards said, "In a city of eleven million people exactly four people thought it was a good idea to start wineries working with local fruit, so we're the four odd balls who decided to do it by ourselves. We're an oddity. With the four of us, we're a movement."

Particularly in the scenes of the harvest of the tiny grapes that hang from pergolas stretching hundreds of feet from the mother vine, they are sure to succeed. Winemaking in and of itself is a process of hope and even with so few grapes to make wine, the LA vintners association is resolute in their pursuit of their association's mission. The joy of this connection is clearly shown by the Mission San Gabriel representative as well.

"It's a win-win between the LA Vintners and the mission because we're bringing some notoriety to the mission grounds, we're getting attention to their history and their place in Los Angeles wine in particular," said Blatty.

The mutually beneficial relationship is outlined: Kelley taught the grounds keepers how to prune the vine, nurture it and monitor its health to grow the size of the grapes and them to more sunlight. The vintners harvest the vine and make wine.

The Details

Recovering and telling these histories is wonderful and worthy, however the historical references are an important facet and what is provided gives the the viewer little to hold onto. Primary reference material from the late 1800s is admittedly scarce and relies on a few key accounts. According to Thomas Pinney in A History of Wine in America: From the Beginnings to Prohibition, the accounts that do exist contradict each other. Mostly this is related to when precisely the the grape vines were planted and where. Despite the fact that the historical details are difficult to pin down and the documentary acknowledges so, it would be better to at least say how they know what they know and from which document. In short, the recommendation is to cite the source.

In telling the Mother Vine's story, the Mission San Gabriel staff makes a number of statements without really providing context as to where the information is recorded other than in mission documents or how to verify the information. Some of the information relayed verbally is voiced over images from the Mission's library.

That said, any interest would likely be entertained and supported by the LA Vintners Association or the Mission San Gabriel Arcángel so don't be shy in pursuing more information.

Words matter too-- whether it be by passion or hyperbole, the Mother Vine is described as "ancient" twice in the first minute of The Oldest Vine. These wines are historic, without question. From another era of overseas voyages, Spanish rule and Mexican succession, but this vine was not planted before the Bronze Age in Spain or California. It's incredible history should be reviewed and explored, especially through Mission documentation and the Spanish documents that surely survive to understand where the vine originated and understand its origins, but the vines are not "ancient" in academic sense of the word. It shares qualities with ancient vines to be sure however, particularly in the lack of detail of its origin.

The vine has wonderful mysteries that may never have answers. First, the vine is presented as the vitis vinifera Mission grape brought from Spain and surviving since the late 1700s until about minute 18, where the fact that the vine is a hybrid grape is mentioned by Kelley and then again by Angeleno Wine Company Winemaker Amy Luftig Viste. She explains that the vine is the Mission grape then clarifies, "Actually what we are picking today is a mix of Mission and Vitis Girdiana."

Dickenson goes further to explain the optimal qualities of this particular hybrid in that the Vitis Girdiana provides acid to the Mission Grape's high sugar, but low acid character thus providing balance.

How this hybrid came about continues the mystery. "There are no chance crossings of native California vines and European vines," insists Kelley. He hypothesizes why someone would cross the species to produce the hybrid in the film, but why spoil the fun-- go watch for yourself and draw some conclusions too. "My guess is it was probably something that was done on purpose, and it was probably a native American who did that crossing and then it got planted there. And it's there for us 250 years later," Kelley said.

As the team at Mission San Gabriel continues their work, hopefully they will trace the work of both Father Serra and the Spanish and the vines he carried to grow in the valley.

The Wine

From the grapes of the Mother Vine, the LA Vintners follow a historic recipe to create Angelica wine. Once made at the site and popular in the area, Angelica is made by fortifying the grape must that is either unfermented or just beginning to ferment. It is fortified with brandy to stop the yeast from producing more alcohol and so the sugar the yeast would normally eat remains, providing for balanced sweetness. Pinney wrote, "This was an effective way to handle the Mission grape, which under the hot skies of southern California gave a fruit almost raisined, rich in sugar but low in acid, so that its dry wines were flat and unpalatable. With the sweetness retained, and the preserving alcohol supplied by the addition of brandy, the juice, christened angelica after the City of the Angels, became a popular wine—some will say deservedly, others not."

A "sexy red" as described by the winemaker, their Angelica is a pale, translucent ruby color. Reference texts confirm that the wine can start by fortifying unfermented or newly fermented grape juice. The process is less clear when conveyed by the winemakers of the LA Vintners Association. Blatty and Amy Luftig Viste outline the process as starting with grape juice that is fortified. It isn't until Jasper Dickinson who is making the wine in the Angeleno Wine Company facility says that they will allow fermentation to start then fortify it in accordance with TTB regulatory requirements.

The process isn't so important here as historical references confirm the wine can begin either way, however the difference in the three accounts of the process of the winemaking is a head scratcher. Post production attention could play a part and clarify the information for the viewer by simply choosing one of the interviews to indicate the winemaking process (preferably the actual process).

Regardless of the critiques, the documentary footage is enough to make me want to try the wine and make a special trip the next time I am in LA. SommTV went a step further to add to their Tasting Notes series: Old Vine Angelica wherein Claire Coppi dives deeper into the technical tasting of the Angelica wine. It is worth a watch.

For more information, I recommend:

Pinney, Thomas. A History of Wine in America: From the Beginnings to Prohibition. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1989. pg. 238-241. http://ark.cdlib.org/ark:/13030/ft967nb63q/