The Wandering Wino Blog
Malibu Wines
Written by shawn on date 25 October 2012 in Wine Regions
When it comes to wine-tasting, many wine drinkers' knee-jerk reactions are to visit Napa Valley, Sonoma, or somewhere on the Central Coast. While these are highly worthy spots, some southern California residents might not be aware of closer options. A bit of a newcomer on the block is Malibu. Yes, that's right, as in PCH, the beach, Bay Watch, locations of many of Hollywood's films and TV -- yes, that Malibu.
The first vineyard planted post-prohibition was from George Rosenthal in 1987. Rosenthal later went on to be the first to establish an AVA within Malibu called Newton Canyon in 1996 just four miles from the Pacific Ocean. Ten years later, and more inland is the Saddle Rock AVA that was established in 2006.
Above Photo - Jim Palmer
Recently, I was invited to a new wine-tasting room called Malibu Beach Wines, located at 22775 Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu. This new tasting room's owner and winemaker is Jim Palmer of Malibu Vineyards. While Jim produces his own label, he also offers wines from other Malibu producers such as Hoyt Family Vineyards, Casa Dumetz, and even some that stretch a bit north (Santa Barbara) like Shai Cellars. Some of these Malibu producers even source fruit from Santa Barbara and Paso Robles.
Above Photo - Carol Hoyt
Jim discussed the winemaking, the people, and the region of Malibu while showing locations on his wall map. Jim's passion is clear for winemaking and Malibu: he says, "You are a student everyday" (as you can always learn something new). When discussing other local winemakers, Jim stated, "We are all rooting for each other" and he backs this by offering many other Malibu wines for tasting.
Jim invited both Shawn Shai Halahmy (of Shai Cellars) and Carol Hoyt (of Hoyt Family Vineyards) to pour their wines. Shawn is producing wines with fruit from Santa Barbara, while Carol is producing wines from her Malibu vineyard, ranch in Paso Robles, and a bit of fruit sourced from Santa Ynez.
Jim was kind enough to bring in the fabulous pizzas from Tra di Noi Ristorante. The owner/chef Francesco brought some stunners including a truffle pizza. Francesco's Ristorante is located 3835 Cross Creek Road in Malibu.
Also in attendance was Jan Hargrove of "Just Jan's," a fruit spread producer. Jan had a fabuous line-up, including the one that started it all for her- fig fruit spread from her fig tree.
So next time you think wine-tasting is out of the question for the day, consider Malibu.
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