Who

Grapes farmed by Agustine Olvera and crew. Wine raised by Herrmann York.

What

A red wine from Pais, Mataro, Grenache Noir, and Alicante Bouschet grown in the deep sands of the Cucamonga Valley on own-rooted, unirrigated bushvines.

The soil is granite sand alluvium from the south side of the San Gabriel Mountain range.

The Mataro and Alicante Bouschet were spontaneously fermented together in a 48T bin as were the Grenache and Pais. Both ferments were 50% whole cluster, lowered into the bottom, then covered with the remaining fruit, destemmed. The wines macerated on skins for about 32 days apiece. The wines went through malolactic conversion and aged in old, French oak barriques. They were assembled a month before bottling.

82 cases produced.

When

This wine was picked on August 26th and September 9th, 2025.

Where

One half of this wine was grown on Francis St. in Ontario, a relic of the old Secondo Guasti Vineyards, which were planted some time in the 1890s. The elevation is about 1000 feet above sea level. These are Grenache and Pais vines. The other half of the wine was grown only a few miles away in Mira Loma at the Galleano Home Ranch. These vines are Mataro and Alicante Bouschet. The ranch is about 1000 feet above sea level.

Why

Wine from Cucamonga is always intense. Regardless of style, variety, or site. This one is no different, though it is wildly drinkable at a much younger age. We believe this is due to the longer fermentation and skin maceration, which allowed some of the more angular tannins to lengthen and precipitate out of solution.

All vineyards we work with in Cucamonga have the deep sand, old vines, and dry farming in common, but they differ in aspect, spacing, and management. This wine combines two sites that have often been vinified and bottled separately, but this year, through blind bench blending trials, we discovered they were harmonious together. They told a more accurate picture of our favorite wines from this historic place.