Alban Vineyards is a

California wine California wine production has a rich viticulture history since 1680 when Spanish Jesuit missionaries planted ''Vitis vinifera'' vines native to the Mediterranean region in their established missions to produce wine for religious services. ...

estate producing various

Rhône The Rhône ( , ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Ròse''; Franco-Provençal, Arpitan: ''Rôno'') is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and Southeastern France before dischargi ...

style blends and varietal wines. The

winery A winery is a building or property that produces wine, or a business involved in the cultivation and production of wine, such as a wine company. Some wine companies own many wineries. Besides wine making equipment, larger wineries may also feat ...

is located in

Edna Valley Edna Valley is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) located in San Luis Obispo (SLO) County, California encompassing the rural town of Edna which is southeast of the county seat San Luis Obispo and north of the small coastal town Arroyo Gran ...

, near Arroyo Grande in the southern corner of

San Luis Obispo County San Luis Obispo County (), officially the County of San Luis Obispo, is a county on the Central Coast of California. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 282,424. The county seat is San Luis Obispo. Junípero Serra fou ...

History

Starting in 1985, John Alban planted grapes for other people until he bought an estate in 1989. With a focus on creating wines made from Rhône Valley varietals, Alban came to be a pioneer of the

Rhone Rangers The Rhone Rangers are a group of American winemakers who promote the use of grape varieties from the Rhône Valley. They are mostly based on the West Coast, particularly California, and have created a not-for-profit organization for the promoti ...

movement, and is considered one of the most influential American Rhone producers. On beginning to grow

Viognier Viognier () is a white wine grape variety. It is the only permitted grape for the French wine Condrieu AOC, Condrieu in the Rhone Valley (wine), Rhône Valley.J. Robinson ''The Oxford Companion to Wine'', Third Edition, p. 754, Oxford Univers ...

, Alban stated "I almost single-handedly doubled the world's acreage," referring to a time when its cultivation was reduced to in two areas of the Rhône Valley,

Condrieu Condrieu () is a Communes of France, commune in the Rhône (department), Rhône Departments of France, department in eastern France. It is situated on the right bank of the Rhône, some south of Vienne, Isère, Vienne and 44 km south of Ly ...

and Château-Grillet. Alban's work, along with that of Josh Jensen of Calera Wine Company in

San Benito County San Benito County (; ''San Benito'', Spanish for " St. Benedict"), officially the County of San Benito, is a county located in the Central Coast region of California. Situated in the California Coast Ranges, the county had a population of 64 ...

, helped to significantly expand plantings of Viognier in California at a time when the variety was near extinction.O. Clarke ''Encyclopedia of Grapes'' pg 276-281 Harcourt Books 2001

Production

Within a area, the

vineyard A vineyard ( , ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines. Many vineyards exist for winemaking; others for the production of raisins, table grapes, and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is kno ...

area extends , planted with varieties

Syrah Syrah (), also known as Shiraz, is a dark-skinned grape variety grown throughout the world and used primarily to produce red wine. In 1999, Syrah was found to be the offspring of two obscure grapes from southeastern France, Dureza and Mondeuse ...

and

Roussanne Roussanne () is a white wine grape grown originally in the Rhône wine region in French wine, France, where it is often blended with Marsanne. It is the only other white variety, besides Marsanne, allowed in the northern Rhône appellation d'Orig ...

. Among the wines produced are the Lorraine Vineyard, Reva Vineyard Syrah, Seymour's Vineyard Syrah, and Pandora, a blend of Grenache and Syrah. There has also been produced a

dessert wine Dessert wines, sometimes called pudding wines in the United Kingdom, are sweet wines typically served with dessert. There is no simple definition of a dessert wine. In the UK, a dessert wine is considered to be any sweet wine drunk with a mea ...

with ca. 5%

botrytis Botrytis may refer to: * ''Botrytis'' (fungus), the anamorphs of fungi of the genus '' Botryotinia'' **''Botrytis cinerea'', a mold important in wine making *Botrytis, the cauliflower cultivar group of ''Brassica oleracea ''Brassica oleracea'', a ...

grapes and aged in 50% new oak, named Rotten Luck.

References

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External links

Alban Vineyards official site
Wineries in San Luis Obispo County, California Companies based in San Luis Obispo County, California Food and drink companies established in 1989 1989 establishments in California