Greetings wine enthusiasts. Last week I met friend of the vine Tim Skogstrom of South Pasadena. Tim built Cornell Winery & Tasting Room in the Santa Monica Mountains near Agoura Hills to showcase local wines and provide a much needed voice in the market place. Today, Tim brings us the real juice on winegrowing in the Santa Monica Mountains.
“Our wine business is tied to the history of the area as a small village and was created back in the early 1900s when aristocrats from the East Coast were heading west with their sporting needs intact. Most settled in Pasadena, Hancock Park, East L.A. and Boyle Heights, but the Santa Monica Mountain range served as their hunting ground. Deer, bear and mountain lion were plenti ful back then but eventually game diminished and a lake was built that would soon be called Malibou Lake.
Today, we focus on promoting small familyowned wineries that need assistance finding their customers in the competitive marketplace. Helping these producers seems to be my calling and there is not a day that goes by that I am not patted on the back for my efforts.
A story that has developed recently is the assault on the vineyards of the Santa Monica Mountains by the government. They claim that our vintners are polluting and using all the ground water. How can 200 acres of vines be capable of doing such damage in an area that covers roughly 97,000 acres? The proprietors of these vineyards reside on their properties, and their children play in their vineyards with their dogs. Such is life among the vines.
Gino asked about my favorite pours from the area. They include Malibu Sanity Pinot Noir by Charles Schetter, the Malibu Vineyard Pinot Noir by Michael McCarty, Bodegas Gomez Cabernet by Ruth and David Gomez, Malibu Vineyards Sangiovese by Jim Palmer, Dolin Chardonnay by Elliot Dolin, and Sage Hill Syrah by Gabrielle Harris.
There are more outstanding wines from our area but these are producers of which I am most fond. We welcome you to visit us at the winery. We’re open from 4 to 9 p.m. Thursday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Friday through Sunday. We stay open until 9 p.m. if we do not have a private party scheduled.”
Cornell Winery & Tasting Room is at 29975 Mulholland Highway, Agoura.
For more information, call 818-735-3542 or visit www.cornellwinery.com.
Gino L. Filippi is a fourth-generation Cucamonga Valley vintner and can be reached at Ginoffvine@aol.com
