Grape culture has played an important role in our valley’s economic and social life from the time the Spaniards viewed the foothills of the majestic San Gabriel Mountains.

A visit to historic Hofer Ranch in Ontario, where I toured the Grenache vineyard harvest with Cucamonga Valley winemaker Domenic Galleano, shows the rich depths of that history and culture.

The Hofer Ranch was founded by Sanford Ballou and his son Benton in 1888. Paul Ballou Hofer helped create the Cucamonga Pioneer Vineyard Association and marketing cooperative controlled by local growers.

Hofer’s sons, Paul Jr. and Phillip, continued their father’s leadership, and today, Paul Hofer III farms a portion of the original family ranch, striving to maintain a remnant of the area’s viticultural heritage.

Living history

Hofer Ranch is a National Historic Registered Property, sheltered from the neighboring Ontario Airport jet way and industrial buildings.

Domenic Galleano explained that the beautiful Grenache from Hofer Ranch are selected each season for their winery’s award-winning August Grenache release – a delicious dry rosé-style wine.

“The quality is fantastic and consistent,” Galleano said. “The wine produced rivals the best of Oregon grown dry Grenache releases.”

Abundance

The 2015 growing season produced a high quality, abundant crop, offering about 40 to 50 large clusters of sweet berries per vine, free of mildew with limited raisined berries.

Grenache (Garnacha) is a popular and versatile red-skinned wine grape variety widely grown in France, Spain, Australia does quite well in hot, dry conditions. The Hofer Ranch is home to one of our valley’s few remaining Grenache vineyards.

Galleano’s 2014 August Grenache is available at the Galleano Winery tasting room for $17.95 per bottle. For information, call 951 685-5376 or visit www.galleanowinery.com.

Gino L. Filippi is a fourth generation Cucamonga vintner. He can be reached at Ginoffvine@aol.com.