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. I ...

estate producing various

Rhône The Rhône ( , ; wae, Rotten ; frp, Rôno ; oc, Ròse ) is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and southeastern France before discharging into the Mediterranean Sea. At Ar ...

style blends and

varietal wines A varietal wine is a wine made primarily from a single named grape variety, and which typically displays the name of that variety on the wine label.The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, 2000.winepros.com.au. ...

. The

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

is located in Edna Valley, near

Arroyo Grande Arroyo often refers to: * Arroyo (creek), an intermittently dry creek Arroyo may also refer to: People * Arroyo (surname) Places United States ;California * Arroyo Burro Beach, a public beach park in Santa Barbara County, California * Arro ...

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 census, the population was 282,424. The county seat is San Luis Obispo. Junípero Serra founded the Mission ...

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 promotion ...

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 in the Rhône Valley.J. Robinson ''"The Oxford Companion to Wine"'' Third Edition pg 754 Oxford University Press 2006 Outside of the Rhôn ...

, 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 commune in the Rhône department in eastern France. It is situated on the right bank of the Rhône, some south of Vienne and 44 km south of Lyon, at the foot of the lower slopes of the Mont Monnet. It has an area of 921 h ...

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

Calera Wine Company Calera may refer to: Places *Calera, Alabama *Calera, Oklahoma *Calera, Chile *Calera de Tango, Chile *Calera de Víctor Rosales, Mexico * Calera de León, Spain *Calera y Chozas, Spain Other uses *Calera Capital Calera Capital is a private equ ...

San Benito County San Benito County (; ''San Benito'', Spanish for "St. Benedict"), officially the County of San Benito, is a county located in the Coast Range Mountains of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 64,209. The coun ...

, 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 (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineyards ...

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 B ...

and

Roussanne Roussanne is a white wine grape grown originally in the Rhône wine region in France, where it is often blended with Marsanne. It is the only other white variety, besides Marsanne, allowed in the northern Rhône appellations of Crozes-Hermitage A ...

. 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 meal ...

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'' is ...

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 Companies based in San Luis Obispo County, California Food and drink companies established in 1989 1989 establishments in California