Wine 101: Northern L.A. area has some fine wines

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I write a lot about local wineries and those in Santa Ynez, Santa Maria and Paso Robles, but an area that should not be forgotten is the "other north." These wineries are in the northern inland part of Los Angeles County: Agua Dulce, Acton, Antelope Valley, Tehachapi and Leona Valley.

Some of these wineries are producing great wines from many varietals. I have grown quite fond of the major player in Leona Valley, Leona Valley Winery. I have enjoyed its wines at local wine festivals and have purchased them online.

Leona owners David Reynolds and Corey Jones purchased 50 acres in 2000 with a small chardonnay vineyard. In 2002, they tore out the existing vines and planted seven varietals: syrah, chardonnay, pinot noir, cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, malbec and petite verdot. All they needed was a winemaker.

In 2003, Nick Morello signed on to be the winemaker. Morello invited me to his home to taste some of his wines and talk about Leona Valley Winery.

In Morello's early days, after he graduated with a degree in geophysics, he and wife Julie eloped and had a two-day honeymoon in Santa Barbara wine country. They fell in love with the winemaking aspect of the industry after meeting some winemakers during this short weekend.

He started making his own wine at home, which he called "kitchen wine." It came out pretty good, and Morello decided to get serious. He took extension courses in viticulture at UC Davis and jumped into the wine industry full time.

He volunteered at different wineries and worked at others. He said he went from "cellar rat" to "cellar master."

He then moved on to Valencia Wine Co., where he worked as wine educator and general manager and really developed his palate.

After joining Leona, he starting working with test lots of different varietals of the 2003 vintage and had his first commercial crush there in 2004. Leona produced 32 tons of grapes that year and increased it to 58 tons in 2005 and 2006.

It had a setback in tonnage in 2007 due to unexpected frost but came right back in 2007 with 63 tons, or about 4,500 cases of wine.

The Leona Valley area also was just named an American Viticultural Area, or AVA. This means it is recognized as an "official" wine-grape-growing region. The designation took effect Nov. 28.

Leona Valley does not have a tasting room, but you can taste by appointment. It also is hosting a tasting of reserve wines on Dec. 14. The cost is $40 per person, and with the quality of the wines, it seems like a bargain.