The Santa Monica Mountains have quite a few vineyards. Most are on a small scale and are hobbies to their owners. The mountains have dry summers and mild to cool winters. It’s not exactly the perfect place to grow wine. Acreage is scarce, the climate is tricky, and getting enough water is challenging.
Many Santa Monica Mountain Wineries do not make wine commercially; they only share it with family and friends. Those producing enough wine to sell commercially do so through their websites or local outlets.
Santa Monica Mountains vineyards produce wine using a custom winery. The crush winery handles processing, fermentation, aging, bottling, and labeling, freeing the local growers to tend to their vineyards.
Cornell Tasting Room on Mulholland Hwy is a great place to sample wine from independent Santa Monica Mountain Wineries. Several more extensive vineyards have tasting rooms, including Rosenthal Estate and Malibu Family Wines.
During the 1850s, Los Angeles County was the center of production in California, with 43 wineries producing four million gallons of wine.
Rapid urban growth, Prohibition, an epidemic of a vine-killing disease, and the rise of Napa and Sonoma soon wiped out all but one Los Angeles area wineries. Only still survives San Antonio Winery in downtown Los Angeles.
With year-round access and the Pacific Ocean as its backdrop, the Santa Monica Mountains is a perfect destination with its blend of soft rolling hills, rugged mountains, wooded backcountry, sandy beaches, and rocky shores covered with scrub and abundant wildlife.
Located in a Mediterranean ecosystem just minutes from the urban sprawl of downtown Los Angeles, the Santa Monica Mountains are L. A.’s backyard. They are the most significant urban national park in the United States.
The area provides a seamless system of federal, state, and local parklands, with places for numerous outdoor activities and Santa Monica Mountain Wineries.
The mountains have an exciting and diverse cultural history, beginning with the Chumash and Gabrielino/Tongva peoples. Over 1,000 archeological sites can be found in the area. Over 100 years after the Los Angeles wineries closed, wine returns to the Santa Monica Mountains.
Hidden in the canyons are numerous vineyards. Most are small; however, a few are commercial enterprises—best-known Santa Monica Mountain Wineries, Malibu Family Wines, and Rosenthal Malibu Estate.
The Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area is just off the 101 Freeway, approximately 51 miles from downtown Los Angeles and 85 miles from Orange County.
Upon arrival, visitors are greeted by the National Park Service Center at King Gillette Ranch at Las Virgenes Road and Mulholland Highway.
The visitor center houses a gift shop and a display of interactive exhibits. It also has a large interactive map of the recreation area with a trip planner and information about available activities.
Santa Monica Mountain Wineries
- Cornell Winery & Tasting Room: Stop by and explore more than 50 local wines from right here in your backyard. Events and local wine tasting.
- Malibu Family Wines experience a tasting and buy one of their surprisingly good bottles to drink at the winery’s picnic tables.
- Malibu Estate Vineyard Cielo Wine tasting Malibu Wines tasting room. A vineyard is located in the Malibu Hills.
- Rosenthal Malibu Estate 25 acres of hillside vines are planted in this unique microclimate.
- La Vina Gomez de Malibu is a Local grower making wine for personal use only and online sales from a website and at Cornell Winery.
Thank you for mentioning “La Vina Gomez de Malibu” (not LA Vina Gomez de Malibu). Our website is malibuvinesandwines.com. Our wines are also sold at Cornell Winery and have Braille labeling
Hello Ruth I changed LA to La and added Cornell Winery as a source for your wines.