Grapevine Arbor — Attraction in San Gabriel

What is the story of this grapevine?

In 1861, local winemaker L.J. Rose donated a mature grapevine stalk from his property to this location. His nearby vineyard was named “Sunny Slope”.

Rose lived adjacent to Benjamin Wilson, who also made wine from his own “Lake Vineyard” (this is the origin of Lake Ave; he founded the nearby city of Alhambra). These former vineyards are where the Huntington Library, the Old Mill, and Lacy Park are now located.

(LA and the surrounding areas were once covered with vineyards in the 1800s. The cuttings supplied by Mission San Gabriel contributed to the city becoming the major producer of commercial wine in the country. This is why LA was called “The City of Vines”.)

Before L.J. Rose owned this vine, however, it reportedly came from a small canyon in San Marino, just a stone’s throw west from what is now the Japanese Gardens within The Huntington Library (that garden exists in one of these canyons).

According to a legal document of that period, this vine cutting was “procured” from Wilson's land by a local resident, named Andrew Courtney (he kept company with former pirate, Joseph Chapman, who also cultivated vineyards at what is now LA State Historic Park). The precise location was Mission Canyon, aka Wild Grape Canyon. Mr Courtney planted this on his property, which was nearby.

Some time later, Rose purchased Mr Courtney’s land, but that hearty grapevine stalk - now much larger - became an obstruction. It was about 4 inches thick and 3 ft tall when it was removed. He offered it to David Franklin Hall, who co-owned the property where the Grapevine Arbor is now (also a friend of Chapman, who did work for the Mission). It was called the Grape Vine Property, as this parcel of land had been part of the Mission’s four vineyards, before Mexico secularized the missions.

Though this cutting was said to be a “wild grape vine” that came from a canyon, it was not native to California; it was introduced by the Spanish shortly after they arrived. To verify this, the vine was tested twice: in 2007 by Spanish researchers, and in 2013 by UC Davis. The results were the same: it was a European vine, imported by the Spaniards in the late 1700s. Popularly known as the “Mission grape", it originated in the Castilla-La Mancha region of Spain, known as listán prieto, (vitis vinifera, “wine-bearing vine”).

There is a second Mission grape, a hybrid version: it is a blend of listán prieto and a native Californian varietal. Creating a hybrid grape was not easy: it involved grafting the branches of the European vine onto the roots of the North American vine. Eventually, growers favored the hybrid, and it eventually replaced the former (this wine was only slightly better). It was used extensively by the missions, and more so by others when commercial winemaking took off in the 1830s. It is believed that hybridization occurred at or near Mission San Gabriel.

At Olvera Street (formerly called Wine Street), vines still grow from both Pelanconi house and Avila Adobe, crawling above unaware pedestrians. These have survived for some 200 years. The cuttings were likely planted after 1818, perhaps grown for shade instead of wine; these likely were supplied by the Mission. To determine the variety, these were also tested. The findings revealed that these vines are hybrids.

In recent years, local winemakers have been harvesting the grapes from the vines (planted in the late 1700s) located inside the Mission grounds, as well as from vines in Olvera Street, to make L.A.’s unique & historic Angelica wine. Yields of this sweet, fortified, brownish wine are minimal, so it’s not cheap. San Antonio Winery, however, sells an inexpensive version of this wine, though their grapes are...

Love this venue. My wife and I were married here and it’s not only a beautiful location for any event (especially a wedding) but it’s very affordable. I would highly recommend checking this site out. Staff are friendly and helpful, and it’s just a great asset...

This is a very nice venue spot by the San Gabriel Mission. The spot is large for a big gathering. There is a tented area but I am not sure if the tent is always there or if it was rented when I went. The only downside is...