Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/688647
{ SOMMjournal.com } 119 It's sort of unfair, really. Los Angeles was an agricultural area known for grape grow- ing long before Napa. Yet, today, when an out-of-towner discovers a winery located in downtown Los Angeles, it's with disbelief. The fact is, San Antonio Winery has been there since 1917; as the Angeleno landscape devel - oped, and the orange groves and vineyards disappeared, its patriarch, Stefano Riboli, began to look elsewhere to buy grapes. Over time, the Riboli family spread their roots north, farming estate vine - yards in a handful of AVAs in Monterey County and Napa Valley. Lately though—just like the rest of the world—the Ribolis have had their eyes on Paso Robles, and in par- ticular, the El Pomar District AVA. They've even opened a brand new winery in Paso Robles this year, with the adjacent hospitality center currently scheduled to open next spring. Recently The Somm Journal sent a group of somms and wine buyers from all over the country to Paso Robles Somm Camp (see page 112 for that story). One of their first stops was San Antonio's Stefano and Maddalena Vineyards, located across the road from each other in this cooler El Pomar District AVA. THE "URBAN WINERY" Goes Country SAN ANTONIO WINERY AND THE EL POMAR DISTRICT AVA OF PASO ROBLES by Jessie Birschbach / photos by Jeremy Ball Winemaker Anthony Riboli in his El Pomar vineyards.