Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/793596
march 2017 / the tasting panel / 63 the wines. When Los Angeles outlawed the processing of grapes downtown in 1972, they decided to open a restau- rant in the former crush pad. The Maddalena Restaurant continues to thrive today, serving grandmother Riboli's traditional Italian recipes to eager guests. The Riboli family sold their wines directly to consumers for years and at one point, had ten tasting rooms throughout California. When the state passed the Fair Trade Act allowing supermarkets to sell alcohol, it didn't make sense to have so many tasting rooms. Instead, they started their own distribution team to market their portfolio directly to retailers and restaurants. When the opportunity arose to purchase a vineyard in Napa Valley's prestigious Rutherford, AVA, Maddalena spearheaded the effort. They also invested in properties throughout Monterey County. Until the 1980s, the business was focused largely on gallon "jug" wine and sacramental wine. The family witnessed the market shift as wineries and consumers began to focus on vintage-dated, varietally focused wines and launched the Maddalena label in 1985. The Maddalena wines won multiple awards at major competitions, starting the company down the path towards higher-quality production. The Fourth Generation Standing in front of the family's brand new state-of-the-art winery in Paso Robles, it's impressive to see how the company has evolved. In fact, only three percent of family-owned businesses are run by the fourth genera- tion. Today, the Riboli family operates a multi-faceted enterprise. They have achieved great success with brands like America's number one imported Italian wine, Stella Rosa, a semi-sweet sparkling wine, launched in 2003. They continue to produce value-driven brands like San Antonio and Maddalena, which the business was built on. Yet, the fourth generation has shifted gears to focus on high- quality, exceptional wines through brands like San Simeon, Opaque and Riboli Family Vineyard. Fourth-generation Anthony Riboli joined the family business in 1998 and leads the winemaking team. As the first formally trained winemaker in the family, graduating from U.C. Davis with an M.S. in Viticulture, he's worked meticulously over the years making changes in both the winery and the vineyards that the company has worked with to elevate quality. For him, jug wine was really "the end of an era," and he urged the family to switch gears and invest in higher-quality production. This was not only a philosophical change, but a major economic investment. It took years of experience and research to decide where to plant their estate vineyards and determine the location for the winery. Since the winery in L.A. was prohibited from processing grapes, they were forced to use custom crush facilities for their fruit and then finish the wines in Los Angeles. Building a winery outside of L.A. was essential. Beginning in 1998, the family worked closely with their growers to achieve the higher-quality fruit they were seek- ing. In 2003, Anthony Riboli recruited winemaker Arnaud Debons, who had worked in Bordeaux, Cahors and Napa Valley after graduating from the University of Toulouse in France. The two young winemakers had a shared vision