Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/735024
{ SOMMjournal.com } 53 It's easy to forget that the American fascination with quality, varietally distinctive wines is quite new. The U.S. wine industry has exploded in the last 40 years, with ultra-premium wines really only gaining traction in the marketplace within the last two decades. Up until the late 1970s, the vast majority of wine consumption was made up of jug wine given names such as "Burgundy" and "Chianti" that had noth- ing to do with the grape variety or region. This was the wine business for the majority of the 20th century. The Riboli family, who founded San Antonio winery in downtown Los Angeles, has been in the wine busi- ness for nearly a century (they celebrate their 100th anniversary next year). Their company has flourished despite numerous challenges, and as consumer tastes and curiosity for distinguished wines evolved, the family has made strategic decisions to change as well. Family History When San Antonio Winery was founded in 1917 by Santo Cambianica, Los Angeles was already established as the premiere wine region in the state, with nearly 100 bonded wineries in operation. Only two years later, the Volstead Act passed and Prohibition essentially destroyed most of the wineries. Yet, Cambianica's relationship with the Catholic Church saved the business, granting them permission to produce wine for sacramental and ceremonial purposes. In 1937, Cambianica's nephew, Stefano Riboli, moved to L.A. at 16 to begin his apprenticeship with his uncle, proving himself invaluable. He married Maddalena Satragni in 1946 and she quickly became an integral part of the business. She too was an Italian immigrant who moved to L.A. at age nine and worked in the Guasti region, east of the city, harvesting grapes. When Cambianica passed away in 1958, he granted the Ribolis full ownership to carry on the family tradition for the next generation. Rock samples from the Stefano Vineyard in El Pomar District AVA. These are a part of the Arbuckle-Positas soil formation which are deep and well-drained. These soils were formed in alluvium from a mixture of rock types on river terraces. This fruit is from a special block of Cabernet Sauvignon at Stefano Vineyard that produces smaller clusters and berries with thicker skins (ENTAV Clone 685 on 1103P rootstock).