Lone Wolf is Mission (aka País, aka Misíon) and various mutations and crosses of the variety from the Lone Wolf Vineyard, planted in 1896 and abandoned for many years. During this period without pruning or upkeep, the Mission vines interbred with each other and with various other local non-vinifera varieties. The grapes were harvested by hand and destemmed into a stainless-steel tank, where they macerated on the skins and fermented for three weeks with one punchdown by hand each day. The juice was transferred to used barrels to age. Bottled without fining, filtering or added sulfur.

Scythian Wine Co.

Scythian Wine Co. is a new project from sommelier-turned-vigneron Raj Parr that highlights the nearly lost viticultural heritage of Los Angeles. Before prohibition, the city was the center of the California wine industry, producing highly regarded wines from varieties like Palomino, Mission, Garnacha Tintorera and Zinfandel planted on sandy soils. A few of these own-rooted, dry-farmed, vineyards endure, largely due to the stewardship of the Galleano family. With a few collaborators, Raj Parr started exploring, then rehabilitating, some of the most interesting plots of these vines in 2019. The vineyards are relics, sandwiched between warehouses, corporate headquarters, neighborhoods and highways around Los Angeles County. The vines are almost all over 100-years-old, and none of the vineyards have ever been treated with pesticides fungicides, or even sulfur or copper. From these marvels of endurance and survival, Raj makes low-intervention wines in a small cellar near Boyle Heights, working with minimal additives and neutral vessels. The Scythian Wine Company wines are a fascinating opportunity to taste a fundamentally different side of the history of California wine.