2027 Wineries Los Angeles

Ottavino Wines

1160 Hopper Ave, Santa Rosa, CA 95403
ottavinowines.com

Region: Santa Rosa

Owner: Shalini Sekhar

Winemaker: Shalini Sekhar

About: Shalini’s first passion was playing the piccolo. Now her passion is creating small-lot wines: a natural migration from one form of art and science to another. Ottavino focuses on varieties and winemaking techniques which are less common in California but outstanding nonetheless. Ottavino currently produces Grüner Veltliner, Rosé of St. Laurent, St. Laurent, and Chardonnay in Austrian oak. As an Indian-American woman winemaker originally from New Jersey, Shalini knows a thing or two about being unexpected but exceptional!

What is your favorite undiscovered grape? Grüner Veltliner – It is unlike working with Chardonnay, which I had a decade+ + of experience making. My favorite Grüners from Austria are from the Kamptal region and ride the line between minerality, spice, and fruit purity. Learning to work with Grüner in California to get the spiciness inherent in the grape to balance with a core of fruit has taken time to understand.

What was your first experience with an undiscovered grape? I think it was when I began studying for WSET exams before I changed careers into winemaking. I remember our German unit and tasting Scheurebe for the first time (and learning to pronounce it!). The intensity of the aroma, but truly dry palate felt so distinctly different than Riesling itself.

What do you love most about the undiscovered grapes? I’m truly focused on helping people discover these other amazing grapes. I’m applying classic, minimal intervention winemaking, which I’ve done for years with Pinot Noir & Chardonnay, to show that you can make noteworthy wines from grapes you don’t encounter as often.

Pali Wine Co.

1036 W. Aviation Drive. Lompoc, CA, 93436
paliwineco.com

Region: Santa Barbara County

Owner: Perr Family

Winemaker: Aaron Walker

About: From the Palisades to Santa Barbara County. What started as backyard dinners and a love of wine has grown into a family-run winery with roots across California’s Central Coast. Founded by Tim and Judy Perr in 2005, Pali Wine Co. blends tradition, curiosity, and community—from our early days in a Lompoc garage to our estate vineyard, natural wine project, and coastal tasting rooms. Today, Pali is guided by two generations of the Perr family, our longtime winemaker Aaron Walker, and a commitment to wines that reflect people, place, and purpose.

Pali Wine Co. is our flagship label, focused on small-lot wines that reflect the character of California’s Central Coast. In 2012, we planted Pali Vineyard in the Sta. Rita Hills—originally with Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, now also home to Gamay, Syrah, Chenin Blanc, and Dornfelder. From sourcing to cellar, our wines are shaped by place, guided by sustainability, and grounded in long-standing grower relationships.

Neighborhood is the sketchbook for Pali—a space to experiment, push boundaries, and explore new ideas. Led by Nick and Carmen Perr, this label is rooted in natural winemaking and shaped by the energy of Los Angeles. Every bottle is wild-fermented, unfined, unfiltered, and made with minimal sulfur.

What is your favorite undiscovered grape? A few favorites: Cabernet Pfeffer, Dornfelder, and Orange Muscat.

What was your first experience with an undiscovered grape? We first experimented with Dornfelder when sourcing from our neighbors, Huber Vineyard. Our 2015 vintage was extremely dark in color with a surprisingly light, acid-driven frame. Nearly 10 years later, we planted Dornfelder on our estate property and are producing varietals under Pali Wine Co. and Neighborhood Winery, experimenting with our winemaking for this stunning grape!

On another note, we were privileged to begin sourcing from Enz Vineyard in 2022. We now source Cabernet Pfeffer, Zinfandel, Orange Muscat, and ancient-vine Mourvèdre from their property. We love the opportunity to highlight terroir in each of our wines, whether it’s skin-contact Orange Muscat or carbonic macerated Cab Pfeffer!

What do you love most about the undiscovered grapes? Sharing with our guests and wine club members across our tasting rooms!

Perlegos Wine

PO Box 248 Woodbridge CA 95258
perlegoswine.com

Region: Lodi

Owners: Jeff & John Perlegos

Winemaker: Jeff & John Perlegos

About: Growing up in the central valley of California, we’ve inherited a sense of pride from our Greek parents and have continued to farm vineyards and make wine, incorporating the Mediterranean lifestyle and culture into our everyday lives. We don’t make wines that are made to have an instant and powerful impact like tasting room wines; our wines are wines of finesse and elegance, and are made to be enjoyed with friends, family, and food.

What is your favorite undiscovered grape? Assyrtiko – represents our Greek heritage, and makes one of the great wines of the world

What was your first experience with an undiscovered grape? It was Cinsault, and I could smell its wonderful aromas in the restaurant from across the room.

What do you love most about the undiscovered grapes? The mystery of trying something new

Starfield Vineyards

2750 Jacquier Road, Placerville, CA 95667 starfieldvineyards.com Region: El Dorado Owner: Tom Sinton & Rob Sinton Winemaker: Rob Sinton About: Starfield Vineyards is an estate vineyard and winery in El Dorado, halfway between Sacramento and Lake Tahoe — on the Highway 50 corridor near Placerville. Starfield Vineyards is known for its high elevation mountain vineyards in El Dorado and the fresh wines from rare varieties that exhibit the characteristic Sierra Spice from growing grapes in the pine forests of California. What is your favorite undiscovered grape? Cinsaut is my personal favorite. It was hard to find varietal examples of it before we planted it and it looks almost like a table grape, but it produces a light red wine with vibrant strawberry notes and a hint of leafy-bramble. It’s great straight from the fridge on hot California summer days. What was your first experience with an undiscovered grape? I always felt like I gravitated toward lesser known grapes so it’s hard to pinpoint the exact moment. I remember going through Cabernet Franc and Assyrtiko phases before I’d ever made it to my Cab Sauv, Pinot, and Chardonnay phase. What do you love most about the undiscovered grapes? It’s still a rare day when I open a bottle of a variety that isn’t considered an “undiscovered grape”. These varieties offer new drinkers a rare opportunity to discover their own opinions about varieties without the vast input of decades of publications and critics so I think it’s easier to find your own wine-tasting voice when drinking these wines and played an important role in shaping my winemaking (and wine-drinking) preferences.

The Steven Kent Winery

2245 S. Vasco Rd, Ste C, Livermore, CA 94550
stevenkent.com

Region: Livermore Valley

Owner: Steven and Beth Mirassou

Winemaker: Steven, Beth, and Aidan Mirassou

About: The Steven Kent Winery in the Livermore Valley is the preeminent producer of Cab Franc in the US.

What is your favorite undiscovered grape? Cabernet Franc, because it is the most alluring, beguiling, delicious, sexy, food-friendly grape…and it is criminally undiscovered.

What was your first experience with an undiscovered grape? Though I had known of Cab Franc, tasting Loire Valley versions in 2000 opened my eyes to a whole different way of thinking about winemaking and the most important parts of those (and all) wines. Keep the wines as pure as possible and help to shepherd in the most authentic and inherently valuable qualities each grape contains.

What do you love most about the undiscovered grapes? Bottomless allure and complexity, Cab Franc is the sexiest grape alive.

Tablas Creek Vineyard

9339 Adelaida Road, Paso Robles, CA 93446
tablascreek.com

Region: Paso Robles

Owners: The Haas and Perrin families

Winemaker: Neil Collins

About: Tablas Creek Vineyard, in the Paso Robles Adelaida District, is a pioneer of the American Rhone movement and the first Regenerative Organic Certified™ winery in the world.

What is your favorite undiscovered grape? It’s unfair to ask us this! So, let’s go with the two rarest grapes we grow. On the white side Picardan. When we planted our half-acre it increased the world’s footprint by 40%. And on the red side, Vaccarese, where when we bottled it in 2019, we think it was the first 100% Vaccarese from anywhere in the world in 50+ years.

What was your first experience with an undiscovered grape? My first wine tasting memory — the first time I remember tasting a wine and understanding what the adults were talking about — was Gewürztraminer. It really did taste like rose petals, which I thought was so cool.

What do you love most about the undiscovered grapes? They offer an incredible variety of flavors and character, thrive in a variety of climates and soils, and can be remarkably valuable in blends as well as on their own.

Thacher Winery and Vineyard

8355 Vineyard Dr., Paso Robles thacherwinery.com Region: Paso Robles Owner/Winemaker: Sherman Thacher About: Our mission is to grow unique, and food-friendly wines that purely express the terroirs we farm throughout the Central Coast. We strive to make elegant wines with more nuances than sheer power. What is your favorite undiscovered grape? Cinsault What was your first experience with an undiscovered grape? 2015 Cinsault What do you love most about the undiscovered grapes? The unique expression that these forgotten grapes can produce.