From KCRW, I'm Evan Kliman and you're listening to good food.

I want you to close your eyes for a minute, unless you're driving, then please don't.

But if you're sitting comfortably, close your eyes and imagine the landscape of Los Angeles. Before there were

buildings, before there were orange trees, imagine a landscape covered in grape vines.

Everything from Tecula North all the way up to about the Central Valley,

believe it or not, prior to the Citrusgroves going in,

vines were one of the primary things.

You know, I mean, Korea Town exists right now in a place where

would have been covered by vines.

Malibu, a lot of the canyons in that area would have had vines covering because it's pretty much the only thing you could grow there.

A lot of the flat areas going out in the San Gabriel Valley were all vines.

I mean as far as you could see and a lot of that would be made not just

to make wine but also to ferment into a brandy or spirits or things you know people

drank a fair amount back then so they needed alcohol.

Southern California may be famous for its citrus orchards,

but before this region was known for its lemons, limes, and oranges,

it was known for its grapes.

Los Angeles was once home to several thriving vineyards

that were well known for the wine they produced.

Although L.A.'s winemaking history hasn't received much of a spotlight, a handful of

winemakers are doing their best to revive it. Filmmaker Jason Wise documents this revival in his 27 minute documentary. and Your film is called The Oldest Vine and refers to a grapevine that's growing at the San Gabriel Mission.

How did you get interested in sort of delving into the history and the history of wine making in LA.

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