Once the largest wine region in California, the Cucamonga Valley AVA keeps the state's deepest wine history alive: century-old own-rooted vines in the sand, Prohibition-era family houses still pouring, and Route 66 running through the middle of it.
Every conversation about California wine history runs through the Cucamonga Valley. A century ago this was the largest wine region in the state, tens of thousands of acres of vines rolling across the Inland Empire's sandy alluvial fans, and though freeways and warehouses claimed most of that ground, the survivors are extraordinary: own-rooted vines over a hundred years old still yielding Zinfandel and Mission fruit from soils so sandy phylloxera never took hold.
The living heritage houses carry the story. Galleano Winery has poured from its Mira Loma ranch since 1927, its property recognized as a historic district; Joseph Filippi continues a family line stretching back generations in the valley; and San Antonio Winery's Ontario outpost extends Los Angeles' oldest winery into the region. Tasting here is equal parts wine and time travel, with Route 66 literally running through the appellation.
Wino Notion's winery pages for the Cucamonga Valley and Inland Empire roster are rolling out now. Browse the live list below as the region comes online.
It was once the largest wine region in California, and its deep sandy soils still sustain century-old own-rooted vines, some of the state's most historically significant vineyard blocks.
Galleano Winery, pouring from its historic Mira Loma ranch since 1927, and Joseph Filippi Winery are the flagship heritage stops, joined by San Antonio Winery's Ontario location.
Old-vine Zinfandel above all, plus heritage field varieties and fortified styles rooted in the valley's pre-Prohibition traditions.
In the Inland Empire east of Los Angeles, spanning parts of Rancho Cucamonga, Ontario, Fontana and Mira Loma, with Route 66 crossing the appellation.
All 8 wineries, heritage vineyards and legacy names we track across the Cucamonga Valley and Inland Empire, each with its own Wino Notion page.