L.A. History
Our Roots Are in the Vines
Los Angeles History
through the Vine
When the Spanish settlers first arrived in Los Angeles, they found native grapes growing in abundance. They already knew from their experience in northern Baja, Mexico, where the same native grape also grew, that it was not suitable for making wine. But they took the vigor of the vines as a promising indicator that their own winemaking grapes would thrive. This promise was fulfilled in spectacular fashion and soon there were vineyards growing everywhere — in the foothills, in the flatlands and along the L.A. river, all the way down to Long Beach.
Los Angeles quickly became the epicenter of winemaking in California, a distinction it held for over a century. But during this period of rapid cultural and economic change, the native grape and the Spanish grape hybridized with each other. It is not known if this hybridization occurred naturally or was the result of human ingenuity. But the creation of the grape was auspicious for it provided abundant fruit and shade and became a favorite among gardeners and landscapers throughout the region.
They did not use the nūshákut
to make wine, but the grape
was part of their foodways
The vines of the nūshákut were called pah-vahś kā-veet and were used in construction, along with willow and tule
The indigenous people of
the area, the Tongva/K’izh Gabrielino, had their own
grape, which they called
nūshákut
Indigenous Era
1769
Junipero Serra brings
first winemaking grape cuttings to Alta
California
1783
First vintage of Los Angeles wine produced by San Gabriel Mission
1809
Californio Antonio Lugo
plants the first documented secular vineyard in L.A.
1831
French winemaker Jean-Louis Vignes comes to Los Angeles
500 AD -1769
Mexican Era
1821 - 1848
Spanish Era
1769 - 1821
American Era
starts in 1848
1849
Discovery of gold in northern California spurs explosive growth in L.A. winemaking
1876
Transcontinental Railroad reaches Los Angeles,
marking the beginning of industrialization and the
end of L.A. winemaking
Our Story
In 2014, building on the pioneering work of grape geneticist Carole P. Meredith, scientists from UC Davis examined the Vina Madre, the oldest living grapevine in the city. They discovered that the vine, long thought to be of the Spanish winemaking variety, turned out to be instead of a non-winemaking hybrid of the Spanish and the native from the late 1800s. This discovery disrupted the long-held romantic notion that the Vina Madre was a direct link to our winemaking and colonial past. But it replaced that notion with one that is culturally more inclusive and ties us to our Indigenous past.
Plant the Vine extrapolates from this discovery a unique chronological sequence of grapes -- the native, the Spanish and the hybrid. It uses this sequence in designing community vineyards that it plants in parts of the city where vineyards once grew. Through interpretive programs designed around these vineyards, Plant the Vine encourages young people to see local history in a critical light and understand that they have a role to play in shaping the future.
In 2019, Plant the Vine helped plant a vineyard in the Willowbrook Community Garden, in South L.A., a part of the city where grapes once grew in abundance. The following year, the Los Angeles State Historic Park planted one, at a site that is near both the L.A. River and the location where the major Indigenous settlement of Yangnaa once existed. The State Park also maintains a propagating nursery for the vines. And this year, Plant the Vine helped establish a vineyard in the Watts Community Garden.
Plant the Vine will also soon start partnering with C.A.K.E. (Culinary Arts Kids Eat) to bring our program to the classroom for high school students in LAUSD schools.
Our Mission
To catalyze change in how Angelenos see the city, and see their role in shaping its future, through the establishment of community vineyards of historic and native grapes, planted in parts of the city where vineyards once grew.
Our Vision
Plant the Vine envisions a city of informed communities who, with knowledge of the city's grape-growing past, can imagine a greener, more just and more livable future.
Plant the Vine
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