While on a quick trip to Southern California for Grandpa Benny’s 95th birthday party, we stopped by Mission San Juan Capistrano for a tour since my son Henry just finished studying the missions in school.

Besides simply enjoying the beautiful grounds and impressive ruins of the original church, we were also excited to pay homage to the site of the first vineyard and winery in Alta California.  The vines were planted in 1779 and first wine produced in 1783.  The audio tour mentioned that opinions on the wines produced at the mission ranged from “wonderful” to “awful”, which confirms that as soon as there were wines in California, there were wine critics.  I’m guessing even they asked for a second glass as there were obviously no alternatives available.

Here’s a picture of the exterior fermentation vat.  Think Junipero Serra ever lost a bet and had to swim in it?

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