Jim York’s Catalina View Gardens winery brings recognition to the Peninsula as a unique wine-producing area
by Stephanie Cartozian
In 2022, Jim York, owner of Catalina View Gardens, filed a federal application to have the Palos Verdes Peninsula recognized as an American Viticultural Area (AVA).
Nick Zetts, a farmer for Catalina View Gardens, said to earn the designation, York had to demonstrate that the Peninsula soil conditions, and microclimate (think ocean and fog) create a unique wine growing region capable of producing unique wines.
York was assisted in earning the AVA designation by Buelton winemaker Ken Brown.
York planted 1,500 chardonnay vines and 4,500 pinot vines in 2012 and now has over 6,000 vines.
“The heavy rains we had over the past two years along with a new drip irrigation system keeps the vineyard satiated,” Zetts said.
He described the growing cycle as beginning in February.
“In February we prune back everything. We cut it back to two inches and two buds. It will grow all new fruit. The shoots start getting stronger.
“In March we expect a bud-break. In April we maximize the fertility of the soil, sometimes adding nutrients like seaweed fertilizer liquid and chicken manure with seaweed granules. All the while the plants are becoming substantially bigger and bigger.
“Clusters of shoots start coming out of one position, and we have to thin it out to two shoots, always thinning out the leaves to make sure enough sun hits the grapes. We remove the excess leaves away so they don’t sit against the fruit and cause disease. In March and April we cover the crops with four-foot wide netting to keep the animals from eating the ripe grapes. As the vines flower, they are wind pollinated and then the ‘big fruit’ starts,” Zetts said
“The grapes ripen in July so in June, it’s critical to pull more leaves to keep the plants thinned out to avoid disease. It’s good for the grapes to get sun on their skin a little bit to toughen the skins and again make them more resistant to disease. Then, we wait for ripening.”
The next task is to test the sugars in the grapes, a measurement the industry calls Brix. Zetts said the ideal levels are 24 to 26 Brix for pinot and 23 to 25 Brix for chardonnay. As the grape clusters grow, it is important to keep the plants disease resistant and netted to keep out rodents and birds. The harvest is in late August or September. The last two vintages were in September.
A crew helps pick the grapes and load them into a 26-foot cold storage truck, which is driven to Ken Brown’s Buelton winery for processing.
The pinot grapes are de-stemmed, pressed with skins to make juice, and then poured into an open vat fermentation tank for 12 to 14 days. Then the juice is moved to oak barrels for malolactic fermentation, during which tart, malic acid is converted to less acidic lactic acid (the same as found in milk)
Catalina View Gardens pinot juice sits in oak for nine months, where it picks up the oak flavor. Zetts said they are experimenting with destemming 50% and 25% of the grapes, instead of destemming 100 percent. The stems impart a peppery flavor.
The chardonnay grapes are pressed using a bladder press that is fueled by air and is more gentle than the press used to crush the pinot grapes. The pressed chardonnay juice gets moved to a cool metal container where the temperature causes the stems and dirt to settle to the bottom. The purified juice is then put in barrels for nine months.
Catalina View Gardens uses French oak casks, which offer subtle aromas such as vanilla, honey and sweet, herbaceous spice. American oak casks, by contrast, provide a greater amount of aromas including tropical, or exotic notes such as coconut, coffee, smoke, tobacco and cocoa.
The original Catalina View Gardens label was a silhouette of Catalina Island designed by York’s daughter, The current chardonnay and rose labels are water colors of the vineyard by Katrina Vanderlip, granddaughter of Frank Vanderlip, the “Father of Palos Verdes.” The Pinot and reserve chardonnay labels are paintings of the vineyard by Rick Humphrey, a Portuguese Bend Art Colony artist.
