Brought to California by the Spanish friars in the late 1700s, the mission grape occupies a curious place in global viticulture. In 2006, after centuries of mystery, the grapevine was determined to be the same as pais, which is grown mostly in Chile, and listan prieto, grown in the Canary Islands, generally following the route that Spanish colonists followed into the New World.
The grape was long considered to make only tepid wine, which is why so much of it was historically turned into brandy. But a revival — particularly in the natural-wine, return-to-historic-roots set — is revealing that the grape can indeed make a variety of zesty styles, from pale whites and crisp rosés to darker-hued reds. This is happening quite a bit in not only Baja California but also Chile, the Canary Islands, and California.
In line with their decade-old project to grow grapes on Catalina Island — including zinfandel cuttings from the historic vines on Santa Cruz Island — the Rusack family also took cuttings of mission grape from the old island vineyard and planted them at their Ballard Canyon estate in 2015. The experiment hasn’t been easy.