Winemaking in San Pedro:

In a faded industrial building on the edge of the San Pedro Arts District, the man who runs one of the oldest businesses in town plots the resurgence of a dying art: winemaking. Steve Marabella has been working at the vineyard that bears his name for 35 years, continuing an Italian family tradition.

“My father started the business with my grandparents in 1932 and the kids followed in their footsteps,” Marabella said. “When each kid came of age, at 12 years old, we started them in the business.”

Prohibition was still in effect when the company started, but a legal loophole left room for home winemaking. The Croatian and Italian immigrants who populated San Pedro already had learned skills in their home countries.

“We sold them grape juice and what they did with it was their business,” Marabella said. “Making wine up to a certain amount per household [500 gallons per year] was legal; selling it wasn’t.”

The Croatian and Italian-Americans sustained Marabella’s business. Marabella is devoted to introducing home winemaking to a broader audience and is working on strategies to interest young people. He can draw hope from homebrewing, which has exploded in popularity in the past decade, though Marabella notes that there is an important difference.

“Making wine at home is a cultural thing —  the old-timers made wine and the kids were brought up with that as a tradition,” he said. “Everyone developed a taste for that wine, and it was a lifestyle thing, a part of the family culture. Making beer is by comparison a hobby, something without that long-standing connection to what your parents and their parents did. Beer is seen as better for a hobbyist because it’s such a quick process compared to winemaking; it’s drinkable after a week or two …. Some beers are best after three months and there are styles of wine that are drinkable after the same amount of time.”

There has been a resurgence of interest in traditional techniques like brewing and pickling, but most winemakers haven’t been targeting that movement. Marabella sees the potential, and is being more aggressive about pursuing it than anyone in more than eight decades of the family business.

“We’re going to offer free classes starting in January, repeating probably every three months,” he said. “A lot of people in apartments don’t have the room to do this at home, so we’re thinking about making and storing their products here. If you have the space, live in the area and buy our grapes we’ll loan you the equipment and information to get you started. We’re trying to make winemaking a family affair again by encouraging people to bring their kids to the lessons.”

Those skills you acquire could apply to things growing in your own yard.

“There are locals who make wine out of backyard fruit, peaches, apricots, plums, you name it —and grapes, of course, no matter what variety. Some types of grapes are definitely better than others, but you can make wine from any grapes. It may not have the potential to be like the Cabernets you buy, but it can still be an enjoyable drink. We’ve had customers bring in grapes from vines that are 50, 60, 70 years old; they had no idea what they were. Someone came in recently with some of those and we made a very good rosé out of them.”

Those who come for classes at Marabella will learn from a pro who has won gold medals for wines he made with grapes grown in San Pedro. Marabella admits that the first time you try it you may not make wine as good as his, but says there are other compensations.

“Part of the attraction is …  having that bottle that you made on the table,” he said. “There’s nothing like having the family over for the holidays and serving them wine you made with your own hands.”

Editor’s note– Marabella is best known for it’s signature jugs of Dago Red and Zinfindel that have been popular with locals for decades.

Marabella Vineyard Co. is at 344 W. 8th St. in San Pedro.

Details: (310) 833-9783.