Moraga Bel Air Estate Tour and Tasting | Saturday, April 26th

Two dates in April! Can't attend this one? Click here for April 12th date!

Moraga Vineyards is one of the most unique wine estates in California. Located at a 550-900 foot elevation in the Santa Monica Mountains in the Los Angeles community of Bel Air, the winery and vineyard is the source of remarkably refined wines that perfectly reflect a union of distinctive terroir and the gentle guidance of focused winemaking. The property is owned by Rupert Murdoch.

Grapes are not foreign to the Los Angeles Basin nor the Santa Monica Mountains where in lies Moraga Canyon in which the estate is nestled.  The overland expedition of Don Caspar de Portola which established the route of the California missions – El Camino Real –passed by Moraga Canyon on August 5th, 1769.  In reference to his sightings while in the region he states, “profusion of wild grapes and Castilian roses in full bloom”.  Wild roses still exist on the property and are represented on the four corners of the Moraga wine label.

The property was originally the home of Victor Fleming, director of Gone with the Wind and The Wizard of Oz. Fleming created a horse ranch on the property and used it through the 1930s and 1940s as a retreat and a secluded venue to host his friends. Explore more here.

Paul Warson grew up in Los Angeles, and attended UC Davis where he eventually studied Fermentation Science. Before his final year he worked at a sparkling winery in Carneros when he decided he would spend his career doing what he did for his summer vacation. Upon completion of his degree, he was invited back to see, “the other side of things.”

Paul came to Moraga Vineyards in May of 2021. It is his intention to fulfill the Murdoch's commitment to the estate and to continue to produce wine of the highest quality

In addition to Moraga Bel Air, Paul also has his own brand Warson Wine Company, making wine from the Santa Ynez Valley and Los Angeles County. Read more here.

The overriding objective of grape growing practices at Moraga Vineyards is to produce the best possible fruit in a sustainable manner. Most of the vineyard is closely spaced on sloping hillsides that are inaccessible to tractors and other equipment. As a result, all of the vineyard work, from pruning to picking, is done by hand by a year-round crew of eight people. There are 6.9 planted acres on the 14-acre property: 4.3  acres of Cabernet Sauvignon, 1.2 acres of Merlot, one tenth of an acre of Petite Verdot, one tenth of an acre of Cabernet Franc and slightly over 1 acre of Sauvignon Blanc. The rootstock 101-14 is matched with Sauvignon Blanc on the gravel-underlain soils of the canyon floor. The Cabernet Sauvignon clones 337 and 04, and Merlot clone 181 were selected for their long track record of producing high-quality fruit with low-yields. The cuttings for our Petite Verdot and the Cabernet Franc plantings were hand-selected from David Abreu’s world-class vineyards in Napa Valley. The Sauvignon Blanc is now entirely Clone 1, the result of years of trial and error.

At 15, Emé began an apprenticeship at the Hôtel de France in Contres, embarking on a journey that would take him into the world’s most rarefied kitchens. During his career, he honed his skills at the Michelin two-starred Auberge des Templiers in the Loire Valley and cooked alongside such luminaries as Gérard Rabaey in Switzerland and maverick chef Marc Veyrat at his three-star Auberge de l’Eridan, in the French Alps. In Paris, Émé worked with chef Michel Rostang at his eponymous restaurant in the 17th Arrondissement, and with Philippe Legendre at Paris’ opulent three-star Taillevent and later assisted Taillevent owner Jean-Claude Vrinat in opening the exclusive Normandie Grill at the Hotel Oriental in Bangkok. Emé arrived in the United States in 2001, briefly working in New York, before moving on to Los Angeles to cook at the venerable L’Orangerie. There he introduced his signature brand of modern French cuisine, which eschews heavy, cream-based sauces in favor of intensely flavored emulsions and natural jus. After the traditional formality of L’Orangerie, Emé opened the legendary Michelin starred Ortolan. Los Angeles Resume: L’Orangerie Ortolan Kass.

12pm Afternoon tour & tasting with lunch by Michelin Starred Chef Christophe Emé  

Includes:
12:00 pm welcome at the gate - tour and taste the first wine
Arrive to the winemaking facility and taste a number of special library wines
Relax, enjoy a casual style seated lunch and revisit a number of paired wines
Wines - Moraga wines from library vintages will be poured
(Limited to approximately 36 guests)   

*Prior menu

*We can accommodate any dietary restrictions with a 72 hour notice. We welcome vegan, vegetarian, celiac and any other limitations with advanced notice.

5:00 Estate Tour, Tasting and Dinner with Michelin Starred Chef Christophe Emé 

Includes:
Welcome at 5:00 promptly
Visit the gardens and the vineyards with the team and taste wines throughout the tour
Library tasting around the wine caves
Moraga wines from library vintages will be poured
Dinner is set for a sunset seating at the farmhouse table with a plated pairing 5+ course dinner with Chef Emé
(Limited to approximately 16 guests) 

*Prior menu

*We can accommodate any dietary restrictions with a 72 hour notice. We welcome vegan, vegetarian, celiac and any other limitations with advanced notice.

Dinner Policy

All tickets (including deposits) are non-refundable.  We can adjust your menu for dietary needs up to 72 hours prior without any additional cost.  Wines can change without notice, failure or corked wines do not result in any type of credit or refund. We open one bottle minimum per paying guest, and can reduce the total number of bottles being opened so that the event does not have to cancel should ticket sales not reach potential.  Fewer bottles will equal larger pours, so you will get the same quantity of wine and we always open the best wines for the quality of the event. Cancellation due to illness is understandable and appreciated, but does not qualify for a refund.  If you are not well, you may ask for the food to be made available for togo or assign your seat to someone else without fee.  The perishable nature of our product requires no cancellation, no credit, no refunds for any reason. Cost of ticketing fees and credit card fees are lost at purchase.