John Alban, the man behind Alban Vineyards, is a pioneer as one of the first Americans to dedicate his winemaking life to Rhône varieties. What started with a glass of Condrieu on his 24th birthday led John to found Alban Vineyards in 1986 and be considered by Robert Parker as the “spiritual and qualitative leader” of the California Rhône movement.

When John began pursuing his winemaking dream, there was scarce supply of genetic material for Rhône varieties in the United States. This led John to bring vine cuttings to the US and begin propagating Rhône varieties himself while living in a rented greenhouse and scouring suitable locations for his plantings. When John planted Viognier in California, he essentially doubled the world’s acreage as the grape was reduced to 20 ha. in the Rhône at the time. John bottled a pure Roussane in 1991, marking the second time such a wine was produced globally and the first time by an American winemaker.

Alban Vineyards is based in the Edna Valley in San Luis Obispo County and has become renowned for growing high-quality Rhône varieties. Producers such as Manfred Krankl of Sine Qua Non purchase Alban fruit — including Sine Qua Non’s inaugural vintage of ‘Queen of Spades’.

We are pleased to offer both the Alban ‘Patrina’ and ‘Reva’ Syrah as an introduction to his lineup. ‘Patrina’ is a thoughtful exploration of the Alban style from a variety of plots and ‘Reva’ is a monumental, distinctive wine made from a special area of the Alban Vineyard called Reva’s Ridge.