Local label Angeleno Wine Company is getting into one very, very old LA business, opening up a fully-functional wine production facility and tasting room on Spring Street in Chinatown. Once active, it will be the first such winery within the city of Los Angeles in more than a century. The last urban winery to open in LA was San Antonio Winery, which still operates today and opened back in 1917.

Historically speaking, Los Angeles is the heartland of Southern California’s wine scene. The first city-sanctioned winery opened in 1833, and for generations the lush land around Downtown — including what is now Chinatown — held vineyards that produced much of what native Angelenos drank every day. No wonder the street that wraps around behind Union Station is called Vignes, named after prodigious 19th century local winemaker Jean-Louis Vignes.

Fast forward to today, and Angeleno owners Jasper Dickson and Amy Luftig Viste are going all-in on a new warehouse right near Majordomo in Chinatown. They’ll be crushing and fermenting grapes on the property, and rolling up the steel doors to let in customers for a taste on warm summer nights. As for the vines themselves, most of the grapes will be grown up in Agua Dulce, another historic wine-growing region for greater Los Angeles.

The corner location is right across the street from the Los Angeles State Historic Park, and steps from spots like Apotheke and the recently-opened Highland Park Brewery, making this a surprise corridor for drinking in LA. Expect an opening sometime later this year, with the first pick coming in late summer of this year.

Angeleno Wine Company

1638 N. Spring St.

Los Angeles, CA