Are the wines made from Seagrapes?

Well, actually I have had this question posed. I don’t even know if you can make wine from them, but a little clarification!  The wines are made from – wine grapes, Vitus Vinifera.  Back in 2007 when this all started, we made Chardonnay and Pinot Noir only, from the acclaimed Sta. Rita Hills. In 2018, I added Grenache Rosé from the Los Olivos District and Gewurztraminer from Los Alamos.

According to Wikipedia, “Coccoloba uvifera (seagrape) is a species of flowering plant in the buckwheat family, Polygonaceae, that is native to coastal beaches throughout tropical America and the Caribbean, including southern Florida, the Bahamas, the Greater and Lesser Antilles, and Bermuda. Common names include seagrape and baygrape. In late summer, it bears green fruit, about 2 cm (0.79 in) diameter, in large, grape-like clusters.^[1] The fruit gradually ripens to a purplish color. Each contains a large pit that constitutes most of the volume of the fruit.”

Back when I lived on St. Croix in the Caribbean, we called them grapetrees.  And on vacation back to the island one year, sitting on Grapetree Bay beach, the name and inspiration for the wines arrived…

The picture is of my sister Kathy wearing seagrapes on her head for some reason. Yep, that’s my sister!