RANCHO PARRALITO VINEYARD
"Parralito" means "Little Vine" in Spanish, and it’s almost as if fate had a hand in making Rancho Parralito one of the first working vineyards in Los Cabos. When owners Wendy Rudell and Charles Free discovered a robust, ancient vine—25 inches in diameter—growing over the original ranch house arbor in 1996, they were intrigued. Their research revealed that this impressive vine was a descendant of 400-year-old Missionary stock, brought by Jesuit priests from Spain to Baja. These vines were originally cultivated to make sacrament wine as the priests worked to establish missions and pacify the local Pericu Indians.
A Vineyard is Born
This original Missionary vine became the first stock that owners Wendy Rudell and Charles Free experimented with, and with a little help from some local wine experts, were able to produce the first batch of Rancho Parralito wine. After the first trial run with the original grape stock, Wendy and Charles also began planting traditional grape stock varieties, such as cabernet, sauvignon. They also began experimenting with grafting grape stock, and were able to successfully graft several varieties of standard grape to the original Missionary vine stock and made a wine blended from the crossbred grapes. Although their initial efforts resulted in a well received blend of locally made wines, they knew that they still needed help from from the experts if they were going to succeed to the next level.
WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM THEIR FRIENDS
To Rancho Parralitos good fortune, Roy Stock of the Distillery and Harold Osborn of the La Fuente winery in Todos Santos came to their rescue. They contributed their state of the art knowledge, wine making technology & experience, and also introduced them to Jeff Newton, a professional vineyard consultant from California. As a result of their valuable input and assistance, Wendy and Charles were able to grow some refined varieties of red grape that they successfully blended with stock from the original grapevine. Ever since, a wonderful champagne style rose is grafted and enjoyed by guests of the ranch. Family and friends, all joined together to enjoy the summery breeze under the shades of the trees and the rustic and picturesque bungalows around the vineyard.
EXPANSION OF VINEYARD AND RANCH TOURS
As result of their highly successful 2017 wine season, an expansion of the vineyard began and continues. Each year, the annual harvest flourishes