Very interesting article in NYTimes by MattKettman (who he??) on GeoffRusak (SantaYnezVlly vintner) growing grapes on CatalinaIsland:
NYTimes:CatalinaIslandWines
One thing particularly interesting item caught me in the article (you paying attention, MikeDildine??). There used to be Zin vnyds on the SantaCruz Island off SantaBarbara, under one JustinianCaire. Died in the early 1900's from Prohibition and the GreatDepression. Apparently the originial wnry still stands. Geoff was able to track down one of the surviving vines on SantaCruzIsland, took cuttings, and replanted them on CatalinaIsland. Along w/ more fashionable Pinot and Chard. Anyway, an interesting bit of history. Wonder where Caire's original Zin vines came from? He was from SanFrancisco...so probably up in Sonoma. It's interesting that the NationalParkService and NatureConservancy would like to irradicate the vines on SantaCruzIsland because they are "non-native".
The Zin is kinda pricey at $65 (the costs of growing grapes on primo real estate/CatalinaIsland is astronomical), but...hey...tasting history don't come cheap.
Tom