(Wines&Vines) - Since the U.S. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) announced its approval of the Malibu Coast American Viticultural Area (AVA) on July 18, some 50 grapegrowers in two California counties will finally be able to give their grapes an appealing and appropriate name of origin.

The fabled beach community north of Los Angeles has been home to vineyards for some 200 years. Its first AVA, Malibu-Newton Canyon, was established in 1996; a second, Saddle Rock-Malibu, was made official in 2006. Both of these remain “single-vineyard” AVAs requested by growers (Rosenthal and Semmler, respectively) with the required 30 acres planted to grapes.

The remaining grapegrowers in coastal Los Angeles and southern Ventura County were limited to branding their product “Los Angeles County” or a generic “California” label: Neither were conducive to upscale wine sales from tiny vineyards lacking dedicated wineries, most of which rely on Ventura custom-crush operations to bottle their pricey wares.

Elliott Dolin planted a single acre of grapes at his Dolin Malibu Estate in 2006, and today the winery produces 1,800 cases annually: Chardonnay from his 900 vines and Pinot Noir sourced from premium Santa Barbara and Paso Robles vineyards.

He sells about 35% of production direct to consumer online and at tasting events; the remainder is mostly hand-sold to nearby restaurants and retail. “We are now working with some distributors and brokers” to reach a wider audience, Dolin said. “When you’re small, you need to stay away from the big guns.”

Dolin, a one-time professional musician, still works his day job as a commercial real estate investor. “It’s almost impossible to start a brick-and-mortar winery in Los Angeles County,” he commented. Off-hand, he could name only three: the venerable San Antonio Winery in urban Los Angeles; Moraga Vineyards in tony Bel Air, and Agua Dulce in the county’s distant, inland northeast, which achieved its own Sierra Pelona AVA in 2009. WinesVinesDATA tallies 40 wineries in Los Angeles County—only 13 are bonded wineries; Ventura County posts 32 wineries—24 are bonded.