Moraga
Moraga
(Image credit: Moraga)

Media tycoon Rupert Murdoch has purchased Moraga Estate vineyard in Bel Air, Los Angeles, for a reported US$29.5m.

‘Beautiful small vineyard’… Moraga

The chairman of News Corp has bought the 6ha estate from industrialist Thomas Jones, ex-CEO of Northrop Grumman, a defense company which makes unmanned surveillance planes – or drones – for the Obama administration and other governments around the world.

A delighted Murdoch announced the move on Twitter. ‘About to celebrate buying beautiful small vineyard right in LA. Great wine, Moraga, owned by great Angelino, Tom Jones. Time cover, 1961!’

The sale price has not been disclosed, but the estate was on the market for US$29.5m.

Moraga is located five miles from the Pacific Ocean in the Los Angeles community of Bel Air, at an elevation of between 600 and 900 feet, and has been home to Ruth and Tom Jones since 1959.

However, it has only produced wine since the couple began experimenting with different varietals in 1978, inspired by their property’s south-facing slopes, which they considered similar to Tuscany’s hillsides, and gravelly soil.

In the late 1980s, they recruited Etude Wines founder and winemaker Tony Soter. A first Moraga red table wine, a Bordeaux blend, was produced in 1989 and released in 1992. It also produces a Sauvignon Blanc. They retail at US$125 and US$65 respectively.

In 2005, Moraga opened a new winery, following completion of a barrel ageing facility in 2003.

Written by Chris Mercer

Chris Mercer
Chris Mercer

Chris Mercer is a Bristol-based freelance editor and journalist who spent nearly four years as digital editor of Decanter.com, having previously been Decanter’s news editor across online and print.

He has written about, and reported on, the wine and food sectors for more than 10 years for both consumer and trade media.

Chris first became interested in the wine world while living in Languedoc-Roussillon after completing a journalism Masters in the UK. These days, his love of wine commonly tests his budgeting skills.

Beyond wine, Chris also has an MSc in food policy and has a particular interest in sustainability issues. He has also been a food judge at the UK’s Great Taste Awards.