The Brief

Last Sunday, I took out my big 16 quart-pot to make a batch of ponche for my family, friends, and a few LAist colleagues.  It’s something I’ve made regularly over the years — a warm fruit punch simmered for five hours that’s popular from Central America to the U.S. The nine days before Christmas, through Jan. 6 are traditionally peak ponche-making days.

Fruit-filled ponche is simmered for about five hours.

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My recipe, one of many variations, includes guayabas (guavas), apples, tamarind, cinnamon sticks, raw sugar cane, piloncillo (unrefined sugar), prunes, tejocotes (Hawthorn apples), raisins, and cloves.

Smelling the result of the long simmering of these ingredients makes me play a game: What fruit aromas do I recognize, and which ones are blends of multiple ingredients?

(You can find the full recipe at the end of the article. Feel free to modify as you please).

My strongest ponche memories are from my teens and 20s, going to my aunt’s house in Tijuana during the Christmas season and on trips to Mexico in December. Many of those relatives have since died or have moved far away. 

LAist correspondent Adolfo Guzman-Lopez, as a young boy in Mexico during the holidays.

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Courtesy Adolfo Guzman-Lopez

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When I moved to L.A. County, at 31, leaving behind my immediate family in San Diego,  I reached out to my Mexican relatives to get their ponche recipes. I wanted to recover those supportive feelings of family conversations, relatives who'd known me since I was a kid, and talks with cousins about being Mexican away from Mexico.

What I found is that making ponche in my new home over the years did much more than that. It’s become a way to create new, good memories with my wife and children, friends and colleagues.

Ponche is a melding of traditions

By some accounts, ponche’s origins are embedded in the name, which is said to be rooted in the word in India for five, a reference to the five ingredients in a drink Europeans brought back to their countries hundreds of years ago — alcohol, lemon, sugar, water and spices.

That drink was brought to what is now Mexico and Central America, where people incorporated what was grown locally.

Whole cinnamon is an essential part of ponche, the simmered drink from Mexico and Central America.

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Which may explain why the drink has such an eclectic set of ingredients today. Think about the trek those fruits and spices have made: prunes originally from Asia, raisins from the Middle East and guavas from Southern Mexico and Central America, to name a few.

The annual challenge

When I set out to make this year’s batch of ponche, I immediately encountered the usual challenge: finding ripe, fragrant guavas at the end of December. Supermarket guavas, more often than not, are sold green and don’t give my ponche the zing I look for. 

The search for ripe guavas pushed me to foraging in recent years. There were guava trees in front yards in my neighborhood and I’d pick the fruit and freeze it about a month before making ponche.

But now one of those trees has been cut down and the other is barely a stump. So this year, I felt like I had no choice but to buy supermarket guavas.

I was on my way to Gonzalez supermarket in Long Beach, when, a block away,  I spotted a different guava tree in someone’s front yard. I parked and talked to the man sitting on the porch. He told me he was originally from Mexico, is a landscaper and says he waters and gives the tree vitamins. He was gracious and picked a bagful for me to take. He said people come and take the fruit but he likes it when people ask.

A warm hug

Armed with peak guava, I began my prep on Sunday morning, washing and chopping the apples and guavas and painstakingly peeling the tamarind. By the afternoon I was ready to welcome guests, like my colleague Yusra Farzan, who covers Orange County.

Ponche drinkers, (L) Yusra Farzan, Adolfo Guzman-Lopez and Marcos Weinstein

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“This ponche is like a warm hug. I'm feeling it in my fingers, in my toes,” she said, adding that she liked chewing on the sugar cane slivers in the drink.

Gab Chabran, LAist's food and culture writer, grew up in a Latino household but didn’t try ponche until he was an adult, because his parents aren’t big fans of warm drinks. Still, he said there was something distinctively familiar about it.

“It was the flavors of cinnamon and apple, which reminded me of the holidays, mixed with the tropical nature of the guavas and the tejocotes along with the tamarind,” he said. “Something about them mixed together, it's just so comforting and warm. I feel like I could drink it all year long.”

For others it was a new spin on an old tradition. “It's different from what I make,” said Erwin Cox, who grew up in Guatemala. The ponche he drank as a kid had a pineapple base, instead of guavas. He liked mine — I want to try making his.

As for the food that went with it — for many years when I was growing up, ponche went along with tamales.  But now some of my traditions have changed. On Sunday I made latkes to celebrate the first night of Hanukkah, part of the Jewish traditions I’ve adopted from my wife and her mother and father’s families. 

And there was ponche, accompanying me along the way, seeing time pass and changing along with me.

Yes, our Northern California wine behemoth neighbors are usually top of mind as we shop for wines. But there are L.A. winemakers making magic locally, using grapes from Malibu's coastal hills, or century-old vines in Cucamonga, or small family vineyards in Agua Dulce.

It's more of a revival than an innovation, since L.A. was once the center of a booming wine industry. But after decades of disease, Prohibition, and suburban sprawl, by the 1950s, the bulk of production had moved north to Napa and Sonoma.

Today, in Chinatown, Highland Park, Moorpark and Redlands, winemakers offer tasting rooms where you can try a particular pour and see what you like. Or you can just go with recommendations, like our guide below. Either way, grab a bottle or two to share this holiday. Most of these wines are priced from $20 to $50, and you’re not only getting something festive — you’re also supporting local businesses.

Angeleno Wine Company (Chinatown)

This Chinatown tasting room is only open on Friday and the weekends — because on the other days it’s used to crush and bottle grapes grown in the SoCal region. "This entire area becomes our production space during the week," says Amy Luftig, who co-founded the company with Jasper Dickson.

One of their key partnerships is with Alonso Family Vineyard in Agua Dulce, just 45 minutes from downtown. Owner Juan Alonso started the vineyard in 1995, growing French and Spanish varietals, ignoring everyone who said the region couldn't produce quality grapes. You can spot a mural of him in the Angeleno Wine Co. tasting room.

"Juan is the heart and soul of Angeleno," Dickson says. "The character of his vineyard is what shines through in our wines."

What to try:

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• Alicante Bouschet, Alonso Family Vineyard or Galleano Vineyards ($35-40) - Alicante Bouschet is one of the few red grapes with red flesh inside, popular during Prohibition for its intensely dark color. Both versions of their alicante bouche are easy picks for holiday meals while also paying tribute to L.A. wine history.

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• Gold Line, orange wine, Alonso Family Vineyards ($35) Orange wine: it’s on all the hip menus. But what exactly is it? Orange wine is white wine made like red wine — white grapes fermented with their skins on (called "skin contact"), giving the wine an orange or amber color, more tannins, and bolder flavors. The Gold Line is one of the brightest and sweetest oranges I've tasted, perfect for those 80-degree winter days in SoCal. (And yes, it is named after the metro line).

• Bike Path, Alonso Family Vineyards($35) - Another Alonso Family Vineyard classic, and my personal favorite. As a red wine loyalist, I rarely reach for whites. But with chilled reds, I feel like I can have it with anything, even fish and chicken. It’s fresh and crisp while maintaining a body, perfect for lighter meals.

AJA Vineyards (Santa Monica)

If you find yourself in Santa Monica, skip the crowds at the pier and Ocean Ave sports bars, and head to AJA Vineyards tasting room. You may be greeted by the founders’ daughter, Amanda Rubin who can tell you about each wine with pride and enthusiasm.

Named for the originators of the winery Todd and Heather Greenbaum's three children, Alec, Jack, and Amanda, AJA Vineyards farms two acres in the Malibu hills and also sources grapes from up and down the Malibu Coast.

Tasting flights of five wines start at $35, and Rubin makes it clear: no wine expertise required. "We really want to create a welcoming space so that when people come through the door, they don't feel intimidated. They don't feel like they have to be an expert on wine."

What to try:

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• 2022 Sauvignon Blanc, Eds’ Vineyards, Malibu ($37) Eds’ Vineyard, named for Amanda's grandfathers Edward and Edwin. Vibrant tropical fruit notes with perfect ripeness and acidity. Finished in neutral French oak, giving it deeper notes of smokey vanilla — an ideal fall white. For a brighter summer sipper, try the 2023 vintage.

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• 2019 FIVE Red Wine, Malibu ($65) Noted as Todd Greenbaum's favorite. A Bordeaux-inspired blend from their flagship vineyard in Malibu (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc). Rich and tannic, silky and warm. If you need a steak dinner wine, this is your pick

Cavaletti Vineyards (Moorpark)

Although Cavaletti Vineyards tasting room is in Moorpark in Ventura County, it's a staple in the L.A. wine scene — founder Patrick Kelley is a key part of the L.A. Vintners Association. They source grapes from unique, often overlooked vineyards primarily in Ventura, Los Angeles, and Santa Barbara Counties, focusing on organic farming and cool-climate sites near the coast or at high altitudes.

Co-winemaker Sterling Andrews describes one of their key sources, the Lopez Vineyard, as a hidden gem. Drive down the 210 freeway past Rancho Cucamonga: "You would never know," he says —100-year-old vines tucked behind commercial sprawl.

What to try:

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• Lopez Vineyard Zinfandel, Rancho Cucamonga ($40) A great dessert-style wine, an entry-level class for those who skip the wine for dinner and save it for after a nice meal.

• Arianna Syrah, Ventura ($58) Named after owner Patrick Kelley's wife, and one that was recommended to me by Amanda Rubin from AJA. I had to give it a try. I took it to my family holiday party to share with a relative named Arianna who is married to a Josh. She was relieved to see her name on a bottle for a change, and delighted after tasting its deep fruit flavors.

Herrmann York Wine (Redlands)

Co-owner Garrett York and his brother Taylor started making wine in their garage with friend Dustin Hermann in 2020. "We learned by making mistakes rather than following advice," York says. "The lessons are more durable that way."

They practice minimal intervention winemaking, meaning they let the grapes do their thing — little to no additives, and trusting the fruit to become wine naturally. They source grapes from small, family-owned vineyards across SoCal, particularly the Inland Empire. "We believe the most exciting thing is allowing a place and variety to contribute something accidental and unique," York says.

These three wines below are included on their “Starchy Meal Deal”, discounted at $91 and curated to pair with your holiday meals.

What to try:

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• 2024 Il Burino ($28) White blend of Clairette, Grenache Blanc, and Fiano from across Southern California. York says it’s reminiscent of whites from the Roussillon region of France.

• 2024 Los Empleados ($28) Light red blend of Grenache Blanc, Grenache Noir, Zinfandel, and Barbera. Juicy and herby, great chilled or at room temperature.

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• 2023 Lopez Ranch Zinfandel ($33) - From the legendary Lopez Ranch in Cucamonga. Old vine, own-rooted, unirrigated, granite soils. Ripe but refined and sourced from a local legend.

Byron Blatty Wines (Highland Park)

Owner Mark Blatty brings Hollywood credentials to Highland Park winemaking — he's a producer for The Real Housewives franchise. I gifted the 2022 Rosé to my mom, an avid Bravo TV fan but not as much of an avid wine drinker like me. Tasting the wine with her, she described it as "lightweight" and "refreshing"— her kind of wine for a casual evening.

Blatty sources grapes from various family-owned, sustainably farmed vineyards throughout Los Angeles County, including sites in the Malibu Coast, Sierra Pelona Valley, and the high-elevation Leona Valley.

My personal favorite was the Tremor. The earthy scent on the nose had me intrigued immediately. "From the Antelope Valley, right up on the San Andreas Fault line — hence the name," said tasting room manager Al Amendola. "There tends to be more minerals in the soil."

What to try:

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Courtesy Byron Blatty Wines

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• 2022 Rosé, Alonso Vineyards, Sierra Pelona Valley ($40) Perfect for Bravo fans and casual wine drinkers alike.
• 2019 Tremor, Antelope Valley / Malibu Coast ($60) 55% Grenache, 35% Syrah, 10% Petit Verdot. Spicy, smooth, with an earthy scent right away. This is one I'm saving for a special evening.
• 2022 Evenfall, Smith & Swayze Vineyards, Antelope Valley ($60) One of the most drinkable reds I've tasted — smooth with full body flavors of dark cherry and raspberry. Pair it with a steak dinner.
  

The movie Love & Basketball turned 25 this year.

The L.A.-set romance starring Omar Epps and Sanaa Lathan was a hit when it came out in April of 2000. It’s now included in the National Film Registry and in the Criterion Collection. And this Saturday, the Academy Museum is hosting a special screening of the film to celebrate its 25th anniversary.

But the film almost didn’t get made.

The film’s writer-director Gina Prince-Bythewood says not only did every studio turn the film down, “ every production company turned it down on top of that. So I didn't even have a company to maybe believe in it and fight for it.”

“ I was getting feedback like, ‘It's too soft,’ [and] ‘Nobody wants to see this,’” Prince-Bythewood says. “It was tough.”

The “too soft” criticism came with some unhelpful suggestions. Like, “Can you add scenes in it, like [in] Soul Food where the woman is chasing her husband with a knife?” Prince-Bythewood says, “It's like, ‘No, that's not this film.’”

At at time when Boys n the Hood and Menace II Society were in the zeitgeist, Prince-Bythewood says,  ”Hollywood is so myopic, and that's all they see of Black life. [...] This was not recognizable to too many in the industry. And so for them, this is ‘soft’ as opposed to no, this is our lives. This is real life.”

As the rejections continued to come in, Prince-Bythewood kept a list on her refrigerator of all the studios, crossing each one out with every new “no.” Two days after she’d made it through the entire list came “a miracle” — the Sundance Directors Lab called with an invite. After a table read of her script at the lab caught the attention of filmmaker Spike Lee’s company, “they were like, ‘We wanna do this.’”

But despite that green light, the challenges kept coming.

The basketball of it all

When it came to the search for the lead character, Monica, “ I knew that I had to find an actor who could ball,” Prince-Bythewood says, “I knew the ball couldn't be whack [because] I didn't wanna set women's sports back years. So actors came in and they did the acting audition, and then if they got past that, then they had to meet me on the court.”

Sanaa Lathan came in, “knocked out the audition, [had] great, amazing chemistry with Omar,” but had “never picked up a ball in her life, and I was like, ‘I can't do this.’”

After a search for another actor who could match Lathan’s performance and play basketball came up short, Prince-Bythewood had to make a decision.

“ I really thought about it and said finally, it's a love story set in the basketball world and realized you can fake a jump shot, but you can't fake a closeup, so go with the actor.”

Lathan trained with a coach for three months, and throughout the production as well, and ultimately she only needed a double for two shots of the entire film.

SUB: Setting the film in L.A. and making it feel authentic

Prince-Bythewood had played track at UCLA, where she also went to film school, and first wanted to set Love & Basketball at her alma mater, but UCLA said no.

“So I went to my big rival” — USC — and “they just welcomed us with open arms, which was amazing because I knew I didn't want to make up a college. That's when films feel fake.”

When it came to the final scene, where Monica is playing in the WNBA, that was all real too — with the Los Angeles Sparks playing at The Forum, the legendary Lisa Leslie on the court and Magic Johnson the stands.

The ratings board

Another hurdle was achieving a PG-13 rating, which was Prince-Bythewood’s agreement with the studio, New Line Cinema.

There is one sex scene in the film, which has been lauded for portraying a request for consent and the use of a condom, but it almost earned the film an R rating.

“I had to go back to the ratings board three times to get a PG-13 because of that scene,” Prince-Bythewood says. “Their feedback on why they were giving me an R is because they said it felt too real.”

“I was like, ‘I mean, that's what filmmaking is.’ I think it's good filmmaking if you feel that it's real.”

So Prince-Bythewood stood her ground: “There was no nudity, no grinding. It's just a love scene and it’s a young woman's first time and I wanted to play the reality of that, and show how it could be done the right way."

Could the movie be made today?

As difficult as it was to get Love & Basketball made in the late 90s, would trying to get it made in today’s Hollywood — with the greater value placed on films based on existing intellectual property and big-budget sequels — be even harder?

“I think about that,” Prince-Bythewood says. “ It scares me to death that I don't know that it would get made today.”

While it might get made by a streaming service,  ”a theatrical [release?] No. I don't think it'd get made today, though I'd like to think I'd fight in the same way I did to finally get it made. But the industry has shifted dramatically.”

Add to that the fact that, “ the makeup of those in power has not changed over my 30 year career,” Prince-Bythewood says, “You greenlight what's familiar to you, you greenlight what you believe the industry wants. That silences a whole lot of voices, and unfortunately a lot of voices like mine.”