Mario Azar of Upland, California pleaded guilty to one felony count of intentionally damaging a computer system used in interstate and foreign commerce, according to documents filed in federal court in Los Angeles. He was an IT consultant for Long Beach, California-based Pacific Energy Resources until around May 8, 2008, when he received his final paycheck.

When I was about ten a good friend of mine, actually I considered her to be my first girl friend, Denise became ill with a strange and deadly disease known as cancer. she was only 11 and it just seemed strange for to see her so sick.

In 1967 my mom and dad moved into a new home on Waverly Court in Upland, and of course I still being in high school went along because after all, the kids always go where their parents move to.

Brandt Family Winery

by Gino L. Filippi 12/28/07

So you think you might have what it takes to operate an authentic working winery? Does the thought of growing grapes, popping corks and sniffing and swirling the nectars of the vine seem a romantic venture? Although I could share some sobering tales with you, I’ll refrain and give a nod to the glass that is half full. Filling it with liquid gold is my neighbor and local vintner Brian Brandt of San Antonio Heights. After a recent visit down the lane, I’m pleased to share the real juice on The Brandt Family Winery (BFW), located at the far northwest corner of the Cucamonga Valley Viticulture Area.

Brian was born in Wiesbaden Germany and has lived in Upland nearly his entire forty-four years of age. He contracted the wine bug approximately 10 years ago. “My first taste of the wine business began in 1998, when my father-in-law Fred Paciocco and I opened the Pacific Wine Merchants, a fine wine and cigar shop in downtown Upland. In 1999, my wife Camille and I moved to our home in San Antonio Heights where we planted approximately 400 vines on one acre of land. I started growing grapes as an experiment,” stated Brian.

About the same time the vines went in, the young Uplander enrolled in a home winemaking and small vineyard management course at UC Riverside. “I began reading every book on winemaking and wine technology that I could get my hands on. I was filling several binders with notes on wine making techniques and practices. In 2000 I made my first home vintage from Zinfandel grapes grown in our own Cucamonga Valley. I produced another Zinfandel in the following year,” shared Brian.

A true vintner at heart, Brian is friendly, keen, focused and possesses great passion for the grape. He’s the real deal and as such he’s building a solid reputation for high quality wines on east 25^th Street. An attorney by profession, Brian obtained his undergraduate degrees at UC Santa Barbara and proceeded to study law, graduating in 1988 from the University of Santa Clara. “After that I went into practice with my Dad at the law firm of Maroney and Brandt in Upland. I worked with him until his retirement during the year 1996, when I open up my own practice here in Upland,” he shared. BFW was founded in 2002. “We applied for our commercial winery license with the US Department of Treasury’s ATF and that same year we became a licensed and bonded California winery,” said Brian. “I have lived in the Cucamonga Valley nearly my entire life. Growing up as a child, this valley was primarily an agricultural region. I still remember our Dad taking us as kids through the ruins of the old Virginia Dare Winery on Foothill Blvd and playing pretend war games with my brother and friends among the abandoned old structures. Later in high school, I spent many summer afternoons after work hunting jack rabbits in the vineyards.

“Sadly, the era of growing grapes may soon be a thing of the past for the historic Cucamonga Valley. However, like the renovated Virginia Dare Winery, I feel good knowing that we are preserving the tradition of winemaking which will survive long after the last vine is pulled to make a way for new development. What excites me most about vinification is that each and every year is different and each harvest presents completely new sets of challenges to overcome, technically, logistically and to a lesser extent artistically,” said Brian.