From a Very Good Year

Not long after Kevin and Paula Jussila built their Topanga house in 1991, he and two friends started investigating how difficult it would be to make a quality wine in his basement, which had lots of unused space. The result was a Pinot made from purchased grapes, but that wasn’t the end of the story....

About this house: The first year Kevin Jussila and his friends produced 300 bottles of wine from one barrel. It was very good, recalled Paula, so the group continued to make wine with purchased grapes for a few years, increasing the quantity and branching out to Chardonnay. The group eventually split up, but in 1997 the Jussilas planted a half-acre of Syrah grapes in their backyard.

“We will be bottling our first harvest from the fall of 1999 in the next month or so,” she said, “and we were recently licensed and can actually sell the wines we’re producing.”

Last year, the couple added another quarter-acre of vines that will be harvested for the first time this year and blended with the Syrah grapes to produce a Rhone-blend wine. But now the Jussilas are looking to sell their home and vineyard.

“We’re trying to buy a larger piece of land in Agoura where we can again build a house and Kevin can have a bigger vineyard,” she said.

Asking price: $1,995,000

Size: The house has five bedrooms and 51/2 baths in about 5,000 square feet. It is on about 21/2 acres, including the vineyard on three-quarters of an acre.

Features: Among the amenities are a private entrance, a large workroom, a wine cellar, a Finnish sauna, three fireplaces and park and city views. Kevin Jussila also will lend his expertise to beginning winemakers.

Where: 21403 Greenbluff Drive in Topanga, open today, 2 to 5 p.m.

Listing agents: Randy Forbes Jr., Prudential-Jon Aaroe, Brentwood (310) 820-9370, and Jon Saver of Coldwell Banker, Malibu Colony, (310) 317-8378.

To be considered as a candidate for Home of the Week, e-mail ruth.ryon@latimes.com.