[KHTS] – Despite an overcast sky and a bit of rain Sunday, hundreds flocked to Reyes Winery in Agua Dulce for the third annual Sierra Pelona Valley Wine Festival.

The wine festival and the Reyes Winery vineyard host the festival each year to give back to a Santa Clarita Valley nonprofit, choosing the SCV Relay for Life as the main beneficiary this year.

Local vintners, connoisseurs and enthusiasts alike enjoyed the tastes of wine and food from the Santa Clarita and Antelope valleys for a good cause Sunday.

The festival will showed off about 150 wines from more than 80 vendors, which also included local food vendors and restaurants, such as Truffles ‘n Toffee, Le Chene French Cuisine, Baracoa Lounge, Wolf Creek Restaurant and Brewery and Persia Lounge.

And while some of the grapes imbibed Sunday came to Reyes Winery from as far away as Paso Robles and parts farther north, some learned there also were offerings from much, much closer to home for Santa Clarita residents.

Danny Mascari, owner of Soundsations, grows grapes on his property in Bouquet Canyon, and takes advantage of the fact that under state law, residents can produce up to 200 gallons per year.

“The Sierra Pelona Valley Vintners Association is an organization that brings together the talents and resources of its members, partners and community in order to promote the production and appreciation of fine wines grown or produced within the Sierra Pelona Valley American Viticultural Area and to bring national and regional attention to the wine and culinary offerings of the Santa Clarita Valley, adjacent communities and the Sierra Pelona Valley,” according to the organization’s website.

An American Viticultural Area (AVA) is a designated wine grape-growing region in the United States distinguishable by geographic features, with boundaries defined by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, United States Department of the Treasury.

Mascari didn’t bring close to his gallon limit, as he doesn’t commercially produce the wine, but rather distills as a labor of love at home, bringing the bottles to two local festivals, including the one at Reyes Winery, every year.

“It’s probably an unfound area,” Mascari said, referring to the small but growing number of wineries sprouting up between the two valleys. He sounded as though he was hopeful to join Reyes, Agua Dulce and Pulchella (in Newhall) wineries one day as as a commercial grower.

Mascari has been growing Sangiovese and Cabernet grapes on his lot since 1994, and he brought a sampling from his 2013 collection.

“They asked us to partner with them and it’s been great,” said Betsy Keesler, SCV Relay for Life event chair at the festival. “It allows us a chance to reach a population… it really allowed us to touch a lot more people.”

The area winemakers and distillers at the festival included: San Antonio Winery, Alonso Family Vineyards, Bobcat, Chavez Vineyards, Du Nasi, Golden Star Vineyards, Donato Family Vineyard, Antelope Valley Winery, Harris Wine Biz, Bouquet Vineyards, High Desert Cellars, Coruce Vineyards, Oasis Vineyards, Stella Rosa Wines, Six Foulkes, Magellan Gin, Agua Dulce Winery, Absenthe, High Desert Wine Cellars, Two Hearts Estate Vineyard, Pulchella Winery and Hearthstone.

The 24-hour SCV Relay for Life event takes place May 16-17 and is the largest fundraiser for the American Cancer Society.