OLD WINE LABELS and BOTTLE ART Page 9
Here's a label from a winery in California's San Gabriel
Valley, circa 1870.
San Gabriel was a hotbed of viticulture in those days.
How about Zinfandel from Santa Barbara?
The Wine Remembers!
Here's an old price list from the California Wine Association.
Here's an ad for a New York State wine company...
...in later years the label was known for sparkling wines.
The name of the town? Rheims, as in the Champagne city, Rheims (Reims).
Cresta Blanca was a major brand...initially they were located in Livermore and
later moved to Mendocino County.
Another major brand in the 1930s and 1940s was Roma.
Notice the mention of the Roma Wine Show...Roma used to advertise in the Golden
Age of Radio.
TAYLOR...a big name in New York state...
Taylor Burgundy...
Petri was a large producer in the 1950s...here's an ad featuring their
"Sauterne."
Christian Brothers...a major Napa winery back in the 1950s through the
mid-1970s, or so.
The Christian Brothers winery was along the highway in St. Helena in the Napa
Valley.
Brother Timothy was the winemaker.
California made all sorts of bottles using the names of European wines.
Here they've misspelled the name "Sauternes."
Guild was a big brand of Central Valley wines into the 1960s and very early
1970s before tailing off into oblivion.
Some folks in Oregon sent me a photo of an old bottle of Italian Swiss Colony
which indicates it was actually bottled in Portland!
We knew Italian Swiss had facilities, at some point in time, located in Chicago
and New York...
The Ruby Cabernet grape was a University of California at Davis-invention.
It was a cross of the prolific Carignane variety with the shy-bearing Cabernet
Sauvignon. They had visions of producing Cabernet-quality wine in hot
climates such as California's Central Valley.
Unfortunately, when it produces a bountiful crop, the quality suffers.
It turned out better wines in more moderate climates where yields were sensible.
Gallo made a fortune selling "Thunderbird," an aperitif which was
"White Port and Lemon Juice."
Here's another version...
Wines with a past...for your pleasure today.
An ad for Christian Brother's---Sherry, Napa table wines, "Champagne"
and Brandy.
An old photo of the lab at the Roma Wine Company in California's Central Valley.
An ad for Roma's delicious wines...
Curious that Roma would cite Costa Ricans as being of discerning taste when it
comes to food and wine...but they did!
Apparently they were selling the bottle more than the wine!
The Julius Wile company, a New York-based distribution firm,
handled the wines of the Fountain Grove winery in Sonoma.
"Sonoma Burgundy"
Valliant Advertising Efforts...
Inglenook was a famous producer in the Napa Valley...across the street from
BV. They made a full range of wines, but once the place was sold to
Heublein, the quality dropped. The label, once prestigious, was also used
for Central Valley "jug wine" and, eventually, the premium quality
wines from Napa were discontinued.
Today the building is owned by Coppola...here's a view of the place in the
1960s.
Maybe circa 1940???
A magazine ad from around the early 1980s.
Vintage Napa Valley "Burgundy."
Back in the glory days, though:
Sebastiani ran this magazine ad for its Cabernet...Probably early 1980s.
An old Sebastiani ad from the 1970s, when Gamay Beaujolais was
a popular red wine.
Petri wine...Burgundy!
I can recall we had that middle label of Foppiano Burgundy back in the early
1970s.
I think it sold for $1.99 as it was a 'premium' wine!
The Foppiano winery still exists today and was one of the few wineries to
survive during Prohibition. They sold home winemaking kits and grapes.
From the Master Vintners at Asti Cellars (Italian Swiss Colony in Sonoma,
California):
Peter Ustinov was viewed as a sophisticated fellow...
The Gallo brothers offered a Chenin Blanc with an elegant label...
FI Brand Wine...As Californian as Frisco Itself...
Surely this would not sell well around the Bay Area!
Here's an old label for Cribari wine...Riesling!
In those days, Riesling did not have to be made from Riesling grapes...
Many wineries sold wine made from the Sylvaner grape as "Riesling,"
simply because it was generally accepted the two varieties must be related since
they're both from Germany!
I recall a young journalist coming to our shop and he saw a bottle of Freemark
Abbey 1970 "Pinot Chardonnay" and he had no idea that Chardonnay was
often labeled (almost always) as "Pinot Chardonnay." The grape
was thought to be a Pinot variety since it came from the same home as
"Pinot Noir."
The tasting notes were written by PD, winemaker Paul Draper...
The story of Ridge was written by the great Dave Bennion, an old pal and one of
the original partners in starting Ridge Vineyards.
Back in the 1970s, Ridge often pushed the envelope in terms of picking fruit
ripe or somewhat over-ripe.
Here's an old Magazine Ad for Cribari wines...
I remember, of course, the half gallon Cribari jugs...
Souverain was a small, artisan winery under the ownership of
Lee Stewart. He sold the place to Pillsbury, who paid a lot of dough
for the place.
They soon expanded, building a Sonoma facility they called Chateau
Souverain. It even had a restaurant on site.
I think the first chef there was a young buck named Gary Danko.
1920s Italian Art...
Napa's Hanns Kornell "Champagne Cellars."
Hanns Kornell
Hanns and his daughter Paula Kornell evaluating tank samples.
Beringer had an interesting red blend back in the 1970s...Barenblut or Bear's
Blood.
I think, however, the original bottlings were Grignolino blended with Pinot
Noir.
The Beringer family also owned a label called "Los Hermanos."
And with red Burgundy you have to have a white, right?
Robert Mondavi was light on his feet and an even better dancer in his arena than
Baryshnikov was in his!
This is why Chablis vintners had such a struggle for so many years:
Of course, California wineries made "Chablis" for
many years, too.
Here's a label for the old McKesson & Robbins company...
Back in the day, the white wines of choice were usually Chablis or Sauterne
(sic).
And not only in California...
...but Ohio, too!
We used to have Lejon brand Vermouth and Brandy, named after a guy named Lee
Jones...But they, too, made Chablis!
Cresta Blanca was a major winery in Livermore, once upon a
time.
Here's an old advertisement for The Monterey Vineyard, a new,
upstart winery back in the 1970s.
During World War II, the Great Western winery, located in New
York, had this ad urging Americans to "Back The Attack" and Buy War
Bonds.
"Sold by all respectable wine dealers."
Pink Wine.
You have to give Almaden some credit for promoting wine in
general and offering sane suggestions as to how to serve and enjoy their
products.
In 1971 they had a magazine ad showing a sandwich, an apple and a glass of
sparkling wine with the headline "Celebrate Lunch." They made
what many vintners promote as an elite product, something down-to-earth and
enjoyable with any sort of fare.
Between San Jose and Gilroy was the San Martin Winery...
They made a range of fruit wines, along with some table wines.
Sebastiani, in Sonoma, was well-known for its Green Hungarian
and various jug wines.
Guild was a winery located in Lodi and in 1971 they bought the
Cresta Blanca brand...
Inglenook used to have some educational ads...
When they started offering jug wines, that was the beginning of the end...
The brand was ruined by a big drinks company, making a lot of crappy wine in
California's Central Valley, bleeding dry its lofty reputation.
The brand was purchased in 2010, or so, by Francis Ford Coppola.
Maybe he'll bring back that label...
An upstart brand in the 1970s, though it was originally
established long before, was St. Helena's Freemark Abbey winery.
They made some top "Pinot Chardonnay" as it was called then, along
with some fine Cabernet Sauvignon. A 1971 Petite Sirah was remarkable,
too.
Sterling Vineyards was brand new in the early 1970s, with Ric Forman as its
winemaker.
There's a tram to ride from the parking lot up to the winery
on the hill...
Here's a promotional picture postcard from their cellar...
A couple of New York restaurants had this wine list a thousand years ago...
Someone sent us this photo from eons ago...possibly shot
during Prohibition...
This would have been made by the Golden State Winery, likely in the 1940s or
1950s.
In the early 1980s Domaine Chandon was a leading light in the production of
California sparkling wine.
Their entry-level wines were made from fruit grown in Napa.
These days they buy grapes around the state and the wines are less interesting.
Though they did not make exceptional wines, Almaden was on the right track (in
our view) by associating their products with "everyday" foods.
Wine has often been associated as an "elitist" beverage.
An ad such as this one bursts that bubble (pardon the pun).
It's a shame Gallo and others didn't advertise their products in a similar
fashion.
Here's their stellar line-up of wines back in the 1940s or 1950s...
One of California's most famous wines in the late 1800s came
from a fabled vineyard in Woodside, California, not far from our shop.
Cresta Blanca "Champagne" was, apparently, a celebratory beverage for
those lucky enough to play the slots at Harrah's Club in Reno and Tahoe.
Who knew?
Big companies have long made wine for people who don't "like" wine.
Not merely "Cold Duck," but an even "fancier" version!
From New York State...back in the 1970s...
A friend in Texas, Alfonso Cevola, found an old document promoting a wine
tasting event several decades ago.
For us the names are all familiar...how many do you recognize?
Dusi continues growing grapes and making wine in California's Central Coast.
Here's an old label from ages ago!
...UNDER CONSTRUCTION...
