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WINE HISTORY PROJECT / News & Events
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Hank Donatoni Celebrates
40 years of Winemaking
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Celebration panels installed at Donatoni Winery in Paso Robles
Opening this weekend, the Wine History Project is proud to feature a new celebration panel installment at Donatoni Winery in Paso Robles. The new panel features Hank’s achievements and quotes about his life and experiences in the wine industry.
Hank Donatoni established Donatoni Winery in Los Angeles, California in 1979, but his winemaking career began a decade earlier. It was in 1968 when Hank bought a home in Topanga Canyon, California, that came fully equipped with a wine cellar, two barrels of wine and 150 grapevines. He harvested 250 pounds of Zinfandel and Grenache grapes (his first crush) and produced 16 gallons of wine that year.
Then, in 1969, Hank took his truck and sleeping bag to Paso Robles to harvest Zinfandel grapes in Mel Casteel’s Vineyard on Jensen Road and picked one ton of grapes that year, which cost him $100. By 1973, Hank was working with a group of friends to establish the Cellarmasters of Los Angeles Home Winemaking Club in the San Fernando Valley. It met monthly at the Home Wine Shop founded by John Daume in Woodland Hills, California. There were over 80 amateur winemaking members from all different walks of life. Over 50 of them studied winemaking seriously and founded their own wineries, with many of them landing in Templeton and Paso Robles areas.
Hank was the fourth cellarmaster to found his own winery. In 1979, he was flying for United Airlines out of LAX and found a strip of land on La Cienaga Boulvard, with a warehouse to rent and convert into a winery. It was six blocks from the United Airlines parking lot at LAX. He purchased 10 tons of Cabernet Sauvignon grapes from Paso Robles and made his first wine in the San Antonio Winery owned by the Riboli family until he obtained his license to produce wine.
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Celebration exhibit featuring Hank Donatoni and Richard Sauret at Donatoni Winery in Paso Robles.
In 2000, he was able to purchase 10 acres with a home in the Willow Creek AVA, and rented space at HMR Winery to make his own 2000 vintage. “It took me 20 years to find the right property in the Paso Robles area”, says Hank. From 2001 to 2003, Hank was the winemaker at Rio Seco Vineyard and Winery and moved his own wine production to that facility. By 2003, Hank had built his own winery production facility and tasting room, located at 3225 Township Road in Paso Robles.
Hank is one of the last living SLO County winemakers to share memories of hand harvesting. His partnership with other winemakers in SLO County, including his thirty-six year friendship with Zinfandel grower Richard Sauret, lead to a collaboration producing award-winning Donatoni vintages and verticals from 2009 to 2017.
You can view Hank Donatoni’s celebration panel at the Donatoni Winery and tasting room by appointment only. Please call 805-226-0620 or email donatoniwinery@aol.com.
Hank Donatoni and Wine History Project Director Libbie Agran.
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SLO Chamber of Commerce Ribbon Cutting June 6th
Join the Wine History Project for a ribbon cutting ceremony with the San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce on Thursday, June 6th at 4:30pm. Stroll through our offices and enjoy several exhibits, including Corkscrew Development, Italian Swiss Colony Advertisements from the early 1900s, and hand painted and etched Wine Bottle Collection from the Central Coast Wine Classic. Enjoy wine tasting and Food Boards by Jen Fox.
Join our team at the Wine History Project Offices at 4:30 on June 6th, located at 3592 Broad St, Suite 104. Please RSVP to karen@winehistoryproject.org or by calling 805-439-4647.
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EXHIBITIONS / Current Exhibitions
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Seeking Gold, Finding Grapes Exhibit in Paso Robles
 The Wine History Project’s new exhibit, Seeking Gold, Finding Grapes, is on display at the El Paso de Robles Area Historical Society in Paso Robles now through April 2019. The display features a collection of rare bottles and tools from the California Gold Rush Era.
The El Paso de Robles Area Historical Society is located in the Carnegie Library, City Park, downtown Paso Robles, California. Open Tuesday & Thursday through Saturday 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Sunday 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Closed Monday & Wednesday and major holidays.
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Corkscrew Development Exhibit at the Wine History Project
The quest to find the easiest way of drawing corks from bottles without jolting or disturbing their contents led to the development of a variety of tools by both skilled craftsman and industrial production companies. Most recognizable is a simple device that has a pointed spiral piece of metal turned by a handle, the corkscrew. A term whose first-known use was in 1698.
There are over 30 corkscrews on display at the Wine History Project, including corkscrews from William Rockwell Clough (1844–1920), Edwin Walker (1847–1917) and William Alexander Williamson (1854–1932).
The exhibit is available to review by appointment only. Please call the Wine History Project Offices at (805) 439-4647 or via email at info@winehistoryproject.org.
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Three Generations of the
York Family
Longest Running Family-owned Winery in the History of SLO County
 In 1882 Andrew York purchased land in the Santa Lucia Mountains, northeast of Cayucos and established the vineyards that would become Ascension Winery in 1895, one of the first wineries on the California Coast. He soon renamed it York Winery, and the York family occupied this land, grew grapes, and made Zinfandel wine for three generations. It is the longest running family-owned winery in the history of San Luis Obispo County. York Winery was sold to Max and Barbara Goldman in 1970 and is now restored and owned by EPOCH Estate Wines.
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FOOD HISTORY PROJECT / Events
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Food History: Techniques to Grow Tasty Fruits & Veggies
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In early 2004, Cristy Christie & Jac Reid discovered the world of worms and composting. After setting up a small worm bin and being amazed at what the worms had done to transform horse manure and food scraps, used some of their castings when transplanting a few broccoli plants. Harvesting the beautifully dark green, fully formed stocks and leaves was a new experience. The stocks were crisp with color throughout, not the typical hollow they were accustomed to seeing. The leaves were strong and not one bug was in sight. The broccoli never made it to the salad--both Jac and Cristy stood at the kitchen counter and ate every last bit of it! The decision was easy. They needed to produce vermicompost for others in their community.
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Cristy Christie of Black Diamond Vermicompost
Cristy will share with attendees her insight into the business of composting and how to successfully grow tasty fruits and veggies. The event will be hosted at SLO Provisions, located at 1255 Monterey Street in San Luis Obispo. Come early and purchase dinner or a glass of wine. Discussion begins at 5:30pm. Please RSVP to karen@winehistoryproject.org. A $10 donation is appreciated.
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Contact Us
Libbie Agran
Director
libbie@winehistoryproject.org
Aimee Armour-Avant
Visual Resources Manager
aimee@winehistoryproject.org
Cindy Lambert
Collections Manager
cindy@winehistoryproject.org
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Heather Muran
Historian
heather@winehistoryproject.org
Karen Petersen
Events Manager
karen@winehistoryproject.org
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