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WINE HISTORY PROJECT WEBSITE
 

Newsletter

December 2022 

The Wine History Project collects and archives over 250 years of wine history in San Luis Obispo County. Visit us at www.winehistoryproject.org

Each month we post biographies of legendary growers, winemakers, innovators, movers and shakers. We highlight tools and equipment from our historic collections. We write the history of American wine and review books and films for your enjoyment.

WINE HISTORY /2023 Plans
Thank You For Your
Support This Year

2022 has been the best year yet for The Wine History Project of San Luis Obispo County and we are deeply grateful for your support and enthusiasm. Volunteers have helped us plant vineyards, collect oral interviews and expand our collections of historic materials. We worked hard to collect and archive local history throughout the pandemic, conducting oral interviews by the Zoom platform, discovering old photographs and a lost vineyard to share with you. 

We Are Planning For 2023:

How the Italians Changed the Landscape and Shaped Wine Culture in San Luis Obispo County from 1900 to the Present - a new exhibition opening on January 27th in the Wine History Gallery at the Paso Robles History Museum.

Wine and History Night Featuring Janell Dusi pouring J Dusi Wines with Frank Nerelli pouring his Zin Alley dessert wines and sharing their family stories of five Italian generations from 5:30 to 7:30 at the Paso Robles History Museum on January 27th.

Screening of 91 Harvests - our documentary on the Legendary Sylvester and Caterina Dusi, their sons Guido, Dante and Benito, grandson Mike Dusi and his wife Joni, with great-grandchildren Michael, Matthew and Janell in March. Date to be announced.

Book signing in Paso Robles for Karen MacNeil in April. The third edition of The Wine Bible was released in October 2022.

Screening of The Amphora Project  Past Forward- 8,000 Years of Winemaking in Clay - a documentary on ancient winemaking techniques starting in China and ending in San Luis Obispo County with the largest group of winemakers using these techniques in the United States. The film will be followed by a wine tasting of local wines fermented and aged in amphorae. This is planned for April.

Filming a new documentary on the history of Rhone grape varieties and the pioneers who planted them in San Luis Obispo County - John Alban, founder of Alban Vineyards  and Robert Haas, co-founder of Tablas Creek. An exhibition and several tours and tastings are planned for the fall of 2023.

WINE HISTORY 2022 Summary
The Highlights Of 2022

The Wine History Project worked with two partners, the historic Dana Adobe in Nipomo and the Department of Wine and Viticulture at Cal Poly to plant a Heritage Mission Grape Vineyard at each location. These vineyards were planted and are maintained by volunteers including Rod Gross and viticulturist Jim Efird. The vines are the same clones planted by the Spanish padres in the late 1700s at Missions San Juan Capistrano and San Gabriel. They were grown from cuttings and propagated to rootstock during the last three years. Both vineyards will become educational resources for students and the public who will be able to participate in future harvests and learn traditional viticultural and winemaking techniques.

Cindy Lambert developed two new exhibits, Wine Becomes Art and Spigots and Faucets now on display from December 15 to June 30, 2023  in our offices on Broad Street in San Luis Obispo.


Faucets, Spigots, Spouts, And Taps
This recent exhibit now being displayed is at our Broad Street offices. The presentation demonstrates that these types of artifacts are created in a variety of sizes and metals. The exhibit presents five spigot-type objects from the Wine History Project of San Luis Obispo County’s collection.


Wine Becomes Art

On display at the Wine History Project of San Luis Obispo County office at 3592 Broad Street, Suite 104 in San Luis Obispo is an exhibit that features a variety of sizes of wine bottles, demi-jons, bungs, books, artwork, and a very small barrel exclaiming that wine and art are interwoven throughout culture.

Learn More About Our Current Exhibits

6,000 Years of Winemaking in Clay Amphorae and 17 Local Winemakers Who Continue the Ancient Tradition will continue until December 30, 2022 at the Wine History Galley in the Paso Robles History Museum.

Our 2021 documentary, Tom Myers: Made in Paso, was shown in the Palm Theater in San Luis Obispo at the 2022 SLO International Film Festival in April. Every seat was filled and the film has received much acclaim. You can watch it on our website at https://winehistoryproject.org/films/.

We completed three new documentaries in 2022 including a fascinating conversation featuring wine writer Karen MacNeil and Visionary John Alban, founder of Alban Vineyards.

We traveled to Philadelphia to the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, known as Penn Museum, to film their collection of ancient wine vessels. We were welcomed by Dr. Patrick McGovern, a molecular archaeologist and Scientific Director of the Biomolecular Archaeology Laboratory for Cuisine and Fermented Beverages. He introduced us to ancient wine experts in the country of Georgia and in China. You will see their contributions in our newest documentary, described below.

2022 Film Recap

New Documentary focusing on Archaeology and Ancient Winemaking

We studied ancient wine history dating back to 7000 BCE in a Chinese cave where the oldest wine made from rice, honey, fruit and wild grapes has been documented. We worked with the University of Pennsylvania Museum and Dr. Patrick McGovern to produce our latest documentary - The Amphora Project  Past-Forward, 8,000 Years of Winemaking in Clay - narrated by Karen MacNeil, author of The Wine Bible. Visit our website to see dates of future screenings.

The Amphora Project Past Forward - 8,000 Years of Winemaking in Clay - Our Latest Documentary

We held a special screening of our new film on December 1st at the Park Cinema in Paso Robles, generously provided by owner John Rauch, to raise funds for the Paso Robles History Museum. Local winemakers starring in the film shared their Amphorae wines with 190 guests on stage in a tasting following the screening. Thank you to John Alban, Gelert and Robyn Hart, Vailia From, Sherman and Michelle Thacher, Brian and Stephanie Terrizzi. Our filmmakers, Tim Clott and Noel Resnick, founders of Partners2Media, filmed, edited and wrote the music for this extraordinary documentary. Tim and Libbie Agran directed the film. Noel and Libbie are the producers. It has been submitted to a number of film festivals. Watch our website for the dates of the screenings.

A special thank you to Manu Fiorentini of ITEK Wine who continues to import the clay vessels for local winemakers; San Luis Obispo County has the largest concentration of winemakers using amphorae of any county in the United States. We describe this group of seventeen winemakers as the Amphorae Project. Please enjoy the link below to read more.

Read More About It
2022 Edna Valley Recap

Pioneers in the Edna Valley

Jack Foott’s research led to successful plantings by two families in 1973. Norman and Carolyn Goss from Southern California founded  Chamisal Vineyard and Jack and Catharine Niven from northern California founded the Paragon Vineyard Company.  We will continue focusing on the pioneers who planted vineyards in the Edna Valley starting in 1973, anticipating celebrations of the 50th anniversary of Chamisal Vineyard, the 50th Anniversary of Paragon Vineyards, and the 40th Anniversary of Claiborne and Churchill in 2023. 

Watch for articles in our January newsletter on Jack Niven, founder of Paragon Vineyards and his partnership in Edna Valley Vineyard with Chalone Winery. We plan to produce a video featuring Jack’s grandson, John Niven, who has recently founded his own label, Cadre Wines.

A Vineyard Profile - Edna Ranch Vineyard and Tolosa Tradition with Robin Baggett and Bob Schiebelhut

This month we added an article on the early history of The Edna Ranch Vineyards which has been a major source of grapes for many local winemakers for the last 30 years. The founders of the Edna Ranch Vineyards, Robin Baggett and Bob Scheibelhut, came to San Luis Obispo to raise their families in a beautiful rural landscape. They both started their careers as lawyers but are best known as major grape growers. They later founded a crush facility and the winery, Tolosa in the Edna Valley. We will continue to add to this story.

The Edna Valley -  Re-discovering a Lost Vineyard

The Experimental Vineyard Project planted on the Righetti Ranch in the rolling hills of the Edna Valley by Jack Foott in 1968 has been rediscovered by the Wine History Project. Grapes planted in this lost vineyard were harvested by Jack Foott in 1972 and driven to UC Davis where enologists made wine from two grape varieties. The results confirmed that at least two grape varieties, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, could be grown in the Edna Valley with its long growing season and unique microclimate. You can read more about this vineyard at https://winehistoryproject.org/projects/.

2022 Collections Update

Our Collection of wine tools, equipment, labels, maps and photographs expanded in 2022.

Cindy Lambert, the curator and collection manager for the Wine History Project, found new treasures for our collections. This month you will learn about the traditional tools used by local winemakers in the 1800s for punching down on the cap during fermentation. Punching the Cap describes the tools used when the winemaking process starts by placing the grape harvest in a vessel of the winemaker’s choosing. Yeast cells on the skins of the grapes are added by the winemaker to metabolize the grape's sugar-producing ethyl alcohol and carbon dioxide. During the fermentation process, the grape's natural color, aroma, and flavor are changed.

WINE HISTORY /  Fundraiser
A Partnership & Fundraiser For The Paso Robles History Museum

The Wine History Project is very grateful for the Wine History Galley, established by the PRHS in 2021 to focus on the history of those growers, winemakers, festivals and vineyards which have significantly shaped our local wine history over the last 220 years. Our dear friend, Rick Nagano, is designing new cabinets for the Wine History Gallery.

Our special screening of The Amphora Project - Past Forward - raised $5,500 to support the Paso Robles Historical Society (PRHS) which archives vast amounts of local history in North County and shares it with the public through exhibits and educational programs at the History Museum. We are very grateful to John Roush for offering his theater for the screening and to the general manager Miguel Nunez for his support. 

I have benefited greatly from PRHS research in my own study of local wine history. This organization has a research library with staff to help all of us unlock doors to the past - old maps, family histories, agricultural, business and architectural developments and even gold mining destinations. I urge you to join as a member or business partner.  Please visit www.pasorobleshistorymuseum.org to join.

The PRHM presents bi-monthly Wine and History Nights. If you join the PRHM as a member, you will receive invitations to these events which are free to members. The next event will be held on January 27, 2023 to celebrate a new exhibit developed by the Wine History Project: How The Italians Changed the Landscape of San Luis Obispo County and Wine History  - 1900 to the present. Winemakers Janell Dusi of J Dusi Winery and Frank Nerelli of Zin Alley will be pouring their wines and sharing their family histories which span five generations in California.

Have a joyful holiday season!

WINE HISTORY /  Donations and Sharing Your Stories
Please consider supporting the Wine History Project by sharing your knowledge and stories of San Luis Obispo County wine through oral interviews, emails and letters, by donations of brochures, newsletters, books, wine labels, tools, lab and winemaking equipment, and photographs.

Contact libbie@winehistoryproject.org or cindy@winehistoryproject.org.

Monetary donations support the research, documentation, and preservation of the viticultural history of the Central Coast. Donate Now.

Office Hours at the Wine History
We are working on the Wine History Project daily but we are often in the field interviewing, writing and filming the Legends in the county, installing exhibits or providing educational tours at the Paso Robles History Museum.
Please call 310-903-6326 to make appointments to visit our office.
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Please contact libbie@thewinehistoryproject.org to share your history with us.

The Wine History Project of SLO County preserves and presents two centuries of local viticulture through research, interviews, exhibitions, publications, talks and tastings. We work with local museums, galleries, archives, and wineries to organize events and exhibitions in venues throughout the county.

Together We Can Preserve the Story of Central Coast Winemaking

Copyright © 2022 Wine History Project, All rights reserved.


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