Bev Stenehjem - Wineries of Santa Clara Valley

IMAGES
of America

WINERIES OF
SANTA CLARA
VALLEY

ON THE COVER: Pictured here is Charles Sanderss homestead about 1863. Note the flume across the road carrying water from the creek to the vineyard and orchards. The warm days and cool nights were ideal conditions for growing the Carignane grapevines shown in this photograph. The land is now being cared for by the fourth generation, Linda Pond and her husband, Kevin Godden, while the fifth and sixth generations, Matt and Tiffany Oetinger and their children are tending the winery, Fernwood Cellars. (Courtesy of Linda Pond.)

IMAGES
of America

WINERIES OF
SANTA CLARA
VALLEY

Bev Stenehjem

Copyright 2015 by Bev Stenehjem
ISBN 978-1-4671-3328-9
Ebook ISBN 9781439650868

Published by Arcadia Publishing
Charleston, South Carolina

Library of Congress Control Number: 2014954963

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For Mark, Tara, Lindsey, Sarah, Allan, and Ella

CONTENTS

FOREWORD

The art of winemaking may have been in existence for over 6,000 years. Just 44 years ago, I thought it was a very good idea to join the relative handful of people who had chosen this craft as their lives work. In 1971, almost all of the people engaged in winegrowing were born into it. I was among the first of the newcomers to establish a winery and work side by side with the distinguished and famous vintners of the time. There were fewer than 200 wineries in California in 1971; a couple of dozen had achieved national prominence and the rest served the needs of local and regional consumer demand.

During my 40-some years of winemaking, wine quality, overall, has improved enormously, and the scientific body of knowledge about viticulture and enology has surpassed what had been learned in the past six millennia. The irony is, that with all that is now known, the goal seems to be to recreate the aromas and flavors of the classic wines of the past. There is nothing new under the sun as the saying goes, and that is especially true about wine. But every person entering this potentially ennobling profession fervently believes they have something to offer.

I met Bev a few years ago, around the time she had begun writing a wine column for a local newspaper. As she is one of the most astute wine writers of present times, she quickly realized the real story is not just about the wine, it is about the people making the wine. What were their motivations to either enter the business or continue a family tradition? This is the real story.

Here are the stories of eight families of the greatest traditions in the oldest winegrowing region in the United States. It is no easy task to turn back the cover and allow us a glimpse into the fascinating history of the special people who have chosen winegrowing as their way of life. Bev has provided us this opportunity.

Thomas Kruse
Founder, Thomas Kruse Winery

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This book would not be possible without the help of the children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren who climbed into musty attics and rifled through packed-away boxes to find the treasures of their family photographs. It was not always easy for them to find the photographs in their own homes, which required them to place calls to their remaining relatives, some living in other states, in hopes of tracking down some of these cherished images.

It was an honor and a privilege to talk to all these descendants, some of whom are now in their 70s and 80s. They were beyond generous in giving me their time to recount the stories that they remembered about their ancestors and editing the captions for accuracy. These stories, in the form of captions that correlate with each photograph, are stories that needed to be told. As far as anyone knows, this is the first time that a historical accounting of this nature has been done on behalf of our wineries in Santa Clara Valley.

I appreciate the very special opportunity I was given to have a glimpse into the lives of people from past generations. One highlight of my experience includes holding the actual pan that Charles Sanders (the original property owner of Fernwood Cellars) used to pan for gold in 1849, saved and preserved by his great-granddaughter. Another highlight was at the Guglielmo Winery, where I viewed the secret basement used for winemaking during Prohibition.

While I was working on each chapter, viewing the old photographs and looking over my interview notes about each family, I felt a kinship with these ancestorsas if they were alive again and going about their business in this world. I felt a deep sadness when I wrote about their deaths.

My sincere gratitude goes out to the families who shared their photographs and storiesfor without them and their efforts, this book would not have been possible.

Thank you to George, Gene, and Gary Guglielmo, the owners of Guglielmo Winery, for sharing memories and photographs of their family and also for the generous gifts of delightful claret.

Thank you to Judy and Jerry Ross, the owners of Ross Vineyards and Winery, and Jim, their grandson and tasting room manager, for the hours of entertaining stories of the Coffe family and the gifts of delicious wine.

Thank you to Mario Fortino and his son Carlo, the owners of Hecker Pass Winery, for sharing their familys photographs, history, and one of the last remaining copies of their familys treasured recipe book.

Thank you to Maryclaire and Mike Sampognaro, the owners of Morgan Hill Cellars, who put me in touch with the previous owners, the Pedrizzetti family. Thank you to Ernesto Pavese, for supplying the well-preserved photographs and stories of his grandfather Camillo Colombano, who was the original founder of the winery. Thank you to Janey Muirhead, daughter of Ed and Phyllis Pedrizzetti, who, in addition to providing the photographs and stories from the Pedrizzetti era of the winery, became a sweet friend along the way.

Thank you to Linda Pond, great-granddaughter of Charles and Annis Sanders, the original landowners of Fernwood Cellars. She provided photographs and stories on behalf of her son Matt Oetinger. It was such an honor to touch and hold Charles Sanderss gold pan and Annis Sanderss tiny, leather-bound diary.

Thank you to Ernest Fortino, founder of Fortino Winery, and his son and current owner Gino Fortino, for providing photographs and stories, gifts of Charbono, and especially the home-garden tour and handpicked bag of luscious figs.

Thank you to Vic and Michael Vanni, the owners of Solis Winery, for providing photographs and stories of the winery and the Roseo, one of my favorite wines. Thank you to Roberta Bertero, wife of Angelo Bertero Jr., and Andrea Bertero-Noriega, daughter of Angelo Bertero Jr., for providing the photographs and stories from the Bertero Winery days.

Thank you to Dhruv Khanna, owner of Kirigin Cellars, for providing photographs and stories of Kirigin Cellars and the advance wine tasting of some special new wine releases. Thank you to Larry Bonesio, son of Victor Bonesio, for emailing stories from his childhood when he lived with his grandparents, the founders of the original Bonesio Winery. A special big thank-you to Joanne Hall, daughter of Louis Sr. and Merle Bonesio, and her husband, George Hall, for their efforts to locate their precious Bonesio family photographs.