Historically Speaking
Historically Speaking
Gilroy ’ s Early Wine Industry
By Elizabeth Barrett
“ The field west of the central avenue of Hanna Field to the creek will become one vast vineyard … grape culture is having the attention of smaller land owners , as a permanent market for wine grapes is now established .”
Featured in an article South Of San Francisco Bay
( date unknown ): ( ABOVE ) Angelo Berteros Sr . and Jr . who operated the Berteros Winery , founded in 1919 , ( ABOVE RIGHT ) Louis Bonesio held the reins of his family ’ s Uvas Winery , founded in 1916 and
( RIGHT ) Peter Scagliotti was the proprietor of Live Oaks , which was the first of them all , founded in 1912 .
Gilroy Advocate May 5 , 1906
Gilroy ’ s warm climate and ideal soil conditions were noted by the first Spanish explorers to come through the area , when they noted the wild grapes growing in the westward portion of the South Santa Clara Valley . This gave rise to the name , “ uvas ,” which means “ grapes ” in Spanish , later preserved in a Mexican era rancho named Rancho Las Uvas . As with many other areas located near early California mission ranch lands , the early padres produced grapes as an agricultural venture , both for consumption and for sacramental wine . Later in the 19th Century , when European immigrants began to arrive from France , Germany , Holland and Italy , they brought their own grape growing and winemaking skills , and also introduced new varieties from their home regions . In time , these immigrants brought over 100 new wine types to California . Among the early varieties grown in the Gilroy area were Cabernet , Mataro , Zinfandel , Riesling , Sauvignon , Carignane , and Grenache .
Promoted as a “ garden spot ” with abundant acreage , a healthy climate and a variety of crops , Gilroy by the middle of the 1880s was a feasible spot for growing wine grapes . Already , orchards bearing apples , pears , plums , figs , peaches , olives , almonds , berries and walnuts were beginning to cover the nearby slopes .
Vast barley and wheat fields surrounded the tiny community . Vineyards , and wine making , soon followed . Beginning in the 1870s , some grape planting was attempted in the area , and by the end of the 1880s , 2.5 million gallons of wine were being produced in Santa Clara County , with Gilroy a large contributor . By 1881 , grapes grown in the Gilroy area had joined the official list of regional agricultural products . A grower named C . Francois was listed as manufacturing 25,000 gallons per year of wine and brandy . The Gilroy Advocate on June 20 , 1891 mentioned another early winery , “ Solis Winery owners Mr . & Mrs . Hague are commended in the neat and orderly appearance of this new enterprise .”
By the mid-1890s , Santa Clara County-produced wines were being shipped to overseas markets , as evidenced in a short mention in an 1895 Gilroy Advocate , which noted that Solis wines “ had been received favorably in London .” The era ’ s wine promoters claimed Gilroy ’ s long , dry summers produced a quality of taste and a bouquet and flavor which surpassed even Europe ’ s famed vineyards . By 1895 , the total Santa Clara County wine production was 5,000,000 gallons , doubling the output of the previous decade .
By the end of 1899 , local wines were being shipped on a
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