In 1866 the Calaveras Chronicle noted that in each of the three previous seasons the quantity of wine produced in the county had doubled and there was widespread commercial viticulture and winemaking in Calaveras County. The Red Mountain Vineyard, planted in 1863 by Abraham Schell on the Rancho del Rio Estanislao, produced wines until the early 1920s. Judge J.W. Griswold of Salt Spring Valley was producing Mission grape wine at his Reservoir Vineyard, and Joseph Major of Vallecito was building a wine cellar (later the Sciaccaluga and Fuzere wineries). Three years later John Heinsdorff of Murphys was awarded the First Award at the 1869 California State Fair for the best red wine, one year old, and a special notice for his five-year old white wine 1.
It was at about this time also that the Italian population became an important element in the county’s wine production. The Cuneo brothers at San Antonio Camp and their eventual relatives, the Costa family of Calaveritas, were some of the earliest Italian vintners. The Cavagnero family of Camanche had also planted extensive vineyards. By 1870 Louis Costa was assessed for 4,000 gallons of wine, Ratto and Company for 2,500 gallons, and Louis Bordeaux for 3,000 gallons 2. By that year Calaveras had become the fourth largest wine producing county in the state, with 116 winemakers. In ten years the county’s wine production had grown from 277 gallons in 1860 to a reported 100,500 gallons. Only three other counties were producing more wine: Los Angeles, 531,710 gallons; Sonoma, 308,496 gallons; and El Dorado, 118, 831 gallons 3, Heintz 1-5).
- Pioneer Wives and Vines of Calaveras County,
Costa, Eric
, (1990) - Pioneer Wives and Vines of Calaveras County,
Costa, Eric
, (1990) - Pioneer Wives and Vines of Calaveras County,
Costa, Eric
, (1990)
Timeline Start:
01/01/1866 - 01/01/1874
