Look back to the future

Wines & Vines, August, 2003 by Al Cribari

It is interesting to note that April '73 shipments of California wines were 13 million gallons of table wine and 5.5 million gallons of dessert wines.

"M.D. Writing a Wine Vinegar Book." A Dr. Wilkonson is working on a book about wine vinegar, the first time anyone has undertaken a major work on the subject in half a century. Wonder how it turned out? I'd like to read it.

"Hand Me That Corkscrew, Bacchus." It's a book by ol' buddy Mary Lester. Mary was the winery hostess at the Almaden Vineyards in the reign of the Benoists. I would like to read that one, too.

1973 was the time of great appreciation of California wine and I guess we all did fairly well. In any case, it was a happy time for me.

The editorial for the Aug., 1993 edition of W&V is by editor-at-large Philip Hiaring, Sr. He reminisces about the founding of Wines & Vines (or California Grape Grower, as it was named in 1919, the first year of Prohibition,) by ex-newspaperman, Horatio E Stoll. The latter became a business buddy of my dad, who, while 3,000 miles away, felt some kind of kinship with Mr. Stoll, and they visited together as often as possible. So in that way, I became slightly acquainted with the senior Stoll. Of course, as a 10- and 11-year-old grammar school kid, I wasn't aware of Mr. Stoll's importance and value to our dad and our family and business. But he was a nice guy and always deigned to speak a few words directly to me--a courtesy much appreciated by a kid.

Anyway, it seems that Mr. Stoll did publicity for Italian Swiss Colony (which was, apparently, the powerhouse in the wine business in those days), and when Prohibition came, he apparently was very interested in helping the plight of the grape farmer. So he thought up the idea of a magazine to help spread news and advice. You must remember that in those days, farmers were very suspicious of the "outside" world, especially business people and "perfessers." Horatio Stoll hoped to guide them through this new world of Prohibition and the shipping of fresh grapes. In this effort, he was helped by his old employers, the Rossi twins, Bob and Ed. I had heard vague rumors to this effect for many years, but this is the first time I have seen it in print. Guess I wasn't reading very carefully in '93. At any rate, they all did a great job, and I hope that the Rossi twins' son and nephew, Robert, Jr., reads this tribute to his family.

"Canandaigua #2." This company has vaulted to the position just behind Gallo with its purchase of Vintners International, which adds Paul Masson, Taylor California Cellars and the Monterey Vineyards winery in Gonzales, Calif., to their considerable stable. Incidentally, I just read where Canandaigua (now part of Constellation Brands) is closing the Cribari Winery at Fresno, which was formerly the Roma winery. The original Cribari Winery, Las Palmas, stood where the present Gallo Fresno/Clovis winery now stands.

"The Wine Group's Franzia claims No. 1 in box wine in the U.S." They also estimate that wine-in-the-box accounts for about 12% of annual sales in our country.