Wine flowed from Gilroy’s farms
”
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.
”
Gilroy Advocate, May 5, 1906
Wine flowed from Gilroy’s farms
“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.”
Gilroy Advocate, May 5, 1906
By the mid 1880s, promoted as a “garden spot” with abundant acreage, a healthy climate and a variety of crops, Gilroy was seen as a viable locale for growing wine grapes. Field crops already included wheat and barley. Orchards bearing apples, pears, plums, figs, peaches, olives, almonds, berries and walnuts were beginning to cover the nearby slopes surrounding the town. It stood to reason that vineyards, and wine making, should follow suit. There were already some early attempts at grape planting in the area, dating to the 1870s. 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 1895, the output had doubled, with a total Santa Clara County wine production of 5,000,000 gallons.
Gilroy’s warm, sunny climate and ideal soil conditions had already been been seen as available potentials for the entrepreneur. When the first Spanish explorers came through the area, they noted wild grapes were growing in the westward portion of the South Santa Clara Valley, giving rise to the apt name, “uvas,” which means “grapes” in Spanish. The early name was later preserved in a Mexican era rancho named Rancho Las Uvas.
As with many other areas adjacent to early California mission ranch lands, grapes became a productive venture because the padres grew grapes, both for consumption and for sacramental wine. Later in the 19th Century, when European immigrants began to arrive, particularly from France, Germany, Holland and Italy, they brought not only their own grape growing and winemaking skills, but also introduced new varieties from their home regions, bringing in over 100 new types to California. Among the early varieties grown in the Gilroy area were cabernet, mataro, zinfandel, reisling, sauvignon, carignan, and grenache.
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. Another early winery venture was mentioned in the Gilroy Advocate on June 20, 1891, “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.” Perhaps the draw came from the era’s wine promoters, who claimed Gilroy’s long, dry summers produced a quality of taste and a bouquet and flavor which surpassed even Europe’s famed vineyards.
By December, 1899, wine shipments were being sent out on a regular basis from local enterprises. One reported stated, “The wine from John Rea’s cellars has enjoyed wide sales recently. Consignments have reached several states, with much going to Nevada. An agent from a New Orleans firm has ordered 3000 gallons.”
Within four years, a large winery under the direction of the Solis Wine & Fruit Company was planned. By then, thousands of acres were being prepared for vineyards in the Gilroy and San Martin region. By December 1904, 2,200 tons of wine grapes were harvested in the Gilroy area, with many new vineyards planted west of town.
A year later, in 1905, another big new winery was being planned. Named the Las Animas Winery, the enterprise was located north of Gilroy. Promoters claimed it had the most modern winemaking equipment. The Las Animas Winery, which operated until 1971, started with seven acres purchased from Henry Miller north of the Gilroy city limits. It was operated by W.B. Rankin and Jospeh Colombert of the California Wine Association. The Association also purchased most of the grapes, which at first were planted in Zinfandel. By 1906 the Las Animas Winery leased an additional 1,000 acres from Henry Miller, including a portion of the Glen Ranch and land near Bloomfield Ranch.
Also by 1906, forty acres of the Glen Ranch were under grape cultivation by S.W. Kilpatrick, who later added several hundred acres of vineyards.
During the early decades of the 20th Century, the Gilroy wine region enjoyed prosperity and growth. For a time during the Prohibition years, the industry was devastated, with many old vineyards ripped out and replaced with more lucrative crops. Following repeal, a revival of interest in planting grapes ensued, as seen in the following August, 1941 article in the Gilroy Dispatch. The report was typical of the renewed interest in a stable local wine industry, “Michael J. Filice is to revive the vineyard on the Glen Ranch, he recently purchased last parcel of old Miller and Lux property…He will plant Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon and St. Emillion grapes.”
Over the decades, some Gilroy wineries which began as a family enterprise have continued in operation under succeeding generations. Others have been bought up as part of larger, statewide operations. Today with 90% of US wine coming from California, Santa Clara County wines form part of an expanding world market. With some wines, and their blends, originating in Gilroy, the sweet taste of home continues to find favor, both locally, and abroad.
