- Title
- Dewey Baldocchi
-
-
- Creator (Person)
- ["Baldocchi, Dewey"]
-
- Creation Date (Original)
- 1995
-
-
- Description
- This oral history is one in a series of interviews undertaken in the early 1980's by Joseph Vercelli and "Puch" Puchilowski.
-
-
- Item Format or Genre
- ["interviews","oral histories (literary genre)"]
-
- Language
- ["English"]
-
- Contributor(s) (Person)
- ["Vercelli, Joseph","Puchilowsky, G. M."]
-
- Local History and Culture Theme
- ["Wine and Winemaking"]
-
- Subject (Topical)
- ["Wine and wine making","Local history—Sources"]
-
- Subject (Person)
- ["Baldocchi, Dewey"]
-
- Subject (Corporate Body)
- ["Baldocchi Brothers Winery"]
-
- Digital Collection Name(s)
- ["Speaking of Wine"]
-
- Digital Collections Identifier
- cstr_doc_000166_etc
-
-
Dewey Baldocchi
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Transcription, 1994
Audio recording, March 1982
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00:00:00.350 - 00:00:14.170
in the living room of julie Bell Daqian Irene Bell darkies home in pine a road in santa rosa. It is about 2 30 in the afternoon. We're going to talk to dewey asking him a few questions about the wine industry as he knows it, how his
00:00:14.170 - 00:00:26.370
family started in the wine business before prohibition. So do we, can you tell us a little bit about your family, your father when he came over from Italy? What part of Italy come over and how he got into the wine business and when he got into
00:00:26.370 - 00:00:49.030
the wine business before prohibition? Well, it's really hard to remember the date and time of when he came in but when he migrated from europe. Yeah, he uh first came into san Francisco. What part of Italy did he come from? He was from some Filippo which
00:00:49.030 - 00:01:13.700
is near as far as I know custody both of you. Toscano. That's right. And he wasn't married. He met my mother in san Francisco didn't come in before or after the fire do we? When after after the fire? No, it came in Just before the fire
00:01:13.710 - 00:01:34.350
just before the fire. We're talking to the San Francisco. San Francisco 19-6, earthquake. That was before because I was born here and I was born in 1903. So he came in before he came to san Francisco and eager to get work. He worked in a fruit
00:01:34.350 - 00:01:56.060
store temporarily until he could get out into the hydra piltel part. There's where he met my mother, they used to take the same street card going to work. He worked at a fruit store. My mother worked for scruples sewing sugar sacks and they struck up a
00:01:56.060 - 00:02:16.470
romance on the streetcar and they married. But as soon as my dad was able to, he had heard of possibilities of starting and getting in the great business here in santa rosa and it came to santa rosa for a while. He cooked there at Gaddafi's which
00:02:16.470 - 00:02:41.830
is Lena's now in santa rosa has improved. He worked for Fountain Road, Japanese Princess, which he knew the prince. He worked for. The prince. Yes, Nagasaki, yes, yes. At 75 cents a day then he met or heard of Sandy, one of the old time percentage, which
00:02:41.830 - 00:03:03.450
some of the offsprings are still in santa rosa. And he had a ranch out of it in the final road here in santa rosa. And he leased, it was a 250 acre vineyard. Therefore I was born which is about a mile from here, mm hmm. He
00:03:03.450 - 00:03:22.910
had tough love and like many of them do when it first start out, his barn was burned down. His horses were lost. It was horses and the nut factors, but he stayed with it until he accumulated a little money and then from pine a road he
00:03:22.910 - 00:03:50.710
moved over and what property which is now woolsey road there. He established a nice home And a little winery of about 150,000 gallons capacity and he started the wine business. He planted, took out trees on about 115 acres, I believe it was. And put it into
00:03:50.710 - 00:04:12.320
it. Zinfandel variety, little by little, he was able to buy grapes and he went and stayed in this Business until 1918. Thereabouts until prohibition came along. Did he have a name of the winery? What was the name of, what did you call the one he called
00:04:12.320 - 00:04:40.550
it on his own name? Peter Baldock, that's right, bonded number 31 79. Uh um When prohibition came along, my dad didn't think that such a thing could exist. He says, this can't be, it might be temporarily, but it won't last. He had some 100,000 gallons of
00:04:40.550 - 00:05:04.980
wine into the wind at the time and he kept it naturally in the bond, there was a bond of the time and paid insurance on it Each year, hoping li they would've come back repeal the 18th Amendment and get rid of walls to that. But it
00:05:04.980 - 00:05:28.840
went on and on Until 1928, mm hmm. Let me see what was the name? Al smith, the governor of new york was running for President of the United States. A catholic in those days Catholics could not become a president. So hal smith did not. The president,
00:05:28.850 - 00:05:54.660
but he was advocating repeal of prohibition, right was on his platform, You're right. Mhm. So I, and the family was registered Republican. So I changed my registration to democrat, which is still get today in order to be able for uh Al smith. That's right. I wore
00:05:54.660 - 00:06:14.620
a white sweatshirt and I had one of my colleague boys was going to high school paint Al smith picture on the back of my school sweatshirt, vote for Al smith. My dad was all enthused. Al smith get in and repeal prohibition and we get back in
00:06:14.620 - 00:06:41.310
the wine business. But instead Hoover, Herbert hoover became president and for not being his fault. A depression come in. That's what I feel that it wasn't Herbert Hoover's fault. It was just time that the depression had to come in and so it didn't repeal and it
00:06:41.310 - 00:07:08.290
was carried through the Depression Because of depression in 1932, franklin Roosevelt run also for president then and because of the depression he wanted and the humor lost down as president when he was advocating repeal of prohibition. And in my opinion, in my thinking by that time,
00:07:08.290 - 00:07:35.500
prohibition was a forest. Sure there was more drinking than than it had been pre prohibition and if anyone would have gotten in the president were to repeal. But anyway, Roosevelt got in, he advocated repeal prohibition and the vote was taken and repeal became president until the
00:07:35.500 - 00:07:58.150
states had to be ratified. It was not eliminated, which was about a year later. And I think it was 1933, that was no longer prohibition and the repeal of it bolted. That was there. But my dad did not wait through that area when Al smith didn't
00:07:58.150 - 00:08:15.960
become president. He lost faith and repeal of prohibition. He says, I'm not going to keep this wine any longer. I've had, he does call the federal the thumb and dumped the wine. And of course my dad was pretty well getting up in age at the time.
00:08:16.940 - 00:08:38.500
So we were notified, I was already here that the federals were up there and they wanted the tax picketed in those days. They didn't have penn foster, we have to speak with the vocal, that's bigger. So so I said, okay, We'll go up and they want
00:08:38.500 - 00:08:54.030
you to go up there right away. They're waiting and they got to go, I think there's been there 14 years before, 15 years, another hour or two it's gonna hurt. So I went up there and that's what we did. I, I figured that the tanks and
00:08:54.040 - 00:09:07.540
what the whole was running out and there's a crypt behind this little winery and the wine off goes down the creek. Well in those days there was a lot of hobos around and soon they smell the wine. The print was running. I went to the park
00:09:07.540 - 00:09:23.390
and panther had an awful good time. But my mother came out from the house and she was crying and I told my mother martin who used to be spying a crying over spilled, we'll go back into the house. So she went back to the house. The
00:09:23.390 - 00:09:42.540
wine was dumb then at that time I had a brother, what's the deceased many, many, many years ago. And we wanted to take the wine, we'll get dan. No name is Romeo. Let's uh let's start in. How many brothers did, how many Children did your father
00:09:42.540 - 00:10:11.930
hand? My my father had seven named them in the order of sequence. The the oldest brother was my brother Henry, I met Aaron, that's all right, yes. And uh following him brother dan was I met dan and then there was my sister Julia and then his
00:10:11.930 - 00:10:39.100
sister by the name of Alameda and then Romeo and then dewey and then margarita. Uh that was the family's seven the family. And to my folks made uh nine, when did your father die? My father died 1938. I was pro right here. That's a milestone in
00:10:39.100 - 00:10:54.000
my life and I think in your life as well that the pro right here, so little people remember anything about the pro right here. It is strange that in 40 years, something like that was so important that affected so many people in all parts of the
00:10:54.000 - 00:11:11.510
state. And then the great growing industry As well as Allied industries, they don't remember the program when I talk about the pro rate in seven cent wine. Yes, so let's get back to what you were saying, you and and Romeo were interested in uh acquiring the
00:11:11.510 - 00:11:29.790
wining and leasing the when my father. Yes, but my father didn't want to lease the winery because of his experience. Mhm. And he thought that we would get. But what I mean by that is that we would take over and we could make a success of
00:11:29.800 - 00:11:43.540
the corner of his experience. And he didn't want to rent a so And so we stayed after more time, Dad, you're not using it, we can use it now. We have the ranch over there, were planted the grave so we could use and finally broke down
00:11:43.540 - 00:12:04.580
in the system. Okay, there's the wang and I hope you're good love. But if anything goes wrong, don't come back to papa and ask for me because I won't be there to help you. So that so you started. That's where the bell Daki brothers come in
00:12:04.590 - 00:12:25.900
was I remember the Bell Daki brothers and the bonded winery. Yeah, and it was you and Romeo and that was Martin. What year was that? This was in 1932. We anticipated repeal prohibition and with the Brotherhood can't last. I can't last. Did you make wine in
00:12:25.900 - 00:12:47.620
32 or 33? We made it in 1932. We had you made wine in 32. We we anticipated the repeal of prohibition and we made the wine with the thought we were ready to go when a repeal. Yes. So this happened. It repealed. We had the wine
00:12:47.840 - 00:13:10.180
first people out on the streets with basically, you were one of the first people on the streets with reid right, So we had about 125, gallons of wine and stories apple like time at that time. Our financial condition was very bad, very bad because a few
00:13:10.180 - 00:13:27.280
things, one of prohibition area, we lived through that with grapes and the other was the depression had came in and a financial during the twenties. What did you do with your great, did you ship to the eastern market? You ship the local market. Did you ship
00:13:27.280 - 00:13:46.150
out like others did on consignment to the eastern market for home winemakers? What did you do with the grape? From 22? Uh we shipped to the market in san Francisco and I would go down and sell grapes are the cars were shipped back east most of
00:13:46.150 - 00:14:05.740
the time all the time got rid and I don't think we have a collective for one carload of grapes and what was the other? Uh, the other, we delivered grapes to families, out to the dairy people and anybody who had the privilege of making sure the
00:14:05.740 - 00:14:21.380
gallons of wine that was the leader of the family, but it would make more if they had the capacity and that's how we barely got by because the grapes were very cheap at the time. Everything was very, do you have any ideas to what grapes were
00:14:21.380 - 00:14:42.340
selling for at that time? The grapes were selling all the way from $15. This is retailed to $30 a time in the San Francisco market, $30 is the highest that was delivered price to San Francisco that is shipped to San Francisco from the little town of
00:14:42.350 - 00:15:02.590
Fulton over here In the San Francisco and the embarcadero down there on the track out of the car, $30 a ton top price most likely get sometimes sold for less. You mentioned that you had Zinfandel varieties. Were there any other varieties that you can remember of
00:15:02.600 - 00:15:26.160
other than Zinfandel Dewey? No, you had practically all Zinfandel. So you would say that this is Zinfandel land here because your neighbor Lagomarsino, all Zinfandel. So this would be basically Zinfandel country. I would say so and I would say that if in my opinion, if I
00:15:26.160 - 00:15:41.300
was to plant grapes yet to this day, I was interviewed by other things here some time back, I have a story on it. I can show you the magnitude and it was written in and there was sex and that by quite a few people that they
00:15:41.300 - 00:15:58.720
agreed with me, I would say that I would plant in a good part Zinfandel because I think zinfandel is here to stay. Well, some of the other riders may and may not stay or let me put it this way. Uh they will probably be able to
00:15:58.720 - 00:16:15.440
drink them. Bill wine. Well, they won't be able to great faith if you know saturday someday for next the expense involved in it. Although now at the present time we know it's a good wine and is the leading grape and all that and there's other varieties
00:16:15.450 - 00:16:33.460
that uh, so for much more than they will be able to drink zinfandel as far as the black red grape. Uh it's a good, pretty great and it's always made good wine and it's the one that made the wine business famous. It wasn't made famous by
00:16:33.460 - 00:16:47.650
the Thompson seedless that they drug out of the valley down there for years and years that there was more comprehensive list went into. So the wine business then the wine varieties? It's changing over now and at least get wine varieties in the valley. And it wasn't
00:16:47.650 - 00:17:02.960
made famous by the table grape, but it was the grapes that was first brought into Cinema County, which if we remember, I think that the missionaries and colonel ferocity had a lot to do with it. It was a Zinfandel was predominantly planet first. And there's where
00:17:02.960 - 00:17:22.320
the prizes were won in all different parts of the world with the zinfandel. And that's what made the wine business famous. What do they call it? They call it? An infant at that title changed. Did you have, did you bottle your own wine Or did you
00:17:22.320 - 00:17:42.270
only sell in bulk or well for other people, here's what happened to our 100 50,000 gallons of wine that we first made. No, your dad's went first or you're talking about your wife this. I'm talking after my dad. Okay, but where did your market before prohibition?
00:17:42.740 - 00:18:03.400
Uh before provisioning my my dad dad, let's take your dad where he marketed. Then we'll find out what most humans Petrie and not louis Petrie or Angela petry but rafael Yes rafael Patrick, he had an agree agreement street. He had a hotel and it is a
00:18:03.410 - 00:18:21.560
story to that too because of the hotel he got into the wine business because he used to serve and that that those days they served a bottle of wine with the setting of the eating and like they do set the butter and the bread and the
00:18:21.570 - 00:18:42.640
bottle of wine was a beer bottle. Yeah. Well that's how his business and the restaurant was lucrative and growing. So he come up in the country and buy wine from the little language. Every little farm had a language, it might have been in the barn and
00:18:42.640 - 00:19:04.600
had a few tanks. Can you name some of those wineries? Well I can name some resort. Wait, wait, wait. Majority has already had a winery sandwich. Et I wouldn't know about sandwiches. You mentioned Jennie since I am O. N. C. I. And I Simon Chetty. Someone
00:19:04.700 - 00:19:27.250
sent me, they pronounced in english Simon city. Yes I am. Yes I am. In a way. Yes I am a win ci ci. Never heard of him before. Who else? And the batch of Kalu P in a big way. Yeah, assassin, Yeah, remember Armand I'm doing
00:19:27.250 - 00:19:43.520
his story, yeah, ominous in history, he made his mark. Yeah, he's written up in the history of cinema, Connie, He was written up in magazines and whatnot. I met Armand I can picture him this very minute. A robust man, round face, and black hair. Yeah, he's
00:19:43.520 - 00:20:05.950
a big man, I remember him, he was very active. Yes, he started with this great battle. Does the name miss mean anything to you? Yeah, nice winery, Where was that located? It was located over here, what they call? Uh yeah, uh, midway near sebastopol, in between
00:20:05.950 - 00:20:29.130
sabbath school in santa rosa. Nice one, mm hmm. And that was, let me put it this quick. There was 350 bonded wineries in Santa and Sonoma County. 350, What do you? And the brain drain the pre prohibition and then those that didn't fall out, went into
00:20:29.130 - 00:20:51.890
the provisioned area, pre prohibition. It was a a broker who handled all the little bonded, remember that broke his name? Walter Price and Silver Shield. Alright, a minute, wait, stop, wait a minute, Sure, sure, sure, walter price, I remember him, sure, and that, but I've forgotten
00:20:51.890 - 00:21:12.320
about. Yeah, yeah, sure. White hair, yeah, and Silver Shield was the father of the coroner. Yeah, yeah, vernon vernon senior, because Brennan Jr the younger one was the the the coroner County coroner? He died quite a while ago, yes, yes, yeah, they were the wine brokers.
00:21:12.470 - 00:21:30.070
Oh yes. And they had listed Just there and I don't think there was no other 350 bonded wineries that they filled out most of the little farmers and made the wine. They didn't mess around with the rules and regulations of the federal government at the time.
00:21:30.070 - 00:21:49.810
The alcohol tension, they got him walter plus the battlefield, take care of everything for them. So they have listed under the Not today. I don't think there's over 237 1 with the state of California. A few of them come up. 400. Is that many cinema county?
00:21:49.820 - 00:22:05.990
Every it's like mushrooms after a warm rain at the warm rain today mushrooms come out every month. There's a winery coming up, I don't know who they are doing, I don't know. Uh So getting back now, that gives me an idea I wanted to take advantage
00:22:05.990 - 00:22:19.290
of when you mentioned that the little wineries, then we'll go back to the other wineries, go back to the marketing, everyone your father sold to Petry and what other people did he said. And did he sell primarily through walter price and silver shield that he settled
00:22:19.290 - 00:22:44.340
back east any anywhere. Did you see all the price? And these two were just brokers, they didn't sell you when they done taxes North Korea republic. Yes, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, compliance work. That's right, yes. But the other is that my dad told to very
00:22:44.340 - 00:23:07.920
much was Sam Sebastiani senior. Uh I got your father sold to him much. Samsung bas janney would pump to my dad's winery and they would argue of about a quarter of a cent and a half percent whether it's going to be 10 cents or 10 cents
00:23:07.920 - 00:23:25.750
and a half or 15 cents or 15 cents in a quarter. Once they had about an hour's argument of the price, they would shake hands before sam could not write his name for make an agreement And he would say to my dad, I'll take so much
00:23:25.750 - 00:23:41.890
off your hands now and then I'll take so much off in three months and then in the next six months he said it. So at his other end he could dispose of it according to how he had his schedule. Let's shake hands and that was the
00:23:41.890 - 00:24:03.370
end of it. And that's the way it was. I'd like to do it today. Hey the lawyers get involved and that's the way that my dad did with august not always, but Sam always his father isn't here before Sampson Bustani died. The senior, I did business
00:24:03.370 - 00:24:20.930
with them to be carried out into the business. Of course I was still in the finance because of this. 100 getting back to the 130,000 gallons of wine Or 40, whatever it was that we had held our key brothers. Yes we were known as the poorest
00:24:20.940 - 00:24:42.430
people in the whole county, one of the two poorest. So when we peel became a reality, all the business people in santa rose that, that we had to deal with the plumber garage manner electrician or a carpenter or whoever they were. And the bank, they'd say
00:24:42.440 - 00:25:06.390
you boys finally made it because they knew we had this one with, yep, we thought we had it made. Mhm. Prohibition had lasted 15 years and provision Here. I I started at 21 years of age. Here, see when I start for myself, this is the At
00:25:06.390 - 00:25:28.630
21 years of age. I was probably 30 years of age, 27 between 37, 30 years of age. So I knew on the outside with provisions had done to the public to provision had taught the youth to drink something sweet and concocted with a lot of alcohol
00:25:28.630 - 00:25:50.790
behind it. That's the thing is that someone, we had this wine, which is, it was just as good or maybe better wine than some of it made today. The public, the youth, they spit up. That's that's so good. Dry, dry wine. They said it was by
00:25:50.790 - 00:26:12.470
on sour, they call it sour, not dry, jeez, I hear that today. So hasn't changed here we were. We thought we haven't made and we had nothing made at the time. What do we do? Underfinanced. So we thought hard, good friends because in real prayer and
00:26:12.470 - 00:26:28.940
re enrico patty. He had bought some of my grapes to for the rossi brothers, they used to ship some grapes to put their the grapes up there. We'll go up in san rico property. And probably he'll be able to help us because we didn't have the
00:26:28.950 - 00:26:47.950
finances and make this work. Would bank. Did you mentioned the bank where you financed by a bank? Yeah. We will find out that it was just a bank of America american trust business. The american trust. Yes, yes. And what was the name of the management in
00:26:47.960 - 00:27:16.000
santa rosa? Well the right head guy. Well 20 years ago named name. Uh No, no, no. Lombardi was bank of America bostock bostock. Did you do business? What did you do business with? Harold, boston Stephens Stephenson. I don't remember. I've done business with bostock. And in
00:27:16.000 - 00:27:38.300
fact, yes he's about, you're 80 years old. If you were born your 79 you were born in 83 in a row three you said. Yeah. Yes. Yeah. This year. Next year. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. Well when I first met bostock uh it was american trust
00:27:38.300 - 00:27:53.350
here in santa rosa. And I remember that and that was, I don't know how many years, 30 years ago, more than that. Well that's when I met met boston, he was a nice man. He was a nice man. But uh I think it was after bostock.
00:27:56.140 - 00:28:18.190
No, it was after boss stopped at the stevens came in. I guess it was after my stop. Uh I have signed the pro rate. Year 38 must have been before the pro rate 1938 I was the president of an organization called Cinemacon in great broad protective
00:28:18.190 - 00:28:35.090
association and we organized me as president several colleagues. And that's when we didn't want this pro grade because we figured it would be a detriment to us to give away would be an economic waste and a detriment to us that we couldn't make it That works
00:28:35.090 - 00:29:01.410
is only worth the time. $10 $11 a 10. We couldn't make it 100%. And they had organized an organization somewhere to go out and canvas for this Marketing order under the 1937 Act that they had in Sacramento and they called it pro rate and the pool
00:29:01.410 - 00:29:24.270
react at that time. They call it Rory. So they come through the different counties in the state of California and it came to Healdsburg. There was ed Lusher was one man he did now out of the Fresno and the other I think her name was Adams.
00:29:24.270 - 00:29:45.650
He was a professor out of john any foundation and there were can't canvassing and proposing this uh marketing order to eliminate some of the surplus we have and that's why we weren't getting paid it important. 10 $11 thumb. They were to take 40 45% of our
00:29:45.660 - 00:30:02.990
grapes would have went into high proof brandy. We would have to deliver to ever have the stills and the bigger winners had Still at the time, very few. I can't just only had one song for understanding dad at once and there was others that would go
00:30:02.990 - 00:30:17.200
there and then it would be taken away and put in has less square house of Lawrence warehouse. And if and when, If and when that brandy was through to any profit. After all the deductions we would get paid for the 45% and otherwise we wouldn't Well,
00:30:17.200 - 00:30:35.710
I just happen to have an experience just before that I had made, we had some wine also and since we couldn't sell it and went into distillery. So we tried the distillation and charlie Pogany had made some over here for me and someone else. And of
00:30:35.710 - 00:30:56.870
course I didn't have a bonded warehouse for the brandy and it went into hazel, it's and launch warehouse. Well finally, a man by the name of Samuelsson boarded and he he called for me and went down his office and this plant is no good. You must
00:30:56.870 - 00:31:13.950
have put some kind of a chemical in the animal samples. So you see it's steven turning green, he wanted to, but how did 50 cents a gallon good. He picked out the finances, my finances finances blows in the lower I get. And I could see that
00:31:13.960 - 00:31:28.390
I can't make it you he said, if you don't take that, you won't get nothing. You get nothing. It's going to go wrong, but you don't go wrong regardless. So I finally had to break down the self by the time all expenses has this warehouse and
00:31:28.390 - 00:31:44.910
moving here and you're still playing all that. I got zero was nothing. So when it came to this program business, whether it's going to take this distillate, I knew that that would 045% and I was definitely against it. We only have 55% of our break. They
00:31:44.910 - 00:32:01.860
themselves have told us the two that was campus and for the full rate That you'll get free tonnage and you'll be able to sell it for $11.5. We're gonna sell 55% of our groups of 55 for $11.5 of dinner. We couldn't make it on the whole.
00:32:02.840 - 00:32:28.470
So we organized and all way through, we told them we didn't like it. So it came to a vote, it had to be voted on. It came to a vote. And because I took so much interest in that, I remember the county clerks office that put
00:32:28.470 - 00:32:47.250
me in charge of saying that the booth and the whole election was set up right. So I'm running from one booth to the other and then the area here in the northern area, They voted 96% in the northern part against this marketing order which was known
00:32:47.250 - 00:33:03.710
as the pro later. But in spite of that it was voted on factor votes buy acres as well as the individual that took the individual vote. But the fact of oats do well down in Fresno, in this valley down there. Two answers are three can cover
00:33:03.710 - 00:33:22.500
all Sanoma county at that time of all acres they had and then we lost. So with the election went a commission louis factors on it. And Mcfadden, I think was the state Chamber of Commerce at the time president, he was on this commission, a man by
00:33:22.500 - 00:33:40.040
naming Mick pipe and several others made up. They were known as the crow rate commission. Now it was, it was to be handled in the state. After it went over, the state took over the marketing orders, all of you. So we we went to the attorney
00:33:40.080 - 00:33:56.980
of the commission, his name was hotel, he was also the Attorney farm Bureau. Did you remember a man by name of boko? He was an attorney. I recognize the other names. Democratic McFadden but I don't remember. Okay, so we went to go call 34 of us
00:33:56.980 - 00:34:14.360
leaders and we told we don't like this thing. It's not fair. We voted against the 96%. It went over but we didn't want to do it. Now look be good american people martin. It's a law respect the law. We're gonna find we don't like, well if
00:34:14.360 - 00:34:29.570
you choose to fight fight. So we did that. We choose to fight, we got the mayor boys nick and Charles and in turn we had the mendocino boys and that boys, a lot of others, but the only one to put up an attorney to help with
00:34:29.580 - 00:34:54.280
the mayor boys with the Minnesota group. And later one of the boys became touch, I forget his name, one of his sons, he's deceased now. So they took up in court. It was not a general until great harvest time. A lot of the people didn't have
00:34:54.280 - 00:35:12.770
money and they wanted to get what they could the growers. So a lot of them obeyed the law and when I pick the grapes and solid story, I for one I was waiting to see what the court was going to do and was holding out and
00:35:12.770 - 00:35:31.370
it was late, it was late in october frank Pastore, his father had a winery and he was ignored and they went up and told them you're ignoring it. You're supposed to be improved As a matter of fact the blindness and then he said, oh the grocery
00:35:31.370 - 00:35:52.430
man said it was okay. I told him we had the wine, they locked him up. Mrs Seghesio. She wasn't an incorporated city. The mother that and if you will not following. So she couldn't make any wines deadlock all over wine deadlock. They didn't follow it as
00:35:52.430 - 00:36:09.530
well as the broad, those who follow it was under preparation. So anyway, we had this court suit in santa rosa and two judges seven bomb one was judge jury and the other was comstock comstock in that courthouse. I was in the old stove building that they
00:36:09.530 - 00:36:26.000
said it was going to fall down and they couldn't hardly take it down with a bill knocking it down. Ah And every it was late in the year and it was very emergency to get this thing over with. So it started in the daytime and the
00:36:26.010 - 00:36:42.600
two judges went along hearing in this hearing until 23 o'clock in the morning and finally they adjudicated the tools and the bomb. But the attorneys that demeo is having a situation with the help I can't think of his name. Yeah but the veil has really done
00:36:42.600 - 00:37:13.840
the bulk of the world. The judges said that the planet gives were right which is our organization and that they commission correct the mission should not interfere what the what the manufacturing of the wine or the sale of the wine or rapes and that there. Mhm.
00:37:14.230 - 00:37:33.010
That was the degree that they were declared to follow and so they had to back home. Mr Sergei opened the winery. Everybody opened the wider again. They went on to win the business immediately paid the growers $15 a ton for the whole business for 100 And
00:37:33.010 - 00:37:55.110
we got 100% sold ever since. We went along that way and we never did have many implication whatsoever except they appeal the case and of course it went to sacramento where the appellate court is. And I remember going over there with nick demeo and left part
00:37:55.110 - 00:38:11.490
of the appeal. And nick demeo made a monkey out of those people over there. And the appellate court said that he was right and that was the end of that. So that you hear that whether other counties, you mentioned the three napa Sonoma Mendocino with the
00:38:11.500 - 00:38:33.880
other counties involved. I had a vague recollection that they included when we coster joe Dioguardi was in rhyme. It wasn't when we organized. We want to get as many in here. Yes. The problem was worries. These counties that make dry wine. How are they defined? Who
00:38:33.880 - 00:38:54.760
says so? Mhm. Well, amongst with the help of the knowledge of the University of Davis and with the help of the old timers, We set up the counties to what amounted to £13 at the time. Yeah. And we took them under our wing. Although some were
00:38:54.760 - 00:39:17.910
not active, but at least some radium were active with us And there was 13 of them. We even had Marin County. There was at that time was still 250 300 acres there. Lake County only had about 708. There's a list. Maybe 357 took them in Monterey
00:39:17.910 - 00:39:41.690
County is one of our county santa cruz santa clara county santa list. San Francisco, The whole total amount was 13 lbs. And we took them in. And then after winning this torch suit, we felt powerful land and we felt we were on the right track. So
00:39:41.690 - 00:40:06.070
we went further. We will get a lot of publicity. We were if publicity meant money had been a billionaire every day we were the United Press and the Associated Press. We had a lot of publicity. So we went over to sacramento and we got Senator George
00:40:06.070 - 00:40:33.750
bigger from Mendocino County are senator slater. His name was, he was blind. I knew him well and he let George bigger take the lead although Senator slater was a big part but fellow because he was handicap, he looks under George burger and so we had a
00:40:33.750 - 00:40:55.800
hearing on it and we want to be separated once and for all and these matters of marketing orders from the rest of the state. And so they drew up a bill and they want to know what counters. So we named them The names of 13,000 and
00:40:55.800 - 00:41:21.210
they scrutinized to see that we arrived and they went ahead and accepted our counties and it went into law that no more pro Reiter of marketing order could be put against these counties for the reason because the soil substance and the climatic conditions for different that
00:41:21.210 - 00:41:39.830
we had a different type of grape that could make dry wine naturally with the balance, the county could not and that's how we define the Once and for all that we are the dry one lb have a vague recollection. Do we have? You're going to Washington.
00:41:40.810 - 00:42:02.230
Alright, yeah. Then you go to Washington. How often did you go in for what reasons as time went on? A war came along? Second World War One? I have been very active by that time. The Wine Institute wanted me to be in most meetings and every
00:42:02.230 - 00:42:24.580
time there was a meeting or something I was called upon to be present. Well, when the war came along, it created a lot of agencies. One was a war Food Administration. But with the War Food Administration, it had also a it also had the Office of
00:42:24.590 - 00:42:49.650
Price Administration under the War Food Administration. So there again, I thought now we got out of one thing. We're going to get into trouble on something else here with this war uh Food Administration creating the Office of Price Administration, not grapes and wine. So in san
00:42:49.650 - 00:43:06.360
Francisco they had one of the regional officers and I personally called upon them and I asked them could I be put on the committee of the War Food Administration with a great wine. Well, I had so much publicity without hesitation. He said, would you accept that
00:43:06.360 - 00:43:21.200
if we gave it to you? I said yes, but really I didn't know what I was going to get into. I said yes. So I was thinking is to protect the interests of the North Coast, great floors. Well, the next thing I had a telegram from
00:43:21.210 - 00:43:43.600
United States Senator, Sherman Downey a Republican. It had to be a California senator. Yes. Calendar had to be a state. The United States senators appointment to be appointed right here. So I was appointed there all together on this committee, the whole state of California. There was
00:43:43.610 - 00:44:02.890
either six or seven of us, but I represented all the northern, the dry wine county, no one else. So the time came. Shortly after that, I got to notice that we had to go to Washington. The opa Office of Price Administration. Want to hear from us
00:44:02.900 - 00:44:17.510
what they have to have a different meetings. The boys back in the war, the ones that had the goal, they said they had to have a certain amount of raisins and they want to make sure they didn't all go into the wind because it ran the
00:44:17.510 - 00:44:38.830
boy to eat the raisins that came. I, I felt that I didn't want to go. I had the ranch to take care of here in the finances. My colleagues, the other members of the state of the Committee on the War Food Administration. They said, you have
00:44:38.830 - 00:44:58.610
to go if you don't go, we won't go in the United form. You have to go, we'll pay your way. They offered everything. I said, okay, I'll go, they didn't pay away the first time I kind of feared I didn't even have a full high school
00:44:58.610 - 00:45:18.460
education. I think my dad put me on the vineyard after six or seven months and I could see university graduates. The directors of the opa and me up there arguing before them with their education. So I guess I got a little cold feet and I went
00:45:18.460 - 00:45:31.400
into nick demeo and I told nick this is my problem, this is the attorney that had been following me. We were persuaded up and down the state for a long time. I said I've asked to be to put me on, I have to go to Washington.
00:45:31.400 - 00:45:52.430
I said I'd like to have you go with me vacation. It would do for vacation if you can get $250 do we? He said I'll go along and accept it and kind of make it a vacation and I want to take care of helping you. I
00:45:52.430 - 00:46:14.600
said Okay, I didn't know what I was going to get the $250 but I got the $250. So they worked with me now we went by train this particular time. This is the first time the first year and they were Evers that one. This was 1939,
00:46:14.810 - 00:46:35.100
was a year after the 1944 after the War 42. Once the war started it was either 42 or 43. Now on the screen we took the city of san Francisco and besides those that were on the committee there was others that were interested like Hermann Wendt
00:46:35.150 - 00:46:56.560
whose decision now he was on the train and there was others that went out on the committee. So we would meet in a club room and disgusted. But before we even got on the train at the turnstile, we have to go to san Francisco at that
00:46:56.570 - 00:47:10.560
time and take a failure to go over to open to get on the city of san Francisco at the turn is down by coincident. I was going to go into the turns down here on the other side where socks the track and I don't know, I
00:47:10.570 - 00:47:28.140
know you wouldn't know him. As soon as you see me, you tell the others, he said dewey, he's old in this town. He says, what do you think of this? What do you think about this? Uh opa and the ceilings. I said to him, I said,
00:47:28.150 - 00:47:41.970
sock, we in the north don't need it and we don't want it if you want it, okay, I'll go along with this but we don't want it. And I'm gonna give you, he said, what do you mean? You don't want it? And if we want it,
00:47:41.980 - 00:47:59.200
who are we were not the guinea pigs. We don't want it either. The throat so much the better. We'll all go together then. So we meet on the plane and we discuss tragedy of what was going to do now they had heard my story, the balance
00:47:59.200 - 00:48:15.300
of the industry so many times that it was always a sad situation and the reality it was So they said we'll put up certain who was the first speaker? I think I think it was one of the wrong. I think it was one of the rossi
00:48:15.300 - 00:48:31.240
boys or maybe maybe chiller and then they put me up second or third and I thought there was so many there that could do a lot more than I could do with more appointed. Why put me up? That's it was supposed to be because they wanted
00:48:31.240 - 00:48:49.270
me to give them the same story that I came for year after year. The sympathetic part and the reality of how bad it was in the northern area. So okay put me up. The first man got up and then he called for me. If we were
00:48:49.270 - 00:49:08.090
in the hall at that time it was a meeting, It must have been about 3000 people. All the military people navy and army and all the big stores. The war, anything had to do with war food administration. Now the stops attack in there and he stopped
00:49:08.090 - 00:49:24.080
the tracking. He was, he was a real good speaker. He was an auditor. He could beat when he called a meeting he could get twice as much as the state Chamber of Commerce. Every time he called a meeting in Fresno that he'd have the house packed
00:49:24.080 - 00:49:40.610
State Chamber of Commerce called meeting and they would have half as many. He was very elephant. I recalled. They put me at a. M. He didn't like that? How often did you go do it? Once a year you went for? How many years did you? Four
00:49:40.610 - 00:50:00.060
years. Four years. How did your speech go? Harden? How did your speech goals? Well accepted. Nicht email had made a brief and the way we made the brief after we leave our little meeting in the clubhouse, in the club room there and the train, we go
00:50:00.070 - 00:50:22.070
back to our quarters and it got all information. First of all, I still have it. We have to make and set up the expenses of how much it takes to grow, uh, by the talent, by the acre an acre or a ton of great nick. Didn't
00:50:22.070 - 00:50:42.640
know anything about rats and nick didn't know his law. So knows that. He asked me everything. He got an education and everything. He asked me at all and he'd write it down. He wrote everything down until he built up a nice breathe And a breakdown and
00:50:42.640 - 00:51:03.760
it was 100 at that time, $107 an acre to raise the tender grades And I had gotten a statistic that goes into another part of the story before I went into a meeting out of Washington. I had them pretty well here in, out of Sonoma County.
00:51:03.760 - 00:51:22.210
They had statistics of comedy, the race operator, but I wanted to get him out of Washington. There were, it was their own figures. And I don't know what they're familiar with. Are you familiar with agricultural building in Washington? Either one of you? Have you ever been
00:51:22.210 - 00:51:37.160
in? I've been in Washington. Have you ever been in the agricultural building? I went through all of them at one time or another. Well it was told to me and I didn't measure it out that there's seven miles of corridors in the building. Seven miles. I
00:51:37.160 - 00:51:54.060
know you can get lost in most any of those. And that one building. So I started with one man could get the statistics and mr jones handled that jones tells me that ramping up and down these corridors. I don't know how many miles I made of
00:51:54.060 - 00:52:12.320
it from eight o'clock til noon. And finally it was almost 12 o'clock. And somebody told me the only place you can get that is down in the library at that time. There was near 50% of all the health and the attendance in Washington colored people. Then
00:52:12.330 - 00:52:31.290
this is 42 I guess now 90%, maybe 100. So I went down the library and the library uh direct way down the basement and a man, a colored man approached me and he says could I help you young man? And I said, yeah, this is what
00:52:31.290 - 00:52:47.060
I want. He says I know just what you want. So I told what I wanted. And so he took me through the library and it was almost 1000 ft long. If I can remember the way to the end. And finally the wall come there and they
00:52:47.060 - 00:53:00.340
had shelves and books all the way along, right out of the last shelf there. He pulled a book, he knew his business pretty well. He said, is this what you want? And looked at it And that was it. I said, this is what I want from
00:53:00.340 - 00:53:18.770
that book. I took the figures and that's what I represented before the the opiate Commission's chairman at the time. And I told him at that time that if he had different figures, I would take his figures and if he couldn't produce any other figure because I
00:53:18.770 - 00:53:35.670
knew I just went through it that he would have to set my figure. I said, that's fair enough. He says, yes. So I said, can I use the blackboard adding to get black voters unfair. So I went up on the blackboard and I started drawing the
00:53:35.680 - 00:54:00.440
figures up there and I drew they wanted to see was the $30 a ton. So I took my 1.7, 10th 10th break and multiplied it. How about Camp $47.00. Barreca and I took the valley. I said, the valley raises night and Could be 10 ton to
00:54:00.440 - 00:54:18.500
the acre. He says, ask the boys here, the Russian role from the valley and they do it right, do it right. That took the 10th time multiplied by 30 is 300. I said, that's discriminatory. Where is the justice wasn't justification? Where's the fairness in this? Should
00:54:18.500 - 00:54:41.260
be discriminating against us. They called us back there. That's right. The dry land, the dry land grape growers and the dry land grape growers. So they took it all in and after they had to go ahead and discuss it amongst themselves and it was adjudicated that
00:54:41.640 - 00:54:56.360
there wouldn't be any ceiling because it was discriminatory against the north was the first time. So socks tracking had a suite of rooms all the time in that first year. Everybody up to the suite of rooms. I forget the name of the hotel, one of them.
00:54:56.370 - 00:55:13.680
It wasn't sure there was some of the hotel up there and Cocktails and having everybody happy, nobody got a ceiling, we come home and solar rays, not for $30 but $70 a ton. And I thought we were getting so many dollars a ton because we have
00:55:13.690 - 00:55:28.220
a better grade for the right line. But the boat down there, we're getting $70 that's done through. But then then done. So the next year we go back again. Yeah. And I eat the same old thing over again. I said, now I have your minutes of
00:55:28.220 - 00:55:49.160
the meeting last year was discriminatory. The picture hasn't shamed if it was discriminatory last year. Still discriminatory this year. Maybe we'll do it frank Kendall was one of the chairman, The young man at the time for the opiates. And I, I quoted over the over quoted,
00:55:49.740 - 00:56:04.930
uh, my statement, he said, did I say all that? And I said no, I'm sorry, let me start over again. And I got to the point what was discrimination and with this? And then I said, and then unquote and then I put my insult station. So
00:56:04.930 - 00:56:26.860
they respected again. No ceiling that year. That was the second year they wanted, they had raised from $30 to $60. You see these boys want to keep their positions and their paid 70,000 then 200,000 today. I guess they probably get 100 and 50,000, 200,000 and they
00:56:26.860 - 00:56:49.310
didn't want this thing to save. Not necessary forever disbanded equipped go home and we'll quit do So they had double the ceiling on it to $60. So we proved them again. It wasn't stopped attacking would take me out in the and the the hallway there in
00:56:49.310 - 00:57:05.240
between and and the intermissions of recess. And he'd say you do. You keep hammering away with the way you're going and you're going to make the chest earth out of the code for all of us. That's the way it would work That year. We come home
00:57:05.240 - 00:57:25.750
and instead of $70 a ton For $60, add seals in the year. Before he got something, we got $120 that I had Tonnies those years. But it was to no avail Up until that time. 600 telegrams, $240 a stock that did it for me then you
00:57:25.750 - 00:57:46.430
had troubles. Uncle Sam paying your income taxes then you had trouble with Uncle Sam paying income tax, but it's far better to pay income tax over the lead years. Yeah. That's interesting. That's doing question comes to my mind, 1946. You had an italian boy that was
00:57:46.430 - 00:58:05.000
going to make wine for you. What was his name? His name was Noor kinky. What was his background? I remember that was the name of my baker in san Francisco fell upon Imogen. Chini used to bring bread. He went to school and studied analogy. Right? So
00:58:05.010 - 00:58:30.790
in italy in italy Florence I think Sydney. Yes. And he came here after repeal. And a man by the name of john Peterson where hops in the alexander valley later on by Don Mills, john Peterson was Earl Peterson's father. Okay. All right, well, what was the
00:58:30.790 - 00:58:49.190
involvement between Argentina and Peterson? Peterson had what he wanted to do? A little buddha later, yes. And he had bought a winery right here. That was first arrested by Gio, baldi. A man by name of Obama had originated the wine. Was this during prohibition or after?
00:58:49.200 - 00:59:11.910
Uh what's Mancini was after. But bobby was before Peterson acquired the winery before he acquired the winery from bobby, I think bobby or his creditors because bobby. Where was the winery? Right at the boundary line of the ranch here at known as bobby winery. It was
00:59:11.910 - 00:59:25.620
known as the winery. What was his size? Have you any idea? It was about 200-1 and he was advanced. He had seen meant for mentors at the time. They didn't know what she meant for men was then they're still over there like some of them, maybe
00:59:25.620 - 00:59:49.840
not now. The whole dug in there with a cement wall and he had made good hair and married into the bar. See family, he had a little money for some reason or the other. He sold the place and he went into Central's invested what they call
00:59:49.840 - 01:00:09.100
the western section of santa rosa where all the stone buildings are invested in the, I think that the name of the hotel, What? Rose Larose? Larose hotel. Yes yes. And he lost all the money in the hotel that was that was Peterson owned the place and
01:00:09.100 - 01:00:29.140
the hot business wasn't going so good. He had a ranch over here, a highway and they had one in alexander valley. Huh. So he doing something some wine. Uh what were we talking about? We're talking about bob being the warning. The involvement of john Peterson john
01:00:29.140 - 01:00:47.090
Peterson and bobby repeat. Yes and the wine was getting mouth. Yes. Yes, sure how he got it with this tankini. I don't know how he got all of them. The first thing we were working there and the great bring it over the fence brother and I
01:00:47.240 - 01:01:04.470
and we see This young Kimchi T, he didn't look over 21 22 years ago that they live longer with white estimate messing around the landry. So we went over and asked him what's happening here. You know what this? So he said he was a graduate from
01:01:04.480 - 01:01:19.310
Florence italy and the enologist and the wind was so good and he was gonna go ahead and fix it up. So it'll be sellable. So wouldn't be mouthy and all he did. I think he got lime into it and some other chemical amounting to lime and
01:01:19.320 - 01:01:35.660
it would stay for a short time. But one when we were interested to, we had this one in our wide range. So he told me We got one. Yes. So we were matching here at the time. This was 50 years ago. And the first thing, you
01:01:35.660 - 01:01:47.800
know, we had gotten in here and he lived here with us and he started taking up with us and but he was doing Peterson's and I think the Sassa had some wine at the time. I'm going to do that, wandered over there batch group. It might
01:01:47.800 - 01:02:02.160
have been and then he was going to bottle this wine and all this and that and what not. But it uh, it didn't mature. Well I had a vague, I dare no one has ever mentioned this thing. And it comes to mind every now and then.
01:02:02.160 - 01:02:17.680
And I said, well someday I'll ask you now as I'm talking to you. It just popped in my mind as young monologist. Yeah, I met him, Yeah. You introduced him, Yeah, you introduced him to him. I met him. Yeah. Good looking kid, good looking to have
01:02:17.680 - 01:02:38.240
a proper list in Oakland. His father had a Capri respond. Oh, the Capri resting, that's where it comes in. Yeah, yeah, yeah, we got that. They made they made their own champagne for the table down down, helping label at the house. And he make the he
01:02:38.250 - 01:02:52.710
could make any kind of a cure. Whatever happened to him. Did he remain in this country to go back to Italy or what? I kind of got lost. I'm not sure. But I think he went back back to the country back there after several years I
01:02:52.720 - 01:03:08.690
think that his dad's restaurant on the last and prove out right or he sold it and I think and Argentina went back to Italy. I had been in the restaurant in Oakland. The copy it was quite a place. It was one of them. Yeah, you can
01:03:08.700 - 01:03:27.170
place it down and yeah, yeah. I went from Berkeley when I was in school between 1930, years of the copy restaurant. They had some kind of a function. One more named bossa. Is he still alive, bosses? Yeah, of course. Elaine's father, I guess. Is he still
01:03:27.460 - 01:03:45.510
alive? Did they, did they have a winery? They had a winery too and of course slot machine. Oh yeah, well logging machine. Oh I got the story on the vic vic vic vic site own site. How about his wife? His wife still living on the same,
01:03:46.200 - 01:04:12.050
Yeah. Uh the basement. But most any anyone that uh the Martinelli's huh? Partner kelly. Yeah, I remember that the Martinelli's I'm gonna seen in Godaddy. I've seen him in santa rosa a week ago that pheasant dinner and I hope to see him next friday and he's
01:04:12.050 - 01:04:30.970
been busy because I want to get him and the ones up in occidental uh morally I see I got I got the graveyard story pretty. I got, I got that one. How about martin and elegant. Didn't elegant, elegant, yeah, didn't Morrison elegant piggy Nelligan have the
01:04:30.970 - 01:04:43.680
wind at the end of the street here. He had the ranch, but he didn't operate any winery there. He had the right degree. It's put in the winery, agree on how to have the winery in santa rosa. But then they had the winery down here because
01:04:43.680 - 01:04:58.190
I bought all the tanks. I didn't buy him john graham gave me all those tanks and he said you pay me, he said you pay me when you want, you pay me when, when you want and well he gave me everything. I got the name of
01:04:58.190 - 01:05:14.550
Alpine registered. I got all the labels, I've got the pictures, I got that And had john lived, I would have been there because he was always something. Well johnny, I'm talking about the father George and john spartan because he took a shine to me. Of course
01:05:14.550 - 01:05:33.720
Comes Diary. I just wanted to you Irene's mother and father and their mother. Wait a minute. She was an english lady. Well, yeah. What what what was? Yeah, Mrs Graham. Mrs Graham was your aunt? Yeah, it was your aunt. And what was your mother's maiden name?
01:05:34.190 - 01:05:49.620
Um Williams? Williams. That's okay. That's what I have here. I have the Williams yet. Now I have that. Right. And what what was her first name? Lena. All right. And what was the agree and I have to agree on. I don't, it doesn't come to mind
01:05:49.620 - 01:06:17.310
what was Sarah Sarah Sarah melody has affected her memory. Well, we all get. Sure. Yeah. Let's go back to market. How did you market your wines? Uh huh. Sure. We started out quite a bottle but after this country had left, we didn't follow the bottle. Did
01:06:17.310 - 01:06:34.170
you ever do a label at all under your name? Yes, I did. I have them here yet. Show do you have a doctor label. Is it easy to get? Yeah, but here's how that label come apart about at one time. The winery part was my folks
01:06:34.460 - 01:06:53.610
and it was in the state and I lost. Uh I lost the part of continuing the winery there to the family. So what do the, the division ended up that the winery went to the balance of the family. There was another little rancher word fulton. Yeah,
01:06:53.620 - 01:07:10.750
I took that from my share. I had lost it. So I didn't know what to do with my grapes at the time. So I started having wine made for my account by other wineries. And so I had winery wine and a lot of Massino's winery. I
01:07:10.760 - 01:07:29.320
had made wine and frank. There was winery Frank, why don't you take me somewhere or maybe he made 35. I had some wine and Harold Bullets winery which had specific vineyards here, Pacific. Sure, sure. I had wine in there and I had 35,000 gallons of wine
01:07:29.330 - 01:07:47.020
at Elmo and and that is placed here. So Plan B was still living when he first bought interest in with Elmo over there and they said, No, they were going to buy grapes that year, but they would make it on a share base. And I said,
01:07:47.020 - 01:08:01.960
Okay, I'm gonna do something about it. So he made 35 saves in the springtime would probably buy it at the mark. They'll outright itself and the strangled by the boat. But he died in the meantime. And so I would go back to Elmo and at its
01:08:01.970 - 01:08:14.960
gonna buy my wine, the spring is coming near. Well you don't need the money right now, you know, not right now, but after I'll need it. So I went on that way and finally they decided no we don't want to buy this is a spring. I
01:08:14.960 - 01:08:26.940
said well I'll have to do something now. I do need money, I'll have to do something. And they said well you sell it because I had been in the wine business you sell. I said I can't sell if you know I have to have the labels
01:08:26.940 - 01:08:47.060
approved, I have to have its under body of we'll sign to that. Okay if you signed up make the label went to an artist group, they'll knock the label, try to imitate suppose I couldn't yell to gallery label you know and made to one competitive label
01:08:47.060 - 01:09:03.040
and the other one was val doctor the other man all of that. And I told him I said, all right well you bottle the wine. They had the bottling facilities that says yes. So I had a little shack is still there that I had made for
01:09:03.040 - 01:09:23.980
a model T ford just fit the model t ford and it had been ill. I didn't have the model T anymore. So we we turned it into a wine sales will That's what I read the book, the saleslady way to run a little advertisement through the
01:09:23.990 - 01:09:42.770
radio to the newspaper and in three years time I read sold 70,000 gallons of wine there 73 years time and that little sat there. So that's that's as far as I go bombing. But the bombing, I didn't do it. I played them for paid him for
01:09:42.770 - 01:09:56.950
the crushing and I paid him, there was only a dollar a gallon and it was hard to meet the competition at the time dollar gallon was getting for the wine in the cases so that's as far as I got in the body. But most of us
01:09:56.950 - 01:10:17.560
sold in bulk and always at low prices. I saw wine at nine cents a gallon, the lowest. That was a joke. I had hell bola had helped me one year because of this pro rate right. I had signed a note with the American trust as a
01:10:17.770 - 01:10:38.150
barber. Now with $5,000 waiting the outcome of this battle of the court suit that I was going to make wine out of these grapes and it had a range drawing this time and it was judi judi kate in our favor. Alright I went up and open
01:10:38.150 - 01:10:53.990
the winery and had a donkey edge in there seemed the tanks and all this and was ready to start making wine when the banker came and told me that he couldn't give me this morning. I was gonna pick in november. Now I was in the wind
01:10:53.990 - 01:11:09.380
when the company told me he says we can't give you this money. I signed a note that was set up already. $5,000. He's gonna give it to me budgeted you know as I needed and I'm sorry that smarty from the main office out of san Francisco
01:11:09.860 - 01:11:21.530
he said he just won't go inside. Well I thought what am I going to go inside? I was on the outside of the blank but when therefore I can't do anything and I didn't get the money so I didn't know I went downtown and try to
01:11:21.540 - 01:11:35.690
do something, go to some other bank or something, see if I get some money to pick the grapes and go on and I'm walking down the street And Harold Buddha. I've just had gotten in his car on this 4th street there and he seemed to come
01:11:35.690 - 01:11:48.800
down the street hey duty. And I turned around he said what are you doing? I said I don't know but I told the story. Well maybe I can help you, Maybe I can help you, will you have this specific vengeance. And he had a board director.
01:11:48.810 - 01:12:01.530
Bill Shackleton was one, he was on the state board of equalization at the time and he had Harold Wilson, he was the bank and I think he just died here about a month or two months ago with the exchange bank. He had a board of directors
01:12:01.530 - 01:12:17.310
said I met with the board of directors tonight and we're going to help you because I was a great role in all this and then okay sure enough. He says yeah we'll take we took it up and the board says If you give us 1/3 of
01:12:17.310 - 01:12:32.040
the wine I agree to that well financed pick the drink and the lesson that I had no other alternative? It was late. Then the grip was pretty well, it's a good deal for you to hell. You're going to get 100 gallons of wine. They're going to
01:12:32.040 - 01:12:46.180
get 50 you get 100 and 50 to the ton is a better deal than the other. The growing deal was 90 gallons a ton, uh, for the grower. And so you you're going to keep the 100. So you are a better head. Much better than them
01:12:46.180 - 01:13:05.780
than the prevailing practice. So I have another another alternative anyway. If I didn't accept that it was late in the break moldy, then very much mold and all that. So he says, okay, so we signed to that. We assigned to that and then he had the
01:13:05.790 - 01:13:27.370
twice out of the crisis. Sure had father's first name. The father and the son and the son to son. They have, I remember one there, they're just the winery, the land from Patina, another's Patina. I don't think it's Christina. Lawson knowing right, well, yeah. Okay. So
01:13:28.450 - 01:13:51.510
they said the old man quite with walter, walter white walter sr and walter Jr Jr go ahead. Yes, it's all coming to mind. Where's your press down? There was there was a stairway and he went down into the crystal in one of these clump roger. He
01:13:51.510 - 01:14:03.840
said, where's the cool? I don't have any, how do you cool wine. So we put the whole set up on top and let the fight fall down. We're pumping out circulated. He says, where's the water in the well over there. Got a lot of water. Well,
01:14:03.840 - 01:14:19.560
I got one of these tanks are reserved until 20,000 gallon tank of water. And if I go drive and I said, he said, you just as well forget, forget it. I don't want to have any part of it. Well here was all put up with them
01:14:19.560 - 01:14:39.130
and water the son, he says, now wait, yeah, he feels sorry for me. Now. Wait a minute. Dad. He says, if we should be able to do something here, okay, okay says you take care of this winery, I'll go back up to take care of that
01:14:39.140 - 01:14:54.430
was up there. He would get Harold getting anything they want in the so this should remain. That's the way it was walter. Jr He stayed at the gallery there and so I took them out from the grapes and they're pretty, it's all these dirty shame. That's
01:14:54.430 - 01:15:09.060
dirty. Say you take them and do it. We're gonna do the very best we can. So here we picked and slashed and bust like you have to do some years and took these grapes and the sugars were way high sugars were 28 29 30. We had
01:15:09.060 - 01:15:25.340
to add water, citric acid and on the top of the tank He had a five gallon of 10 gallon barrel and the killer was liquids so fierce solution and he had just opened just enough. So much returned 2000 gallons that run continuously. We made this wine.
01:15:25.350 - 01:15:47.820
Then an analysis turned out perfect. Alright then it comes time to share and sell but there was a market for the wine. So we finally found Fountain Grove and re propriety. No, there's one more and grow graves pot Row paid 1250 a gallon and re prepare
01:15:48.070 - 01:16:04.180
patty paid us help them together all on it had to be analyzed the samples. If there wasn't rightly kicked it out, they weren't. So first time go took that goes into gallon and then rico took his pick 10 cents a gallon. The last was joe raised
01:16:04.190 - 01:16:24.260
nine cents a gallon. 9, 10 and 12. So you sold it off? Yeah, the last gallup went in. The old men they all met down at joke races office of the brewery was to get their share. Harold wasn't fair faring so well either financially. So there
01:16:24.260 - 01:16:46.350
was this money that was coming and different ones like white money was going to him and different people and they're all there to get their money. And who did you deal with? The fountain growth? Uh there was romano romano dialogue, dialogue, dialogue. The Frenchman George de
01:16:46.350 - 01:17:07.650
la Yeah, that's right, that's right because it was romano dialogue. And then after him with Cornell Cornell and and then then then George K. That's right George and if mary hawk had not died then he was, nothing would have ever ever happened. She died. And then
01:17:07.650 - 01:17:25.920
Mark Boyle died, Boils White, which was Mary's sister got that she married this guy from uh Germany and he swindled. Everybody went there. So they had to give the ranch away. That's the story. So do you talk for about 80 minutes? So I think you're running
01:17:25.920 - 01:17:41.100
out of words and breath. I want to thank you. You're done a wonderful job in some day. This is not going to be in print today or tomorrow. I didn't know uh, Irene that you were a Williams girl. I never knew that you were the cousin
01:17:41.100 - 01:17:55.080
to that. Then you're you're second, you're the phrase cousin as your second cousin to fill Ciano, the second cousin to the boy. Third cousin to the boy that was killed. I thought I had, uh, but I could talk to you later on
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Audio recording, March 1982
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