One of the most auspicious occasions in California’s viticultural history happened in 1889—not in California, but at the grand Paris Exposition (celebrating the one hundredth anniversary of the French Revolution). The story of how this moment came to pass stretches back to Livermore Valley in the 1830s.
According to the Livermore City Historian, Garrett Drummond, local wine production in the mid-1800s was crude at best. “It was a case of quantity over quality.”
Livermore Valley’s first vintner, Jose Maria Amador (namesake of Amador County), planted 1,500 vines on his Rancho in 1832. Robert Livermore was reported to have grape arbors fronting his ranch house in 1840. Amador; Livermore; Alfonso Ladd, who maintained a small vineyard on his property as early as 1864, and John Cottinger with his circa-1874, four-acre Pleasanton vineyard, all grew Mission varietal grapes*.
The advent of the Transcontinental Railroad in 1869, with station stops in Livermore Valley, dramatically increased the market reach of all local agrarian enterprises. Although as recently as 1880, Drummond says, less than fifty acres in the entire valley were devoted to grapes. But all that would soon change, and rapidly, with the arrival of UC Berkeley graduate Charles Wetmore.
As a correspondent for the Alta, California, newspaper in 1878, Wetmore conducted a study of the state’s wine industry and found it depressed and in dire need of education—in both growing practices and winemaking expertise.
Wetmore journeyed to France and spent more than a year studying European viticultural methodology. He returned home armed with a sophisticated understanding of ideal soil conditions, optimum varieties suited to specific terroir, vine cultivation, and proper field practices to guarantee the best grapes possible.
One of Wetmore’s most brilliant moves was to return home with cuttings from the legendary Château d’Yquem, located in Bordeaux’s Sauternes district. The revered sweet Château d’Yquem Sauternes wine is a late harvest Semillon that is positively influenced by a helpful mold, Botrytis Cinerea (fondly referred to as Noble Rot).
Wetmore’s term as secretary of the California Viticultural Commission, combined with his freshly acquired knowledge of the Old Country’s wine industry, equipped him with an astute awareness of the regions with optimum viticultural potential. He selected Livermore Valley to plant his Semillon and opened the Cresta Blanca Winery in 1882. According to Drummond, Wetmore selected Livermore because he realized that the soil and environmental conditions were remarkably similar to the premier vineyards of France, especially those in the Bordeaux region.
Around the same time, a perfect confluence of social, political, economic, and religious upheavals throughout Western Europe drove some of the best and brightest to seek their fortunes in the New World. Among the newcomers who sailed across the Atlantic and worked their way out West were Carl Heinrich Wente from Northern Germany and James Concannon, a native of Ireland’s Aran Islands. Both found prophetic opportunities awaiting them in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Wente went to work for Charles Krug in Napa Valley, where he learned the craft of growing and processing grapes, while Concannon, living in San Francisco’s Mission District, developed a close friendship with the city’s first Catholic Archbishop, Joseph Alemany.
Following Alemany’s suggestion, Concannon planted grapes and opened a winery to supply the Catholic Church with sacramental wine. In 1883, Wente and Concannon both commenced their Livermore Valley vineyard operations—and both grew to become two of the most legendary names in California’s wine industry.
Wetmore blew away the competition when his Livermore Valley Cresta Blanca Sauternes claimed the coveted Grande Prix and a gold medal. Adrian Chauche’s Livermore Valley Monte-Rouge was also awarded a gold medal, and a Napa vintner walked away with a third gold.
The trend-setting achievements of Livermore Valley continued throughout the twentieth century and into the present. From the first Chardonnay in California, through surviving Prohibition, to today's enthusiasm, energy, and ever-increasing momentum, read more of the story in Tom Wilmer's Wine Seeker's Guide to Livermore Valley.
According to the Livermore City Historian, Garrett Drummond, local wine production in the mid-1800s was crude at best. “It was a case of quantity over quality.”
Livermore Valley’s first vintner, Jose Maria Amador (namesake of Amador County), planted 1,500 vines on his Rancho in 1832. Robert Livermore was reported to have grape arbors fronting his ranch house in 1840. Amador; Livermore; Alfonso Ladd, who maintained a small vineyard on his property as early as 1864, and John Cottinger with his circa-1874, four-acre Pleasanton vineyard, all grew Mission varietal grapes*.
The advent of the Transcontinental Railroad in 1869, with station stops in Livermore Valley, dramatically increased the market reach of all local agrarian enterprises. Although as recently as 1880, Drummond says, less than fifty acres in the entire valley were devoted to grapes. But all that would soon change, and rapidly, with the arrival of UC Berkeley graduate Charles Wetmore.
As a correspondent for the Alta, California, newspaper in 1878, Wetmore conducted a study of the state’s wine industry and found it depressed and in dire need of education—in both growing practices and winemaking expertise.
Wetmore journeyed to France and spent more than a year studying European viticultural methodology. He returned home armed with a sophisticated understanding of ideal soil conditions, optimum varieties suited to specific terroir, vine cultivation, and proper field practices to guarantee the best grapes possible.
One of Wetmore’s most brilliant moves was to return home with cuttings from the legendary Château d’Yquem, located in Bordeaux’s Sauternes district. The revered sweet Château d’Yquem Sauternes wine is a late harvest Semillon that is positively influenced by a helpful mold, Botrytis Cinerea (fondly referred to as Noble Rot).
Wetmore’s term as secretary of the California Viticultural Commission, combined with his freshly acquired knowledge of the Old Country’s wine industry, equipped him with an astute awareness of the regions with optimum viticultural potential. He selected Livermore Valley to plant his Semillon and opened the Cresta Blanca Winery in 1882. According to Drummond, Wetmore selected Livermore because he realized that the soil and environmental conditions were remarkably similar to the premier vineyards of France, especially those in the Bordeaux region.
Around the same time, a perfect confluence of social, political, economic, and religious upheavals throughout Western Europe drove some of the best and brightest to seek their fortunes in the New World. Among the newcomers who sailed across the Atlantic and worked their way out West were Carl Heinrich Wente from Northern Germany and James Concannon, a native of Ireland’s Aran Islands. Both found prophetic opportunities awaiting them in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Wente went to work for Charles Krug in Napa Valley, where he learned the craft of growing and processing grapes, while Concannon, living in San Francisco’s Mission District, developed a close friendship with the city’s first Catholic Archbishop, Joseph Alemany. Following Alemany’s suggestion, Concannon planted grapes and opened a winery to supply the Catholic Church with sacramental wine. In 1883, Wente and Concannon both commenced their Livermore Valley vineyard operations—and both grew to become two of the most legendary names in California’s wine industry.
The Paris Exposition
The year was 1889, and Livermore vintners stormed the world stage when they entered their wines—along with 17,000 other contenders from around the globe—at the International Paris Exposition wine contest.Wetmore blew away the competition when his Livermore Valley Cresta Blanca Sauternes claimed the coveted Grande Prix and a gold medal. Adrian Chauche’s Livermore Valley Monte-Rouge was also awarded a gold medal, and a Napa vintner walked away with a third gold.
The trend-setting achievements of Livermore Valley continued throughout the twentieth century and into the present. From the first Chardonnay in California, through surviving Prohibition, to today's enthusiasm, energy, and ever-increasing momentum, read more of the story in Tom Wilmer's Wine Seeker's Guide to Livermore Valley.
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