” Sometimes to understand where we are today and where we are going , we need to understand the past . This is a great story about the beginnings of one local winery . Their experience and perseverance are part of our current local wine culture .”
” Sometimes to understand where we are today and where we are going , we need to understand the past . This is a great story about the beginnings of one local winery . Their experience and perseverance are part of our current local wine culture .”
It ’ s all about the wine
By Steve Beck Certified Sommelier
“ The best kind of wine is that which is most pleasant to him who drinks it .”
– Pliny the Elder , Natural History
Anselmo Conrotto founded A . Conrotto Winery in 1926 and was one of the first wineries in the historic Hecker Pass wine region . In 1896 several Anglo or German-Americans were planting vineyards and developing wineries in the upper valley west of Gilroy . Such families as the Scagliotti , Pappani , Giretti , Marchetti , and many others worked the land and made jug wine for the locals . The Conrottos arrived in Gilroy in 1914 and Anselmo worked on local farms and orchards to earn money to purchase land . Along with a man named Bonfante , he bought a vineyard and grew grapes , which were sold to a Gilroy winery operated by the California Wine Association .
In 1924 , Anselmo purchased 14 acres on Hecker Pass Highway and moved his family there . At first he grew only prunes and apricots . In 1926 , though prohibition was still in effect , he erected a large wooden winery on his property . The building was also used for illegal distilling . There was a hidden space beneath the floor that was further hidden by racks of drying prunes ; a small still was set up and grappa was produced . Grappa is a grape-based brandy of Italian origin .
The building design of the winery is noteworthy because it was constructed on a hillside where the upper level was a fermentation room . Then the wine was transferred downward by gravity to the storage tanks beneath , thus eliminating the need for high-speed pumps . This method is called “ gravity-fed or gravity-flow system ” which is used today by many of the world ’ s best wineries ; see insert .
In 1933 , with the repeal of Prohibition imminent , Conrotto purchased winemaking equipment in San Francisco , installed large storage tanks , planted new vines and prepared for the operation of a winery . Around 1934 he made his first wine for commercial purposes .
Anselmo Conrotto
During the early years of the Conrotto Winery , other wineries were also making wines within the Hecker Pass wine region including Eduardo Scagliotti who owned Live Oak Winery ( located at the West Side Nursery ) and Alfonso Bertero who owned the property which is now known as Solis Winery . Anselmo continued to produce wine with help from his son , Chinto , and as Anselmo got older more and more of the winery ’ s operation and management fell to his son . Chinto would follow in his father ’ s footsteps to produce a burgundy and small quantities of white
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