Wineries of the Santa Cruz Mountains
The Santa Cruz mountain range forms a wonderful barrier between the Santa Clara valley and the rough and tumble Pacific Ocean. They act as a wall to block much of the inclement weather and fog rolling off of the Pacific from the valley, a main reason for all the sunshine Santa Clara receives. They do not simply act as a barrier however; these mountains are host to hundreds of successful wineries, due to the area's climate and location. Here I will talk a little about both the Bargetto and Guglielmo wineries, founded in these mountains by Italian immigrants a century or more ago.
The Bargetto Winery was officially founded in 1933 by brothers Phillip and John Bargetto who immigrated to the Bay area from a small Piedmont village of Castelnuovo don Bosco in Italy (Our History, Bargetto Winery). The brothers first arrived in America in the late 19th century, and already had many years of winegrowing experience under their belt. Their first endeavor was a small vineyard they called South Montebello Vineyard and Wine Company and this lasted from 1910 - 1917. Due to prohibition however, they were forced to shut down until 1933 when the family could open their winery to the public once again. Today, the same Bargetto family still runs the winery, just with more modern equipment and a wider scope of wine flavors and types.
Moving southeast to Morgan Hill, Guglielmo Winery has a somewhat similar story to the Bargetto's. Emilio Guglielmo, born near Turin, immigrated to Italy at the age of 25 and landed at Ellis Island on September 18, 1909 (History, Guglielmo Winery). Emilio soon began working any jobs he could to save money and bring his sweetheart across to San Francisco as well, and in 1925 after they were married they bought the plot of land that is now Guglielmo Winery and began cultivating and creating a winery to support their lives. Once back from World War II, Emilio's son and his wife came to help their parents and the winery grew even more. Soon enough the family's wines were being served at restaurants all across San Francisco and delivered to the homes of many as well. Today, wine operations are still carried out by third and fourth generation members of the Guglielmo family.
The Santa Cruz mountains not only hold perfect land for cultivating grapes, but as seen from these two accounts hold centuries-old history. Family run wineries are still in full operation, just as they originally were when prohibition ended in the early 20th century.
Credts: McCoy Brooks