The Heritage Audio Project is an ongoing effort to preserve,
in their own words, the reminiscences of growers and winemakers
closely associated with the Rutherford appellation. Via
these audio archives, we hope to present a colorful firsthand
account of Rutherford's viticultural and enological evolution
over the past few decades, as well as introduce you to
some of our AVA's leading personalities.
Stay tuned to this page over the coming months, as we
supplement the streaming audio samples below with musings
from other prominent Rutherford personalities.
André Tchelistcheff
Barney and Belle Rhodes
Louis Tonella
Ed Chaix
Rafael Rodriquez
Frank Emmolo
Keith Bowers
Jim Sullivan
Ernie & Virginia Van Asperen
Mabel (Dal Porto) Johnson
Alice Galleron
These three selections were excerpted from a 1987 taped
interview with André Tchelistcheff (b.1901-d.1994) by
the Beneficient Oenological Institute. The interview spans
the 35 years that André spent working for Beaulieu Vineyards,
1938 to 1973.
Born in Russia and educated in France, André was 37 when
he came to the U.S. to work for Mr. de Latour. He created
the first world-class post-Prohibition Cabernets at BV
and established an independent reputation as both wine
and vineyard consultant. His influence on the qualitative
progress of 20th century California wines, especially
the Napa Valley's, was little short of revolutionary and
endures today.
The San Francisco Chronicle wrote of him in 1991: "His
palate was so refined he could tell by taste whether a
wine came from Rutherford dust, Oakville dirt or a furrow
in between." Long before his death at the age of 92, André
widely came to be considered "the dean of American winemakers."
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The selections below have been excerpted from a Rutherford
Dust Society interview conducted by professional cultural
anthropologist and RDS member Rue Ziegler, on February
14th, 2001. Barney was at the interview, though Belle
did the speaking for both of them. This interview covers
the period from 1941, when Barney and Belle joined the
Navy, to the present day.
Both originally from the East Coast, the Rhodes' first
discovered the Napa Valley in the late 1940's when Barney
was still in the Navy and working as a physician in Oakland.
Pursuing an interest in wine, they got to know Joe Heitz
and invested with other physicians in his winery venture.
They also tried their own hand at grapegrowing, eventually
purchasing then selling what would become Martha's Vineyard,
and later buying the property where they now live and
grow grapes: Bella Oaks, in Rutherford.
Long-time fixtures of the Napa Valley, the Rhodes are
today as well-known for Bella Oaks as for their wine connoisseurship,
acclaimed cellars, unfailing graciousness, long friendships
and world-class table.
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Rue Ziegler, cultural anthropologist and RDS member,
conducted Louis Tonella's interview on May 9th, 2001.
The excerpts below cover the period from 1918 to the present
day.
Joseph Ponti, Louis' uncle and a notable Napa Valley
figure in his own right, welcomed young Louis and his
mother into his home following the death of his father
in the 1918 flu epidemic, when he was just six years old.
Louis grew up in the Napa Valley and came by his extensive
wine industry knowledge and experience honestly, first
by following in his uncle's footsteps and working for
Beaulieu Vineyard, and later by making a name for himself
as a hardworking and enterprising grapegrower. In between
these two vocations, he owned and ran a General Goods
store in Rutherford for many years and served as Rutherford's
volunteer fire chief for a decade.
Louis farmed his own land and managed vineyards for others,
most recently for his son Ray, for whom he worked as foreman
until he retired at the ripe age of 85. Today, Louis and
his wife Eda live on Niebaum Lane in Rutherford, on the
same road where he first found a home with his uncle in
1918.
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Rue Ziegler, cultural anthropologist and RDS member,
conducted Ed Chaix's interview on July 9th, 2001. Andy
Beckstoffer, Grapegrower and RDS Board Member, was also
present. The excerpts below cover the period from 1936
to the present day.
Ed Chaix has lived in Napa Valley since 1936, at age
11. Ed is a second generation Rutherford, Napa Valley
grape grower and has been very involved in the Rutherford
community, most notably as chief of the Rutherford Fire
Department (43 years).
In this interview, Ed recounts the evolution of Rutherford
and Napa Valley since the 1940s. More specifically, he
addresses Rutherford's transition from an agricultural
focus on prunes, plums and walnuts to world-class Cabernet
Sauvignon. He also recounts conversations with Andre Tchlistchefft,
who recommended against planting AXR-1 rootstock, which
ultimately was susceptible to the root louse, phylloxera.
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Rue Ziegler, cultural anthropologist and RDS board
member, conducted this interview with Rafael Rodriguez
on May 9th and May 20th, 2002. The excerpts below cover
the period from 1943 to the present day.
Rafael Rodriguez came to California from Mexico as
a young man, part of the government sponsored Braceros
Program to provide farm labor for California's burgeoning
agriculture industry. Rafael worked as a plum-picker,
then a nurseryman, until he was hired in 1952 by Joe
Souza, Inglenook's property manager. Mr. Souza recognized
Rafael's passion for the vines and spent a considerable
amount of time grooming him to take on more and more
responsibility. When the Braceros program ended in 1954,
it was only at the plea of John Daniel Jr., Inglenook's
owner, that Rafael was allowed to remain in the United
States to work and raise his family.
He was promoted to vineyard manager in 1965, shortly
after John Daniel Jr. sold part of the estate to United
Vintners. Rafael remained at the winery up until 1970
when it was sold to Heublein. He was at odds with the
change of direction initiated by the new ownership.
Rafael spent the next five years representing various
community and social interest groups, in addition to
teaching a vineyard management class at Napa College.
When the Coppola's bought the property in 1975, Francis
Coppola persuaded him to come back and manage the property
he loved. For Rafael Rodriquez, the integrity, history
and traditions of Inglenook were important--he and the
Coppola family shared these ideals. When Rafael Rodriquez
was ready to retire, the Coppolas asked him to stay
on as estate historian. With his in-depth knowledge
of the estate and the history of Napa Valley, a tour
with Rafael is a step back in time.
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Rue Ziegler, cultural anthropologist and RDS board
member, conducted this interview with Frank Emmolo on
July 18th, 2002. The excerpts below cover the period
from 1935 to the present day.
Frank's father, Salvatore, came to America from Italy
after the first world war. Salvatore and his four brothers
ran a cannery in Cloverdale. When that cannery burned
they came to Rutherford and started a winery on Galleron
road.
In addition to the cannery and the winery the Emmolo
brothers also had a booming rootstock business. Frank
took over the rootstock business from his father and
still owns it today.
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Rue Ziegler, cultural anthropologist and RDS board
member, conducted this interview with Keith Bowers on
November 15th, 2002. The excerpts below cover the period
from 1922 to the present day.
Keith's parents, already married, moved to Oakland
in 1922 where he and his brother where born in 1924
and 1923 respectively. Keith lived in the Oakland/Berkeley
area until he graduated high school and joined the Navy
in 1941. When the wars ended Keith, taking advantage
of the GI bill, went to UC Davis to study.
After Keith graduated from UC Davis he was offered
a job by Dr. Albert Winkler. Keith accepted the job
working at the UC Davis experimental station in Oakville,
where he worked with Dr. Albert Winkler and Dr. Maynard
Amerine amongst others.
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Rue Ziegler, cultural anthropologist and RDS board
member, conducted this interview with Jim Sullivan on
March 25th, 2003. The excerpts below cover the period
from 1962 to the present day.
Jim was a successful graphic designer in Los Angeles
before getting into winemaking. The first wine the Sullivans
made was from the overbearing peach trees in their backyard.
After reading everything he could find on the subject
Jim started searching for the perfect place to grow
Cabernet Sauvignon, a serious grape, and he eventually
landed in Rutherford circa 1978.
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Rue Ziegler, cultural anthropologist and RDS board
member, conducted this interview with Ernie & Virginia
Van Asperen on October 17, 2003. The excerpts below
cover the period from 1968 to the present day.
Ernie Van Asperen was born in Oakland, CA and has spent
most of his life operating over eighty Ernie's Liquors
Stores throughout California. In 1968 Ernie and his
wife Virginia decided to move to Napa Valley and purchased
a ranch and vineyard in the hills west of historic St.
Helena. Ernie decided to produce his own wines using
the grapes from their vineyard, rather than sell them
to other wineries around the Valley. This began his
newfound hobby and passion of winemaking. After several
years of producing quality wines that earned him respect
and admiration from close friends and colleagues, Ernie
decided to start selling his wines to local retailers
and with the help of his close friend and partner Charlie
Abela, a buzz grew around the Napa Valley over his terrific
wines. Ernie and Virginia, along with several other
partners started Round Hill Vineyards in 1977. By 1986
a new winery facility was constructed on the famed Silverado
Trail, just east of Rutherford. Coincidently, that same
year the winery was named Winery of the Year by The
International Wine Review.
What started as a hobby has turned into a commercial
success for Ernie. The wines have consistently won praise
and accolades from wine critics alike, including being
named, the 2nd Fastest Growing California Winery in
1993. Ernie and his wife Virginia decided to retire
in 2000 and sold Round Hill to Marko and Theo Zaninovich,
who had been stockholders in the winery. Today Ernie
enjoys the life of retirement while spending most of
his time traveling the world with his wife Virginia.
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Rue Ziegler, cultural anthropologist and RDS member,
conducted Mabel (Dal Porto) Johnson's, interview on
August 5th, 2004. The excerpts below cover the period
from 1900 to the 1960’s.
Mabel was born in 1924 to Sattimo and Madeline Dal
Porto in St. Helena. Mabel’s father, Sattimo Dal
Porto, came to the Napa Valley in the early 1900’s
as a child with his family. Mabel’s grandfather,
having owned a vineyard in Italy, settled his family
in St. Helena to continue growing grapes. Mabel’s
mother Madeline, then Madeline Ferrari, moved to Santa
Rosa from Switzerland with her family when she was a
child. After Sattimo’s father passed away when
he was 16 he began working with his brothers to help
support his mother, Amabile Dal Porto, and siblings.
Madeline met Sattimo when her family worked picking
grapes during the summers in St. Helena in 1918. In
1929 Sattimo bought a 52-acre ranch on Mee Lane from
Roy Mercier with the help of his brother in law, Joseph
Baldocchi.
In 1934 Sattimo, along with 6 other growers including
Charlie Forni, started the Napa Valley Cooperative Winery.
In the beginning the cooperative crushed the grapes
it bought from local growers and sold the finished wine
in bulk to Gallo. Sattimo sold his grapes to the Cooperative
until it was sold. Sattimo also ran a small nursery
for several years, supplying grapevine cuttings as well
as some tomato plants for other local farmers. Sattimo
was the first to plant Chardonnay grapes in the Napa
Valley, as well as being the first to use irrigation
for frost protection throughout his ranch.
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Rue Ziegler, cultural anthropologist and RDS member,
conducted Alice Galleron's, interview on June 15th,
2005. The excerpts below cover the period from 1915
to the present day.
Virgile and Angel Galleron, the parents of Virgil Galleron
to whom Alice was married July 1, 1944, arrived in Napa
Valley in 1918. They bought the whole lane (Galleron),
over the Napa River to the Silverado Trail, about 402
acres. They bought their sheep here, which they raised
until they were killed off by dogs and other animals.
They just couldn’t make a living here doing that.
Just 3 years after they purchased the property, they
started selling. Virgil’s dad arrived in 1919,
the year Prohibition began to take its devastating toll.
Virgil Galleron was the president for 30 years of the
Napa Valley Cooperative Winery.
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