The Wine History Project collections include many archival records of historic families of San Luis Obispo County. Archival records encompass a wide range of materials that document the activities and history of individuals, organizations, or institutions. These records serve as a valuable resource for historical research, legal and administrative purposes, and preserving cultural heritage.
The Wine History Project currently serves as a local archive that preserves these records related to the San Luis Obispo wine community. In the future, it will be of unique value and importance to the study of material culture in California’s wine industry.
This article will showcase a document which exists in the archival collections of the Wine History Project. It was hand-drawn by Max Goldman in 1977: a plat plan of the York Mountain Winery.
York Mountain and Its Importance to San Luis Obispo County
As viticulture began to thrive in California in the 1880s, Andrew and Huldah York discovered a property of 112 acres for sale by the owner located in the Ascension School District, now known as York Mountain. The owner, blacksmith Jacob Grandstaff, homesteaded the land in 1865.
The York family occupied this land, grew grapes, and made Zinfandel wine for three generations, from 1882 to 1970. It is the longest-running family-owned winery in the history of San Luis Obispo County.
According to the Directory of Grape Growers, Wine Makers and Distillers of California, by 1891, Andrew York was listed as a winemaker with a vineyard of forty acres growing Zinfandel and Burger varieties and producing sixty tons of grapes in Templeton.
Photo from Wine History Project collection.
Max Goldman of York Mountain Winery.
This History Of York Mountain Winery In Templeton As Found In San Luis Obispo Winery: A World-Class History Written By The Wine History Project Of San Luis Obispo County (2021)
The winery was first known as the Ascension Winery; the name was later changed to A. York and Sons, and eventually York Winery. It produced thirty thousand to thirty-five thousand gallons of wine in 1900. Twenty thousand of the forty thousand gallons of wine produced by 1902 were shipped to the East Coast and eventually became the largest and most successful commercial winery prior to Prohibition.
After Andrew York’s death in December 1913, his sons, Walter and Silas, took control of the winery and increased the production of wine to over one hundred thousand gallons annually. At this point, these sons of Andrew changed the name to York Brothers Winery.
By 1944, ownership of the York Brothers Winery was transferred to the next generation, Wilfrid (Bill) and Howard, who eventually sold out his ownership to Bill in 1954. In 1970, Bill York decided to retire and sell York Brothers Winery.
He sold the property to the legendary enologist Max Goldman. Max and his children, Steve Goldman and Suzanne Redberg, replanted the vineyards with new varieties, restored the winery and family home, added a legendary tasting room, and produced award-winning wines for the next three decades, beginning in 1970.
Max renamed the winery York Mountain Winery. Bill York died on June 9, 1984, leaving a rich legacy for San Luis Obispo County.
A Bonded Winery
There is a history of taxation and regulatory control on the alcohol and tobacco industry since 1789. The United States Treasury Department and its Bureaus have played an integral role in writing this history and in defining our nation’s identity. The Treasury Department and the first Federal taxes levied on distilled spirits in 1791.
A bonded winery is a winery that has taken out an insurance policy that will cover the excise tax liability determined by the federal government. A winery established itself with the (now) Alcohol, and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) and must calculate its bond coverage – estimating the total amount (in gallons) of wine that they may have stored on their property at any given month of the year and also list the alcohol content of said wine.
The Importance of a Plat Plan
A plat plan or plat map is a detailed, scaled map showing how a piece of land is divided into lots, including property lines, easements, and other features, used for different types of transactions and land development.
They provide a visual representation of a property’s features, including lot boundaries, streets, easements, and other relevant details. Key features of a plat map include property lines, lot dimensions, easements, streets and roads, flood zones, and utility lines.
Plat Map hand drawn by Max Goldman in 1977.
New Life for this Historic Property
Bill and Liz Armstrong, who own Epoch, purchased the site of one of the first bonded wineries on the Central Coast, the 143-acre property of York Mountain Winery and tasting room, in 2010. Prior to that time, they had purchased the historic Paderewski Vineyard in 2004 and the Catapult Vineyard in 2008.
The 17,000 square foot winery is now rebuilt and state-of-the-art; much of the winery is placed beneath the earth, which allows the winery to blend into the landscape. The Yorks had constructed the farmhouse in 1898. In 2013, the Armstrongs did a comprehensive renovation.
According to their website, currently as of 2025 have 94 acres under vine, and their future plans include replanting nearly 200 more acres.
