We are always searching for and discovering unusual objects to share with our readers. The gems we are sharing this month are great posters from the Wine History Project’s archives. Not only do they provide us with historic information, but upon closer investigation, these posters focus on lesser-known people who were part of San Luis Obispo’s wine community in the 20th Century, more than 30 years ago. We love to celebrate these growers and winemakers because each is a colorful thread in our local wine history.
Background
In November of 1991, the first annual Harvest Celebration of Edna Valley and Arroyo Grande Valley was planned with great excitement. The first celebration was designed as a three-hour event, from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m., on a Saturday afternoon to celebrate the harvest of wine grapes by members of the Edna Valley Arroyo Grande Valley Association. There were sixteen participating wineries.
The Harvest Celebration continued to expand throughout the years and became an annual event with posters and brochures designed by local artists. It changed the event name, added participating wineries, local food producers, and additional tastings in a variety of venues.
The Wine History Project of San Luis Obispo County has some examples of ephemera from these South County celebrations in the form of posters and programs. We track the grapes, the wines, and participants who made history by attracting and educating the public at these events. Winemakers were pouring their own wines and telling their individual stories about their careers and their favorite grape varieties to the public who came from neighboring counties and Southern California.
Celebrating Harvest 2008
The SLO Vintners Harvest Celebration – November 7-9, 2008
EPH326 SLO Vintner’s Harvest Celebration Poster 11” x 17” “I make the wine”
Harold Osborne has stated in this poster, “I make the wine”, and indeed, he has had a remarkable career. He studied at Fresno State and UC Davis. He spent additional years traveling abroad to visit French and Australian vineyards and wineries, studying their grape varieties and winemaking. He was attracted to the art of making Champagne. Osborne joined Schramsberg Champagne Cellars, in Calistoga, Napa Valley, California’s original premium sparkling wine producer. In 1965, Jack and Jamie Davies revived the Schramsberg Vineyards to focus on the finest and most complex hand-crafted sparkling wine in California. Harold Osborne was one of the first winemakers involved in the resurgence of California sparkling wine. Osborne built production at Schramsberg from 2,000 cases to 28,000 cases before he moved on in 1981.
Harold Osborne
Photo found at Mentelle Notes newsletter, June 1992
The signature of Barry Goyette at the bottom of the 2008 harvest poster.
After a couple of years on sabbatical, Osborne joined Champagne Deutz in 1983 to establish their new Californian location, Pressoir-Deutz Winery, in Arroyo Grande. He was attracted to this offer because the President and active partner in the venture was André Lallier. His family had been making champagne since the 1830s in France. André had been looking for the perfect location to grow grapes and make champagne in the United States. He found it in the terroir of Arroyo Grande, California. The vineyard site is four miles from the ocean, which provides a long, cool growing season. The vines were planted on steep hillsides in limestone soil. Osborne wanted to make sparkling wines with character and longevity, and he saw his opportunity at Champagne Deutz and their winery Pressoir-Deutz.
Harold Osborne, Winemaker At Pressior – Deutz
In the publication by Vicki León known as California Wineries – A Photographic Profile, published in 1986 by Blake Publishing, Harold Osborne was documented as being the winemaker at Pressoir-Deutz. Osborne is quoted as saying, “Making Champagne is a long process. First, you make a sound base wine. Then you give it character through a second fermentation in the bottle, followed by two years aging in contact with yeast sediment and other steps.”
Harold Osborne Moves On To Kelsey See Canyon Vineyards
In 2006, there appeared an article in the East Bay Times entitled “Of Apples, Olive Oils and Organics” where we found the following announcement. “The orchards of Kelsey See Canyon Vineyards were planted in 1951.” It continues, “the farmers of See Canyon are so fond of their apples that the fruit tends to find its way into everything. Even wine.” The article goes on to say, “we found Kelsey’s red-stained alchemist, Harold Osborne, in the wine barn out back.” One final thought from the article, “He is an avowed iconoclast, and even makes sparkling wine from Syrah grapes. Osborne is lobbying for See Canyon to maintain its diverse agricultural heritage.”
By the time of the publication of the poster in 2008 for the Harvest Celebration, we know Harold Osborne had been the winemaker for Kelsey See Canyon Vineyards in San Luis Obispo for a couple of years.
By 2013, he had purchased The Tasting Room at “The Distillery” in the Mexican state of Baja California Sur. In 2014, the La Fuente Winery was founded at this location by winemaker Harold Osborne.
The Poster Designer – Barry Goyette
Barry Goyette specializes in photographing people for advertising, providing design services for a diverse clientele. Barry was raised in California and is based in San Luis Obispo where he also produces numerous exhibits of contemporary photography over the past three decades. Besides advertisement work, he works with many of our non-profit organizations, including the Civic Ballet of San Luis Obispo, San Luis Obispo Wine Country, the San Luis Obispo Symphony, and many others, to bring a sophisticated, story-driven point of view to his projects.
As A Final Note
If any of our readers have posters or programs from the harvest celebrations, we would love it if you loaned them to the Wine History Project of San Luis Obispo County so that we can digitally copy them and keep the image in our archives. Please contact Libbie@winehistoryproject.org or Cindy@winehistoryproject.org to discuss the possibility.
