The Wine History Project of SLO County preserves and presents two centuries of local viticulture through research, interviews, exhibitions, publications, talks and tastings. We work with local museums, galleries, archives, and wineries to organize events and exhibitions in venues throughout the county.
Together We Can Preserve the Story of Central Coast Winemaking
3592 Broad Street,
Suite 104,
San Luis Obispo,
CA 93401
(805) 439-4647
libbie@winehistoryproject.org
By Appointment
Claiborne & Churchill is known for the warm hospitality, delightful weekly musical events, trivia nights, special food and wine tastings, and sipping wine in the garden with Clay and Fredericka. The Cellar Club has over 1500 members. The varietals produced are Gewurztraminer, Riesling, Pinot Gris, Muscat, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Syrah and Grenache.
New Englander Alfred Lovering Tubbs was only twenty-two years old when he arrived in San Francisco in 1850 as the agent for a large Boston mercantile company to sell their shipload of goods and to try out the young West Coast market. He followed up this profitable assignment with a partnership with his brother Hiram, and they opened a successful chandlery business. In 1856 they established Tubbs & Co, Manufacturers of Cordage, the first and largest rope making firm on the Pacific Coast, serving the needs of the shipping, farming, construction and mining industries. Alfred Tubbs, notably successful and prominent in San Francisco circles, was elected to the California State Senate in 1865.
One of California Wine Country’s most popular Pre-Prohibition promotional postcard images ever used was actually, a fakery. Almost fifty years ago, when my collecting of California wine postcards began, one of the first cards I found was a hand-colored California generic featuring the image of an unidentified mustachioed vineyard master harvesting giant clusters of grapes from a single vine.
From early on, California wineries have welcomed visitors to come and sample their wines, tour the cellars, and learn about wine, its culture, and how it is made. And perhaps buy a jug or a bottle or two to take home. Postcards showing an interior view of a winery cellar or tasting room are more rare and we acknowledge them for recording this chapter of wine country history. On our tour we will visit several historic winery tasting rooms — variously called the sample room, tasting hall, tasting bar, visitor center, reception room, or tasting lounge.
Libbie established The Wine History Project of San Luis Obispo County in 2015 to study the land, microclimates, grape varieties, growers, and winemakers who have shaped the wine history of the county. She interviewed hundreds of people and worked with the older generations of growers and winemakers to identify the important people and historical events that shaped local wine history. Libbie believes that history must be shared in a variety of ways to reach the public; each exposure should add joy and a sense of adventure to the experience. The Wine History Project shares the unique history of “SLO” county by making documentary films, organizing art events paired with wine, developing exhibits to place in the vineyards, gardens, parks, and historic buildings. You will find written history, descriptions of historic wine tools and equipment and photographs on our website, in our books and publications and in our monthly newsletters.newsletters.
The UC Davis Library — home to the world’s most comprehensive wine research collection — is now the steward of a unique archive donated by Central Coast wine historian Libbie Agran and the Wine History Project of San Luis Obispo County. The donation, which includes $250,000 to support long-term preservation and access, ensures that the stories, culture and contributions of one of The UC Davis Library — home to the world’s most comprehensive wine research collection — is now the steward of a unique archive donated by Central Coast wine historian Libbie Agran and the Wine History Project of San Luis Obispo County. The donation, which includes $250,000 to support long-term preservation and access, ensures that the stories, culture and contributions of one of California’s most distinctive wine regions will be shared with generations of students, scholars and thousands who live and work in wine regions throughout California.California’s most distinctive wine regions will be shared with generations of students, scholars and thousands who live and work in wine regions throughout California.
Ambitious, and determined from an early age to establish a career in the California wine trade, young Hanoverian Theodore Gier (1860-1931) sailed in 1881 from his native Germany to America. Two years later he was settled in Oakland, across the Bay from San Francisco, to become one of the most successful, and powerful, wine men in pre-Prohibition California. Gier, “of slight frame and of uncommon nervous tension” was a public-spirited and progressive citizen, a recognized business leader whose ownership interests included a bar and saloon, bank founder, real estate developer, resort owner, and city philanthropist. His huge Oakland-based wine and liquor operations, wholesale & retail, counted five locations in Oakland, along with numerous vineyards and wineries in Napa County and the Livermore Valley. In 1910 Gier incorporated as the Theodore Gier Vineyard & Wine Co., with a capitalization of two million dollars. In a few years, the company had annual sales of just over three hundred thousand gallons of wine.
Now, this extraordinary body of work will have a permanent home at UC Davis, ensuring the stories and artifacts Agran preserved remain accessible for generations. The project’s collection was recently donated to the UC Davis Library’s Archives and Special Collections, adding another dimension to what is considered by many to be the world’s most comprehensive wine research collection.
KCBX, the local public radio, began its first broadcast on July 25, 1975. At that time a non-profit, non-commercial community radio was a new concept. It was questionable how an area the size of San Luis Obispo County would be able to give support to a public radio station. The station eventually became part of the nationwide network of National Public Radio and built a strong listenership.
The area now known as San Luis Obispo County had far fewer residents during the Golden Era of the Rancho Period than most other areas in Mexican California. The Mexicans fought to free their people and lands from Spanish rule and celebrated this freedom from 1832 by creating Ranchos, which became the dominant institution of Mexican California. Rancho is a Mexican word that describes a tract of land used for raising cattle, sheep and horses.
New Exhibition, Dog Boats and Rum Runners in State Parks – San Luis Obispo County in the Prohibition Era at the historic Spooner House in Montana de Oro State Park, on display until June 2022.
The exhibit Celebrating Amphorae: 6,000 Years of Winemaking in Amphorae and the Local Winemakers Who Continue the Ancient Tradition is on display at the Paso Robles History Museum in Paso Robles City Park through February 2022.
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