- Almaden Vineyards
Infobox Winery
winery_name = Almaden Vineyards
winery_
location_city = Madera, California
location_country = USA
appellation = Santa Clara Valley AVA
former_name = Almadén Vineyards
other_labels=
year_founded = 1852
first_vintage =
key_people =
parent_company =Canandaigua Wine
cases_per_year =
signature_wine = Almadén Grenache Rosé
varietal1 = Cabernet Sauvignon
varietal2 = Chardonnay
varietal3 = Riesling
varietal4 = Zinfandel
varietal5 = Merlot
varietal6 = Grenache
varietal7 = White Zinfandel
varietal8 =
varietal9 =
varietal10 =
other_product1= Chablis
other_product2= Chianti
other_product3= Burgundy
other_product4= Rhine
other_product5=
homepage= [http://www.almaden.com/ www.almaden.com]
distribution
tasting=Almaden Vineyards is a
winery located in Escalon and Madera,California . They claim to be California's oldest winery.Their original location was at the
Old Almaden Winery south of San José between Los Gatos and Almaden. It is registered asCalifornia Historical Landmark #505. [California Office of Historic Preservation, [http://ohp.parks.ca.gov/default.asp?page_id=21522 Santa Clara] ]History
The winery was established by Éthienne Thée in 1852, who named the vineyard after a nearby former quicksilver mining town.cite book| last =Lichine | first =Alexis | title =Alexis Lichine's Encyclopedia of Wines and Spirits | publisher =Cassell & Company Ltd. | date =1967 | location =London | pages =p.64 ] Though sources contradict concerning details of the original foundation, it was undeniably Charles Le Franc, son-in-law of Thée, who planted the first choice European grape varieties at the foot of the
Santa Cruz Mountains . The conditions of Pacific cool evening breeze and rocky soil are not suffiently fertile for large yields but grapes of special quality.Following Prohibition, Almadén as its wines were marketed, had great success with their blush wine, the White Grenache Rosé, allegedly the first popular pink wine in the United States.
The vineyard has undergone great change since, and as the home ground of Los Gatos became overrun by suburbs, [wikimapia.org [http://wikimapia.org/673608/ Vineland Park satellite photo] ] Almaden Vineyards was among the first to move south and convert|1000|ft|m up, to Paicines in
San Benito County , initially planting convert|2000|acre|km2 of mostlyChardonnay andCabernet Sauvignon grapes with success,cite book| last=Johnson | first=Hugh | title=The World Atlas of Wine | publisher=Mitchell Beazley Ltd. | date=1971 | location=London | pages=p.220 ] and claim of "the world’s largest varietal wine vineyard".References
External links
* [http://www.almaden.com/ Almaden Vineyards official site]
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