rafrM^ University of California Berkeley . All uses of this manuscript are covered by a legal agreement between the Regents of the University of California and Brother Timothy, dated 5 March, 1974. The manuscript is thereby made available for research purposes. All literary rights in the manuscript, including the right to publish, are reserved to The Bancroft Library of the University of California at Berkeley. No part of the manuscript may be quoted for publication without the written permission of the Director of The Bancroft Library of the University of California at Berkeley. Requests for permission to quote for publication should be addressed to the Regional Oral History Office, 486 Library, and should include identification of the specific passages to be quoted, anticipated use of the passages, and identification of the user. The legal agreement with Brother Timothy requires that he be notified of the request and allowed thirty days in which to respond. The Bancroft Library University of California/Berkeley Regional Oral History Office California Wine Industry Oral History Project Brother Timothy THE CHRISTIAN BROTHERS AS WINEMAKERS With an Introduction by Maynard A. Amerine An Interview Conducted by Ruth Teiser 1975 by The Regents of the University of California Brother Timothy Being interviewed at Mont La Salle, Photograph by Catherine Harroun. TABLE OF CONTENTS -- Brother Timothy PREFACE i INTRODUCTION by Maynard A. Amerine ill INTERVIEW HISTORY v THE CHRISTIAN BROTHERS 1 THE BEGINNING OF WINE MAKING AT MARTINEZ 4 THE MOVE TO MONT LA SALLE 10 THE BOYHOOD OF ANTHONY GEORGE DIENER 15 BROTHER TIMOTHY S EARLY YEARS IN THE ORDER 18 THE MONT LA SALLE WINERY 22 BROTHER JOHN AND ALFRED FROMM 25 EARLY HISTORY OF THE MONT LA SALLE PROPERTY 28 WINE -MAKING TECHNOLOGY IN THE POST -REPEAL PERIOD 33 ALFRED FROMM AND MARKET EXPANSION 38 CHRISTIAN BROTHERS BRANDY 41 EXPANDING FACILITIES 44 THE ACQUISITION OF THE MOUNT TIVY WINERY 45 GREYSTONE CELLARS 50 THEODORE GIER S ALBUM 57 CHRISTIAN BROTHERS CHAMPAGNE 66 CHRISTIAN BROTHERS WINES AND VINEYARDS 69 OTHER RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS THAT MAKE WINE 73 THE CALIFORNIA WINE INDUSTRY 74 GRACE AND THANKSGIVING PRAYERS 77 THE SOUTH ST. HELENA COMPLEX 79 WINERY SIZE AND WINE QUALITY 84 GRAPE AND WINE PRICES SINCE 1961 87 CORKS AND CAPS 91 CORKSCREWS 94 THE WINE MUSEUM 102 APPENDIX I The History of the Christian Brothers 105 Wineries in California APPENDIX II History of Greystone 122 APPENDIX III The Christian Brothers Wine and Champagne Cellars 123 APPENDIX IV The Napa Valley 131 APPENDIX V Harvest Luncheon 135 INDEX 137 (For Wines and Grapes see page 142) PREFACE The California Wine Industry Oral History Series, a project of the Regional Oral History Office, was initiated in 1969, the year noted as the bicentenary of continuous wine making in this state. It was undertaken through the action and with the financing of the Wine Advisory Board, and under the direction of University of California faculty and staff advisors at Berkeley and Davis. The purpose of the series is to record and preserve information on California grape growing and wine making that has existed only in the memories of wine men. In some cases their recollections go back to the early years of this century, before Prohibition. These recollections are of particular value because the Prohibition period saw the disruption of not only the industry itself but also the orderly recording and preservation of records of its activities. Little has been written about the industry from late in the last century until Repeal. There is a real paucity of information on the Prohibition years (1920-1933), although some wine making did continue under supervision of the Prohibition Department. The material in this series on that period, as well as the discussion of the remarkable development of the wine industry in subsequent years (as yet treated analytically in few writings) will be of aid to historians. Of particular value is the fact that frequently several Individuals have discussed the same subjects and events or expressed opinions on the same ideas, each from his own point of view. Research underlying the interviews has been conducted principally in the University libraries at Berkeley and Davis, "the California State Library, and in the library of the Wine Institute, which has made its collection of in many cases unique materials readily available for the purpose. Three master indices for the entire series are being prepared, one of general subjects, one of wines, one of grapes by variety. These will be available to researchers at the conclusion of the series in the Regional Oral History Office and at the library of the Wine Institute. 11 The Regional Oral History Office was established to tape record autobiographical Interviews with persons who have contributed significantly to recent California history. The office is headed by Willa K. Baum and is under the administrative supervision of James D. Hart, the Director of The Bancroft Library. Buth Teiser Project Director California Wine Industry Oral History Series 1 March 1971 Regional Oral History Office *f86 The Bancroft Library University of California, Berkeley ill INTRODUCTION The Brothers of the Christian Schools congregation was originally and still exists as a teaching order. Brother Timothy makes clear that the present large wine and brandy business is carried on to support the teaching. The Christian Brothers started their novitiate in Martinez in 1879. Some time later, possibly in 1882, they began to sell wine and have continued to do so ever since, including during Prohibition. In 1932 they moved their winery equipment and wines to their present winery near Napa. Their winery operations are conducted as a regularly commercial winery under the name Mont La Salle Vineyards. The profits from their operation, after taxes, etc., goes to the non-profit corporation, De La Salle Institute, which operates the Christian Brothers schools and educational work. But, and justifiably so, this is the story of Brother Timothy (George Diener) , his fellow brothers, and the operation of their wineries since 1935. To a certain extent it is the story of the devoted service of three men, Brothers Gregory, John, and Timothy. Although he acknowledges the contributions of Fromm and Sichel it is obvious that the brothers themselves had a clear picture of the type of company which they wished to build--a Napa Valley oriented table wine industry, and a San Joaquin Valley oriented dessert wine and brandy production. He gives us a clear picture of why they produce certain types of wine (and how), of their blending concept, and why they use corks instead of screw caps as closures. There is even a section on his corkscrew collection, memories of James P. Howe and some "graces" that he has given. All in all a modest but revealing portrait of a devout man and his work. The one thing he should have told us was how hard he worked to make it go. Brother Timothy gives credit to Brother John for the large scale expansion of their winery operations. Anyone who met Brother John will recognize that his tribute to his colleague s energy and ambition for the order is completely deserved. Brother John was the early dynamo behind their progress. Brother Timothy also pays a graceful tribute to the influence of the research and teaching of the University of California. He indicates that ten or twelve members of their present technical staff were trained at the University of California or at Fresno State University. Iv An important part of the story of Christian Brothers wines is their contract with Fromm and Sichel, who since 1938 have merchandised their wines and brandies in forty-eight of the fifty states. Brother Timothy notes that their altar wine business is still conducted directly from the winery. He credits Alfred Fromm with the suggestion that they produce commercial brandy. He notes that it has always been a slightly sweet flavored brandy, but that in recent years lighter in flavor than at the start. From 1940 to date Christian Brothers have continuously expanded their operations at Napa, north and south of St. Helena and at Reedley and Fresno in the San Joaquin Valley. Brother Timothy modestly underplays his own very considerable part in this growth. Nevertheless, he was an innovative designer of equipment and processes for more efficient operations. Few if any of the many techno logical advances pioneered at their wineries did not have the assistance of Brother Timothy and, of course, none were made without his approval. Brother Timothy is interested in the history of the vineyards and properties that Christian Brothers operate, especially in Theodore Gier at Napa. However interesting this may be historically it is not important. What is important is what Brother Timothy and his co-workers have made of those properties on their own. They have created them by themselves with very little assistance from history and they, not history, deserve the credit. Maynard A. Amerine Professor, Viticulture and Enology 21 January 1975 101 Wickson Hall University of California at Davis INTERVIEW HISTORY Brother Timothy, F.S.C., was born Anthony George Diener in New Jersey in 1910, the son of German-American parents. His family moved to Southern California when he was young, and he received his early education there and at the Christian Brothers high school in Oakland. In 1928 he joined the Christian Brothers order and later attended St. Mary s College, majoring in science. In 1931 he started teaching in the order s high schools in Northern California. He had not been associated with the winery, although he had known of it and seen it during his novitiate at Martinez, and he had helped move it to Mont La Salle in 1931.