This simple, ceramic jug was one of several used in the tasting room at Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars in California’s Napa Valley in the 1990s. Placed on the tasting room bar, it was available to patrons during the course of sampling a range of the winery’s products. When tasting many wines, it is often desirable to avoid palate overload or intoxication by not swallowing every drop in the pour. A taster may take a sip and note a wine’s aroma, flavor, complexity, mouthfeel, and finish before spitting out the sip or dumping the rest of the pour into the jug.
The idea of welcoming the public for tastings at California wineries grew out of the post-Prohibition push to promote and market the state’s wine. As early as 1934, the Beringers opened their Napa Valley winery to the public and, the following year, a speaker at the Conference of Vintners and Allied Interests suggested its members invite the public to learn about wine and “be imbued with [its] lore” by visiting actual vineyards and wineries. Peter and Robert Mondavi at Charles Krug opened a tasting room in 1949 and many others followed. As tourism in wine country expanded in the 1960s, wineries became more sophisticated about reaching new audiences through wine-related educational programs and experiences. By the end of the 20th century, winery tours, tastings, salesrooms, and events were essential parts of most winery business operations in California and in other wine regions around the country.
An insecure barrel stack is an unacceptable hazard in a winery. This wooden wedge was one of hundreds used to stabilize stacks of 225 liter (60 gallon) wine barrels that were holding wine for aging at Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars (SLWC) in California’s Napa Valley in the mid-1990s. The prosaic but essential chocks, pushed into place along the curves at the bottom of each barrel, kept the formidable stacks of French oak barrels secure and stable. As cellar workers climbed the stacks to top off barrels and monitor the wine, they trusted the chocks to function properly.
This picking knife, used by a vineyard worker in 1996-97 at Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars in California’s Napa Valley, has a hard plastic handle, a curved and serrated metal blade, and a leather wrist strap. While different designs for picking knives may be preferred in other winegrowing regions, this model is typical of Napa pickers. They use the knife to cull grapes midway through the growing season, a practice that limits the crop and concentrates flavor; they also use these knives to harvest the crop when the grapes are ripe. Pickers often customize the blades of their knives, adjusting the length of the blade, changing the arc of the curve, or sharpening it to suit their particular work style.
This wine press, manufactured by Philadelphia’s Baccellieri Brothers Company, is of the type widely used by home winemakers. It was purchased sometime after 1902, when Francesco Lee (Lia), arrived in the United States from the Catanzaro region of Italy. Operating the press was straightforward: after the crushed grapes and juice were emptied into the press, the winemaker placed wooden blocks on top of them to help compress the grapes as the screw was turned with a long wooden handle. As the mass of crushed grapes was pressed, juice ran out of the bottom and into another barrel. In addition to the wine press, the museum collected several blocks of various sizes and all stained with grape juice, used by the Lee family with this press.
An insecure barrel stack is an unacceptable hazard in a winery. This wooden wedge was one of hundreds used to stabilize stacks of 225 liter (60 gallon) wine barrels that were holding wine for aging at Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars (SLWC) in California’s Napa Valley in the mid-1990s. The prosaic but essential chocks, pushed into place along the curves at the bottom of each barrel, kept the formidable stacks of French oak barrels secure and stable. As cellar workers climbed the stacks to top off barrels and monitor the wine, they trusted the chocks to function properly.
This small (200 ml capacity) wineglass, etched with the logo and name of Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars (SLWC), Napa Valley, was used in the winery’s tasting room in the 1990s. Stag’s Leap refers to the rock outcropping at the top of a hill to the east of the SLWC estate. The winery’s logo shows not a leaping stag, but a mature stag standing regally before a tree-like vine, foliage, and grapes.
Visitors wishing to taste wines in the tasting room would have been issued one of these glasses and guided through a sampling of various varietals and vintages. At SLWC, the tasting room is in a building that also houses fermentation tanks, which provides an aromatic and highly authentic experience for the public. While policies vary among wineries, In some cases, and especially if bottles of wine are purchased after a tasting, the visitor may be invited to keep the glass as a souvenir.
The idea of welcoming the public for tastings at California wineries grew out of the post-Prohibition push to promote and market the state’s wine. As early as 1934, the Beringers opened their Napa Valley winery to the public and, the following year, a speaker at the Conference of Vintners and Allied Interests suggested its members invite the public to learn about wine and “be imbued with [its] lore” by visiting actual vineyards and wineries. Peter and Robert Mondavi at Charles Krug opened a tasting room in 1949 and many others followed. As tourism in California wine country expanded in the 1960s, wineries became more sophisticated about reaching new audiences through wine-related educational programs and experiences. By the end of the 20th century, winery tours, tastings, salesrooms, and events were essential parts of most winery business operations in California and in other wine regions around the country.
These gloves, made of nylon and polyester, were marketed as “Pick-Up Country Gloves” by the manufacturer, Napa Glove Company, Inc., in Napa, California. Grape pickers use gloves like this during harvest to help protect their hands. The “supergrip” feature—a web-like pattern of plastic on the surface—helps workers keep hold of the grapes as they quickly cut the clusters from the vines.
This pair of gloves was purchased for $2.99 at the Napa County Farm Supply store during harvest 1997.
A carboy, also called a demijohn, is a stout glass container with a narrow neck. Available in various sizes, they are essential to winery operations. This carboy, used in the 1990s at Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars in California’s Napa Valley, transported wine for topping off barrels in the red wine cellar. As wine ages in barrels, small amounts are lost to evaporation. Cellar workers topped off the barrels with wine brought to the barrel room in this carboy.
Winemakers also use carboys for fermenting small batches of wine, especially for research and experimental purposes.
This plastic wine thief was used at Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars in Napa, California during the 1990s. The wine thief is essentially a pipette that is used by a winemaker to extract a small amount of wine from a large cask or carboy. At several points during both the fermentation and aging processes, a winemaker will use the thief to extract a sample of the juice into a glass. The winemaker evaluates the wine by carefully looking at its color, smelling its aroma, and tasting it, as part of the winemaking process.