Posted on 02/07/2022 1:50:07 PM PST by mylife
I make 10-15 gallons of hard cider every year.
Not having it is what makes me mean.
L
The father of a friend from my past was a bootlegger for his dry county back in the 40s and 50s. At that time you had to drive 1.5 hours to buy booze in a store.
He took orders from doctors, judges, cops, teachers, etc. and flew to Baltimore once a week and purchased the goods. He came and went via a little grass strip out in the country and when he returned he delivered it right to the front door like a milkman.
Well, having a Moët in the family will do it!
Sacramental wine has always been an out. When the Spanish settled Mexico, the first thing many settlers did was plant wine grapes since the climate was very similar to that of Spain. However, like the US to the Brits, Mexico to the Spanish was a colony or province that could be only a source for raw materials and a market for finished goods. So they couldn’t produce wine, since the Spanish were shipping their own wines to Mexico and competition was not welcome.
But Mexican religious orders could keep on making sacramental wine…and they did!
Mexico is just beginning to develop a wine industry all these centuries later, but they had their own supplies in the meantime. Not very good, but wine nonetheless.
I thought so too!
I lived in SF years ago, in the Mission District, which was a mixture of Irish, Hispanic and Italian families. The Italians had stuffed vines into their backyards and made the maximum wine that could legally be produced (200 gallons).
Once or twice a year, there would be a period when you could go along the streets off of Mission and buy wine from the garages of these families, who used their garages as wine cellars. You had to bring your own jugs and there was always a line because the wine was very cheap and also very good. Only red wines, if I recall correctly, and we all had our favorite garages. It was actually called garage wine.
There was a company (Cribari?) that used to send its tanker truck and buy up the remainder of the wine that didn’t sell on the garage sale days.
I doubt that this has happened in SF for decades, but it was wonderful when it was there!
Oh man, I wish... All I have are accounts from the local “Old timer’s” community about Grandad, and Great Grandma’s and Grandma’s memories and letters.
But our Ranch was on the way from San Bernardino to Earp Ca. And he was photographed at the “Speak easy” about 20 miles before you get to our Ranch. Straight line wagon trail right past the Ranch house to Earp. I have followed it by horseback.
Good times!
Super cool history, thank you for sharing that! :)
Ha good thinking.
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