In preparation for our 35th Anniversary Celebration, Lanny and I looked through piles of old photographs and newsletters. What a lot of memories these hold! I remember the first wine tasting and sale of wine. It was 1977. We sent newsletter-invitations to all our friends and acquaintances. We set up a table in our small space (Ventana Alley) at the old Ruby Hill Winery. We sold out our Riesling (20 cases) that afternoon, and our winery was launched.
We originally named the winery Ventana; this is the Spanish word for window, but also means an opening to a new view, and new future. We changed the name to Fenestra, window in Latin, due to a conflict of names.
After 4 years at the old Ruby Hill Winery, we needed more space, so we looked for our own winery building and found a dilapidated structure near Ruby Hill. The first day we started working on the building was a bitter cold day in December 1979. The roof was falling in, the walls were sagging, and the floors were completely covered with dirt and debris. After 8 months of hard work on the building and getting bonded and licensed, we were open for business.
For the 35th Anniversary Celebration, the weather was lovely for the weekend. The Tom Rose band was enthusiastically received, all the picnic tables were full, and some guests were dancing on the lawn. Curb Dogz provided tri-tip sandwiches with blue cheese crumbles, Mrs. True (Kip West) made a “ghost appearance”, relating tales of her life at the winery in the 1800s. Friends we hadn’t seen in years came to congratulate us. It was a wonderful weekend!
- Fran
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