Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/746412
november 2016 / the tasting panel / 67 As is the case with any family-owned business, In addition to the original 47 acres purchased by Carl H. Wente in 1883, the family began developing new vineyards on special sites they purchased in the Livermore Valley, including Beyer Ranch, Hayes Ranch and the historic Cresta Blanca property, where the first winery in the valley was founded by Charles Wetmore in 1882. And following the advice of professors at U.C. Davis, the family was also among the first to invest in properties in the cool-climate growing areas that would later become the Arroyo Seco and Monterey appellations of the Central Coast. collaborative efforts between older and younger genera- tions can have a huge impact on the success or failure of the brand over time. As proprietors of the oldest continuously operating family-owned winery in America, a major turning point for the Wente family happened in 1912, when aspiring second-generation winegrower Ernest Wente persuaded his father, the winery patriarch Carl H. Wente, to import cuttings of Chardonnay from the nursery at the University of Montpellier in France. At the time, the main white grapes planted by the Wentes and other vineyard owners in the rising Livermore Valley wine region were Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc. After getting permission from his father and help from Leon Bonnet of University of California at Davis, Ernest planted the budwood and other cuttings sourced from the nearby Giersberger Winery in Pleasanton. Wente Family Estates Continues to Impact the California Wine Industry A view of the Livermore Valley from the Wente Vineyards Estate.