Growers seek to revive Contra Costa wine country
MARTINEZ - Contra Costa County’s first blessing of the grapes in decades took place Wednesday morning under sunshine and blue skies - and within earshot of the alarms from the Shell Oil refinery just down the road.
In a sign that the formerly declining industry is making a comeback, owners of several area vineyards and one olive oil company came to Viano Winery to pray for a good harvest. They followed after Catholic priest the Rev. Aidan McAleenan of Christ the King Church in Pleasant Hill, shaking grape leaves dipped in holy water over baskets of fresh-picked fruit.
Despite the picture-perfect weather at the ceremony, it’s a good year to ask for a little extra help, some of the farmers said.
“I’m getting nervous, with the strange weather we’ve had,” said John Viano, winery owner. “We didn’t have Father say it outright, but we pray for no rain this time of year.”
Before Wednesday, The Christian Brothers Winery in Martinez likely was the last to host a blessing of the grapes. That winery burned in 1937 and relocated to Napa County, where the land was cheaper, said Tom Powers of Alhambra Valley Ranch. The fire signaled a a long downturn in the Contra Costa County wine industry.
Though the county’s first vines were planted in Pinole in 1824, prohibition…
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