Wine Cave - History

History

The history of wine cave construction in the United States dates back to the 1870s in the Napa Valley region. Jacob Schram, a German immigrant and barber, founded Schramsberg Vineyards near Calistoga, California in 1862. Eight years later, Schram found new employment for the Chinese laborers who had recently finished constructing tunnels and grades over the Sierra Nevada Mountains for the Union Pacific Transcontinental Railroad. He hired them to dig a network of caves through the soft Sonoma Volcanics Formation rock underlying his vineyard.

Another Chinese workforce took time away from their regular vineyard work to excavate a labyrinth of wine-aging caves beneath the Beringer Vineyards near St. Helena, California. These caves exceeded 1,200 ft (365 m) long, 17 ft (5 m) wide and 7 ft (2 m) high. The workers used pick-axes and shovels – and on occasion, chisel steel, double jacks and black powder – to break the soft rock. They worked by candlelight, and removed the excavated material in wicker baskets. At least 12 wine storage caves were constructed by these methods.

From the late 19th century to the early 1970s, the development of wine caves went through a long period of “dark ages.” No new caves were built, and many existing caves were abandoned or fell into disrepair. A “renaissance” of cave building began in 1972 when Alf Burtleson Construction started the rehabilitation of the old Beringer wine caves, and was followed by the design and construction of new caves.

In 1982, the Far Niente Winery completed the first of these “new age” wine caves in the Napa Valley AVA. The cave was only 60 ft (18 m) long and was used exclusively to age the wine and to store empty barrels. In 1991, 1995, and 2001, the caves were expanded. New rooms and storage areas were added, featuring different crown heights and intriguing shapes. An octagonal room was constructed for a wine library and a round domed room was added in the complex’s center. Far Niente Winery caves now encompass about 40,000 sq ft (3,700 m²).

In 1991, Condor Earth Technologies Inc. joined with Alf Burtleson on the design and construction of the elaborate Jarvis Wine Cave project. Over 45,000 sq ft (4,200 m²) of underground winery and cave space was constructed, with cave spans exceeding 85 ft (25.5 m) in width. At Jarvis, the entire winery is contained within the tunneled areas, including crushing, fermentation, barrel storage, bottling, lab, office, marketing, and hospitality areas. These caves are open for public tours by appointment.