The inside story on Prohibition, repeal and some hot historic gossip

As I recently wrote about Prohibition, the Constitutional Amendment and enforcing legislation, which were in effect between January 1920 and December 1933, created devastating problems for the nation and specifically the tourism business of Sonoma Valley. However for vineyardists, vintners and devotees of wine there were mixed results.
In the first place, when it came to wine there were two loopholes in the criminalization of making, transporting and selling alcoholic beverages. Wine-making for “personal use” up to 200 gallons a year was permitted, which was enough to keep most people with a buzz all year long—or they could serve it to their friends, provided they did not sell it. This encouraged many people, often with Italian, French or German heritage, to start making wine based on the knowledge passed down from parents and grandparents. It also introduced some people to wine for the first time.
Another exception was producing wine for sacramental purposes which required an agreement with the Catholic diocese and a permit from the federal government. In Sonoma Valley, Samuele Sebastiani had the foresight and connections to get such a permit. Beaulieu Vineyards over in Napa Valley and Wente in Livermore held the other permits in northern California. They could also produce liquor for medicinal uses, on prescription only, a procedure which was greatly abused.
Sebastiani also opened a cannery to save his business. Furthermore, Sebastiani used the talents of plumber Ted Riboni to outwit the revenue agents who would check the amount of production of wine headed for the altar. For a time each night Riboni would attach a pipe from the fermentation tank and let wine flow into a secret vat. Before dawn he would return, unscrew the pipe, and smooth over any sign of diversion.
In Sonoma and Napa Counties most wineries shut down during Prohibition. Many grape growers pulled up their vines and planted fruit such as pears and plums. Among them were the Kundes and Bundschus. Mrs. Bundschu had become a prohibitionist and mandated that they produce only grapes for eating. Other vineyard owners also sold grapes in small amounts for family production or switched to table grapes, but overall production was a shadow of its former tonnage.
Dehydrated grape mash was shipped to the east with the warning not to add yeast, since that might cause “illegal fermentation.” That was a specialty of Cesare Mondavi, the father of the Mondavi brothers, when he was located in the San Joaquin Valley.
The authorities, federal revenuers and sheriff’s deputies, were not particularly interested in cracking down on the trickle of illegal wine production but concentrated instead on hard liquor bootlegging. However, one day they raided large storage tanks in Napa County south of St. Helena, and took delight in smashing them with axes, sending a wave of wine down Dunaweal Lane in which old-timers still call “the River of Red.”
When Prohibition ended with sufficient state ratifications of the amendment to repeal, Sebastiani had a head start since its winery had been in operation during the “dry” years. Samuele had 300,000 gallons already stored up for bottling the first day it was legal to sell his wine At the same time in Massachusetts a smart operator named Joseph Kennedy had a shipload of Scotch Whisky ready to land.
It would be three decades before Sonoma Valley’s vineyard and wine industries recovered.
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Socrates Nicholson has been kind enough to send us a copy of The Secret Life Of Houdini, The Making of America’s First Superhero, with a note pointing out Houdini’s connection with Sonoma Valley. Harry Houdini was America’s most fabulous magician and a death-defying escape artist.
In 1915 when Houdini was putting on his show in Oakland, in the audience was Jack London. Houdini invited London, the nation’s most popular author, to have dinner with him. Their friendship was instantaneous. They readily empathized since both came from humble backgrounds and were primarily self-taught. The next evening they were joined by their wives, Bess Houdini and Charmian London. Charmian was taken by the vibrant personality of the dramatic magician. The Londons and Houdinis had pictures taken of the couples together and corresponded when Houdini was on tour.
Less than a year and a half after their meeting, Jack London died on November 22, 1916, at age 41. In January, 1918, Charmian traveled to New York to meet with her publishers and went to see Harry at his next performance. Although he was married, they began a torrid affair (she called him her “Magic Lover”) that lasted until she returned west in April. They stayed in touch by mail and occasional telephone calls. When he came to San Francisco they set up a date, but Houdini stood up Charmian. They never saw each other again. Houdini died in 1925.
The Secret Life of Houdini, by William Kalush and Larry Sloman, 2006, Atria Books, is a lively well-researched biography. During my years practicing law in San Francisco, Socrates headed a popular firm of court reporters. In Sonoma his ranch became the Nicholson Ranch Winery charmingly directed by his daughter, Ramona, and her husband Deepak Gulrajani.