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August 27, 2022 
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In 1870, S.A.Holmes planted the first production grape vines in Madera County. In 1881, the vineyard was sold to Madera Vineyard Company, who built a large winery and distilling plant on the property, with a capacity of 140,000 gallons. In 1896 Italian Swiss Agricultural Colony bought the vineyards and the plant. They brought in wine makers from Italy who were very experienced in the production of wine. By 1901 Italian Swiss became one of the largest producers of wines in America. During Prohibition, all wine making stopped. In 1919, brothers Ben and Krikor Arakelian bought the property, and changed the name to Mission Bell Winery. When Prohibition ended in 1933, Mission Bell re-emerged to become a very successful producer of dessert wine, including Don Juan White Port, Don Marco Tokay, and Mission Bell Port, all bottled by Madera Wineries and Distilleries (Mission Bell Winery). By 1940, over 5 million gallons of wine were made per year, and shipped all over the country, via tank cars like the one displayed here. The Petri Wine Company purchased Mission Bell in 1949, and sold it to Allied Grape Growers in 1951. Petri had established a cooperative known as United Vintners. In 1979 the company began producing Inglenook wines at the Madera facility. Dedicated on August 27, 2022 E Clampus Vitus Umpqua Joe 1859 Grub Gulch Chapter 41-49
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