- Kathleen Scavone
- Posted On
Lake County Time Capsule: Lower Lake Winery
“Wine is one of the most civilized things in the world and one of the most natural things of the world that has been brought to the greatest perfection, and it offers a greater range for enjoyment and appreciation than, possibly, any other purely sensory thing.” – Ernest Hemingway
LOWER LAKE, Calif. – Lake County's altitude and soil composition, along with the Mediterranean climate here, have enticed people to try their hand at winemaking since before the Gold Rush.
It was national Prohibition in 1920 that ended our county's winemaking. Then, vines were replaced by pears and walnuts.
Today, all three crops – grapes, pears and walnuts – are tops in Lake County's crop economy.
After Prohibition vineyards began a new proliferation, with wineries such as Lower Lake Winery, Guenoc Winery, Konocti Winery and Kendall-Jackson producing wines in Lake County in the following decades.
Lower Lake Winery was located south of Lower Lake on Highway 29. Since the first crush in 1977 the owners selected fine local grapes grown in Lake County to eventually produce their award-winning wines.
According to the Lake County Information and Recreation Guide, the Lake County Grape Growers Association pamphlet, Wine Country publication by Toni Scully in 1982 , and other sources, Lower Lake Winery became the first winery to operate in Lake County since Prohibition.
In renowned wine writer Leon D. Adams' book, entitled, "The Wines of America,” third edition, he writes about Lower Lake Winery and states: "When it opened in 1977, it was the county's first new winery to start since the Prohibition era. Alhambra orthopedic surgeon Dr. Harry Stuermer and his wife Marjorie financed the redwood building, its stainless-steel tanks and oak barrels, for their winemaker son Daniel, his wife Betty, Dan's sister Harriet, and her husband, Tom Scavone."
Official groundbreaking for Lower Lake Winery occurred in 1976, and the first crush of Cabernet Sauvignon took place a year later, in 1977.
They released a white Cabernet Sauvignon in 1979, then the 1977 Cabernet Sauvignon as well as a 1979 Sauvignon Blanc were released in 1980.
Soon after that, in 1982 the winery was expanded, adding an additional 4,000 square feet.
About this time the winery's label was changed from Lower Lake to Stuermer and Arcadia.
The winery's last crush took place in 1979 when it was sold to Ployez, who produced a Chenin Blanc, and sparkling wine, among others.
Lower Lake Winery went on to garner many, many awards during its operation.
Kathleen Scavone, M.A., is a retired educator, potter, writer and author of “Anderson Marsh State Historic Park: A Walking History, Prehistory, Flora, and Fauna Tour of a California State Park” and “Native Americans of Lake County.” She also writes for NASA and JPL as one of their “Solar System Ambassadors.” She was selected “Lake County Teacher of the Year, 1998-99” by the Lake County Office of Education, and chosen as one of 10 state finalists the same year by the California Department of Education.