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One of the first things Packagesto the site in the 1930bextensivelyyou notice about Cucafound on thewith metal indicators and through the yearsmongaandis tsjie wineries portother scientificvineyards.Thecrumbling Virginia Dare channels todown the flood control ment, and to this day there96purchasedhThomas Vineyards fromDam, are those few who still Clifford H. ThomasWinery on Foothill in Cu12 miles away. The winsearchcamonga has attracted ery wasn't the only floodseveraThomas Vineyardshbeginning wasmovie companvictimmark a memorable part cametough but with struggleToday thelea. The winery was only45 years old when fire cio Tapia, the wineryThe home of Don Tibur- of Cucamonga's historya time when some 300 three millionwinery produces ncfiirlybottles ofswept through Its build- original owner, was unwineriesInga,salvagableThe paper throughouthPyearVineyardsThough it looks mucholder, the Thomas Vine- datlon gave way in thethin roof and adobe foun- from San Bernardinovalleyhave been planted to In300 acres of grapePomonacropsyards today Is 133 years floodsThe winery’s presentFilippi familyold. Much of the interiorSeveral ofowners, member of the and operates five wineand exterior of the wineryowners are believed to Giovanni Filippi family, tasting rooms In Califorhas been rebuilt.Thehave died through tragcomplex was nearly destroyed during 1969 floods,edyrumoredwinealso a legend— in thebusinessTheirTapiafrom poison, name represents threenia. is it a prosperousbusiness? Says Joe Fll“It's a very expenippibut much of the adobe Another owner was be- generations of grapbusiness consideringfoundation and all the orlieved to have been am- growers and wine produc- the equipment, buildingiginal roofing is intact.bushed and shot.Theers.commercialItFive feet of water rushed most recent owner comGiovanni Filippi and histhe proper trainingthrough the winery tossmitted suicideJoe. came to the U.Sing 8,000 cases of wine inA rumorto the from Italy in 1922Theyand the financing to prosper in this business/*to the mud and debris. The winerywalls began to disinteis buried close by. Supsettled in the CucamongaThe highValleyThegrate. The roof started to posedlypi a buried their first 2Pifor the diminishing numvinecave in. Thousands of $200,000 under an old ap- yard in 1923, and latertheof grape growers inarea.Industrialwine bottles were scat- Pie *ree 1° *r*a.Treasure seekers flockedtered throughout the area.1934their own winerygrowth has upped theThey built up their price of land, leaving onlythe wealthier growers toplant crops. Notes Filip-plv “The industry hasn t hurt the wine business, but it does raise the costof’ land. This results in atremendous and higheraround.costsall««When we first camehere1922.thereabout 300 wineries between San Bernardino andPomona. Much of the landwas used for agriculture. Citrus and lemon grovespredominantNowthere are only a few left4Though the Filippifamily produces some threnewFilippi. “We are constantly developingwines to meet the demands of the people. He admits that the dry table wines are still theaU time favorites, butcarbonated P°P andfruit flavoreditygaining wide popularFlllplprofesses thatgoodthere are no“bad wines. Choice up toorindividualAqualitytlnguished by proper color, aroma, purity and taste. One also mustterlstics of the different pressed by age. “Manygrapes. There are two people believe that thebasic families of grapes, older the wine is the bet-the Vitis Vlnifera and the ter It is. Some winesVltls Labrusca. There benefit from age; othersare more than 125 varle ties In the first class. The only “bad wine, says Flllpl, is the cheap wine.When you see a wine bottle labeled 1939 for 99donTheofmanufactureris more expensive to theLengthystorage calls for a cut-down on wine sales, andconsequently thecents, there s an obvious wines are the older winesdisregard for the goodFilippi winewine. They are using the rooms draw thoiingbe dls- age factor to impress summer andpeople, but I question theauthenticity.He also points out thatpeople are falsely im-tors. Summer is the bigest season, but repeat customers bring in themost lt;noney
Newspaper Details
Upland News
Upland, California, US
Thu, Sep 21, 1972
Page 45
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CA, USA 06 Feb 2021
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