That’s a super generous offer, Rich! I may take you up on it 
I travelled from the Bay Area to Tombstone last fall (researching family history there) and may go back later this year, so I might get in touch then. Cheers! 
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Damn. As a fellow old CA nut, I’ve had nothing like this.
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Was it Story bottling some Angelica up in Shenandoah Valley long ago?
Am amazingly stunned by notes Rich.
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Deaver still makes Angelica from their Mission vines that may date from the early 1850s, possibly the oldest continuously producing commercial winegrape vines in California.
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@Rich_Brown great tasting note and experience! This note and wine stirs up childhood memories. I grew up in Cucamonga and lived there until I was 30 when I moved to Las Vegas. As a kid, I used to ride my bike through the vineyards and as I got older drove past many of them. Unfortunately, a lot of them got torn out, along with the lemon and orange groves. However, there are still a few, and I drive past the Lopez Vineyard every time I go back and visit my sister and mom.
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Wow! awesome experience
This says “bottled from wood 1921”
So what was it in before? Barrel?
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Truly im SO in for that!! 
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Oh wow, i thought for sure you would have tried this at some point! You would absolutely love it - i hope we can find a way for you to taste it!
I love that so much Stephen! Really glad my half-ass note could bring back some great memories. That makes my day
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Thanks Glenn - appreciate you my friend!
Here’s some history on the wine/ area courtesy of my good friend ChatGPT:
Rich—this bottle is a time capsule of early California wine, Los Angeles banking history, and a style that essentially disappeared. Let’s unpack it properly.
The Man Behind the Wine: Isaias W. Hellman German immigrant who became one of the most powerful figures in early Los Angeles Founder of Farmers and Merchants Bank (one of the most important financial institutions in early CA) Major landowner and agricultural investor Helped finance railroads, real estate, and early California industry
This wasn’t a random wine project — Hellman was investing in what was then a premier agricultural region: Cucamonga.
“Private Stock” in this context likely meant:
Estate-selected fruit Higher quality lots Possibly intended for elite circles / gifting / prestige 
The Place: Rancho Cucamonga (Before Napa Was Napa)
In the mid-to-late 1800s, Cucamonga was:
One of the largest wine-producing regions in the U.S. Known especially for fortified wines like Angelica Dominated by Mission grapes (brought by Spanish missionaries)
At one point, Cucamonga wines:
Won international awards Were exported widely Were considered among the best American wines of the era
Napa? Barely on the map yet.
The Style: Angelica (What You’re Actually Drinking)
Angelica is a fortified wine, traditionally:
Made from Mission grapes Fortified with brandy (like Port) Often aged oxidatively (like Madeira/Sherry hybrids)
Typical profile:
Rich, sweet High alcohol Deep amber to mahogany color Flavors of: Molasses Fig Walnut Burnt sugar Orange peel
Key point:
This style is incredibly stable, which is why your bottle even has a chance 150 years later.
“Bottled from Wood 1921” — Why This Is HUGE
This is one of the most important lines on your bottle.
It means:
Wine was made in 1875 Then aged in barrel (likely large casks) for ~46 years Bottled in 1921
That’s not normal even for fortified wines.
This implies:
A solera-like or long-term oxidative aging system Intentional preservation of historic stock Possibly a continuous topping system (common in Angelica)
So what you’re drinking is:
A blend of time — not just a vintage snapshot
Why There Are So Few Left
This is where it gets really interesting.
- Prohibition (1920–1933) Devastated California wine industry Many vineyards ripped out or abandoned Fortified wines survived better—but still declined Bottles like yours may have been hidden, forgotten, or lost 2. Urbanization of Southern California
Cucamonga went from vineyards → suburbs
Massive development in the 20th century Vineyards replaced by housing and infrastructure The original terroir essentially disappeared 3. Mission Grape Decline Seen as “inferior” compared to European varieties Replaced by Cabernet, Zinfandel, etc. Angelica fell out of favor 4. Consumption + Fragility Over Time
Even fortified wines:
Get opened over generations Get lost in estates Dry out / evaporate if poorly stored
To have:
A known producer A labeled bottle Good fill Provenance (likely)
…puts yours in an extremely rare surviving category
- This Was Never Mass Production
“Private Stock” + long barrel aging =
Small quantities to begin with Likely never widely distributed 
What Makes Your Bottle Historically Important
You are holding:
Pre-phylloxera California wine Pre-Prohibition American wine A product of LA’s early financial elite A nearly extinct wine style A wine aged across three centuries (1800s → 1900s → 2000s)
That’s not collectible wine.
That’s artifact-level wine.
Final Perspective (This Is the Coolest Part)
When you open it:
The grapes were grown when California had been a state for only ~25 years It was aging in wood during the Industrial Revolution It was bottled just after World War I It survived Prohibition It made it into your cellar in the modern era
There are very few consumable objects on Earth that carry that kind of continuous history.
If this shows well, it’s not just “good for its age.”
It’s a legitimate benchmark for what early California was capable of.
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Note to self: be much nicer to Rich Brown.
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Yep, i guess so! Just posted some history on it from ChatGPT
There are definitely still serious plantings in/around Rancho Cucamonga.
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This reminds me of another long lost old wine that we have in common.
Also, paging @Adam_Frisch , who makes an Angelica.
Yessss! Still waiting for the right time to open that one and tell the story around how freaking awesome you are!
And no offense to Adam, but I’d rather hear from @Tegan_Passalacqua and his Angelica experience/passion for old vines
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Thanks for the dopamine hit!
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You’re seriously my hero for that one. Don’t want to spoil the story but I’ll share all the details when i finally open it
Isn’t there an old winery building very near the Ontario, CA, airport? Maybe has Cucamonga written on it?
Well, as Adam has noted, he finished the wine. He bought it in barrel from Bryan Harrington. Ken Zinns is most responsible, as he wanted to make Angelica with his wine group, and got tips from the master Marco Capelli. It ended up being a commercial wine for Harrington. Harrington released two vintages, but the third needed more barrel time beyond what we’d bottled by the time the lease was up. It was my suggestion to approach Adam about possibly buying it because he was so into Mission.
Us making a dry Mission was Bryan being inspired by the vines and his knowledge of what was being made elsewhere, like the Canary Islands and Chile. That wine quickly became a top seller for Harrington. Through Ken, Broc Cellars started making one, and being a winery that gets a lot of attention and creates buzz, others started making Mission, like Tegan and Adam.
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When we (Harrington crew) visited Deaver we got to contrast shorter and longer barrel aging for Angelica. The barrel sample with 10 years was amazing. If you want an idea of how great Angelica can be, look for longer barrel aged versions from Miraflores, Deaver and Marco Capelli WInes (all made by Marco).
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