Hellman was everywhere in early CA wine, especially in the southern part of the state. Financing early California wineries. He was best friends with Matthew Keller whose vineyards covered what is now Chinatown and Union Station in LA and loaned him money when times got tight and was the executor of Kellers estate. He also worked with J DeBarth Shorb to start the San Gabriel Wine Co. and had a controlling interest in the California Wine Association for a time, mostly as a way to have somewhere to reliably sell his grapes.
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A few photos of Mission Angelica, a couple of dry Mission bottlings, old Mission vines, and old vines in Cucamonga Valley.
Harrington dry Mission
Sandlands dry Mission
Mission vines at Somers Vineyard in Lodi, probably planted mid-1970s - Bryan Harrington at left
Mission vines at Deaver Ranch in Amador County’s Shenandoah Valley, possibly planted around 1853-54.
Zinfandel vines at Lopez Vineyard in Cucamonga Valley, planted 1918
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It was bottled from cask after Hellman died in 1920. It was from his personal cellar.
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Rich, there are some truly amazing older California wines. The great ones are very special. I am very sorry that UPS broke those bottles. What very bad luck. Best Jeff
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Rich … Very cool wine and bottle. One question, how can they bottle in 1921 during prohibition?
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Ahhh, that makes sense! Thanks @Eric_Ifune 
Thanks Jeff! Literally the one shipment that i definitely did not want UPS to break, ha!
Thanks Jeff! And that is a great question that i didn’t even think about! This isn’t an exact answer but here’s what Chat says:
1921 was right in the middle of Prohibition, but bottling this wine was still completely possible—and likely legal—under a few specific pathways.
Let’s break it down.
Prohibition in the United States (1920–1933)
The 18th Amendment took effect January 1920
The Volstead Act enforced it
BUT—important nuance:
It did not outlaw everything involving alcohol
It outlawed manufacture, sale, and transport for beverage purposes
That loophole—“for beverage purposes”—is the key to your bottle.
How Your 1921 Bottling Was Possible
-
“Non-Beverage” / Medicinal / Sacramental Loopholes
Alcohol could still be:
Prescribed by doctors (medicinal)
Used for religious purposes (sacramental)
Produced in limited forms that weren’t classified as beverage alcohol
While Angelica wasn’t typically “medicinal,” fortified wines did sometimes move through these gray channels. -
Pre-Prohibition Stock Was Legal to Keep
This is the most likely explanation for your bottle:
Wineries and private owners could legally retain alcohol produced before 1920
They could:
Store it
Transfer it between containers
Bottle it later
So your wine likely:
Sat in large wood casks through 1920–1921
Was part of an existing, pre-Prohibition inventory
Was bottled as a preservation move, not “new production”
Bottling ≠ illegal manufacturing in this context
It was more like re-packaging existing legal inventory -
Private Stock / Controlled Distribution
Given this was:
“Private Stock”
Tied to someone like Isaias W. Hellman
…it likely wasn’t going into open commercial sale anyway.
More likely:
Bottled for private use
Gifting
Controlled distribution among wealthy circles
That kind of activity flew under the radar much more easily. -
Let’s Be Real: Enforcement Was… Spotty
Even beyond legal pathways:
Prohibition enforcement was inconsistent, especially in California
Wealthy individuals and established operations often had quiet workarounds
Fortified wines were less scrutinized than spirits
So even if there was any gray area… this wouldn’t have been unusual.
Why They Bottled It in 1921 (Strategically)
This part is actually fascinating.
Bottling in 1921 may have been intentional to:
Preserve the wine long-term as the industry collapsed
Protect it from:
Confiscation
Spoilage in large casks
Create transportable/private assets during uncertain times
Think of it as:
Turning a vulnerable bulk asset into a protected, portable one
Why This Makes Your Bottle Even Cooler
Your wine didn’t just survive 150 years…
It survived:
The collapse of the California wine industry
Federal prohibition
Massive regional urbanization
Generational handoffs
And was intentionally preserved during one of the most chaotic periods in U.S. wine history
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Good stuff Wes, thank you!
Another fun one I’d love to try is the Heitz Angelica from the 70’s that my guy @amjohnstone scored at auction
That’s for the cool and detailed reply. I knew some of that, but not all . One more question. how many seams does your bottle have? I cannot tell from the picture..
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Jeff coming with the great questions - love it!
I’m having a hard time seeing any at all, but will take a look tomorrow in better light and circle back
I was bottled because Hellman died. It was preexisting personal property so it could be bottled. It just couldn’t be sold commercially.
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The bottle is older than 1921. Likely reused. Some have chips on the lip from reuse. They are hand blown, Two seam mold if I remember correctly. I’ll have to look. Volumes are not exact. Between 4/5 of a quart and one quart. I opened one bottle for some Madeira industry guys once. Very different from what they usually taste, but they still loved it;. Once minor quibble about your post, the photo doesn’t really do justice to the glorious and beautiful irridescence of the wine in glass. The Madeira guys all commented on that.
That loss is worse than getting three bottles of 1905 D’Oliveiras Verdelho smashed! I guess we all take risks when obtaining these old and rare bottles.
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Amazing, thank you Eric! Always appreciate your knowledge and can’t thank you enough for sharing!
And excellent call on the pic of the wine in the glass. I’ll look to take a better one (have quite a bit left in my QikVin) and post it
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Ughhh. That’s painful as well. And yep, that’s part of the ‘hobby’ i guess…but it still REALLY hurts when it happens, ha!
Truly amazing, Rich!
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Thanks bud! Pretty special bottle for sure
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You mentioned the pre-14.5 era. I’m very familiar. In 1978, I attended a comprehensive blind 1974 CA Cab tasting that spanned 8 weeks with semi-finals and a final (Heitz Martha’s won, no surprise). To your point, the highest abv was the inaugural Phelps Insignia at 13.9. I thought it was so jammy and ripe that it was nearly undrinkable. I traded mine to John Tierney for three bottles of his 1977 Taft Street Garage Zinfandel. I still have one. My how things have changed.
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No great thread so hijacking this one, thought you might find this one cool @Rich_Brown 1938 Wente Vineyards Dessert, Proprietary Blend | WineBid | Wine for Sale
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