Given our location, proximity to Napa Valley, and recent fantastic weather, I started to wonder whether Leland Stanford (the father – not Junior – the namesake of our school), had any ties to the wine industry. And, to my surprise, he did!
It turns out that Leland Stanford (and his brother Josiah) were somewhat prolific winemakers [1] (given this is a blog post, I feel somewhat comfortable citing Wikipedia as a source). Among others, Leland Stanford owned the “Leland Stanford Winery” (which was first planted in 1869) in Fremont, California. It is said to be the first winery to produce sparkling wine in California [1]. By 1888, Leland Stanford owned and operated three different vineyards in Northern Califronia [2]. Today, the Leland Stanford Winery is on the California Historical Landmarks (as of 1958), and is open to the public for visits (class field trip?) – it is owned and operated by Weibel Champagne Vineyards [3].
It is interesting to note that Leland Stanford was a prolific wine producer, in addition to being a railroad magnate, Governor and Senator of California, in addition to founding Stanford University. The legacy of California politicians having deep connections (or personal experience) in the wine industry has continued to the present day. Gavin Newsom (currently Governor of California who also appears to harbor some form of presidential ambitions) founded his own winery in 1992 (PlumpJack Winery), which has spun into a number of adjacent businesses [4]. For those with future political ambitions, it might not be such a bad thing to go into the California wine industry (even with all the business headwinds we have discussed in class).
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Wow this is interesting Alex - hadn't heard about this. Thanks for sharing.
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