Beaulieu Vineyard Thrives During Prohibition
Years before Prohibition began, de Latour had the foresight to obtain a warrant to produce alter wine for the Church and was thus positioned to become the first nationwide supplier of alter wine to Catholic churches across America. He established offices in New York as the Beaulieu Vineyard Distributing Company — expressly for the altar wine trade. During the stormy debate leading up to the vote on the 18th amendment, advertisements for Beaulieu Vineyard altar wines appear in print for the first time.
Prohibition forced most of the Napa Valley wine industry to shut down. As they shuttered, de Latour began purchasing tanks and barrels, which brought the winery’s production capacity up to 65,000 gallons. During this time, he also began purchasing equipment, including a press and crusher, in order to outfit the renovated stable at Beaulieu for additional wine production. But de Latour wanted to grow more.
In 1923, Georges de Latour purchases the Fred Ewer Winery, a building that dates back to 1885. Its four original stone walls remain the core of today’s Beaulieu Vineyard winery in Rutherford. This purchase increases Beaulieu’s production dramatically. Altogether, de Latour’s actions allowed Beaulieu Vineyard’s business to thrive and increase fourfold in the 1920s, while other producers had to close their doors.
