The wine cellar At Hearst Castle is the most powerful example of how far the California wine industry has successfully advanced in eighty years. Few California wines of international quality were being produced during the early years of entertaining at The Casa Grande on La Cuesta Encantada (The Enchanted Hill). Certainly the labels from Charles Krug, Beringer, Beaulieu Vineyards, Inglenook and Schramsberg could be found in the cellar. They were some of the earliest examples of the finest wines from Napa. Imagine that the Central Coast wines from Monterey, Paso Robles and Santa Barbara wineries were mere dreams in the minds of vintners to come along in the next thirty and forty years. Collectors like Mr. Hearst were enamoured in the international wines of France and Germany.
American politics kept the wine industry here from blossoming. As you know prohibition was in full swing from 1920 to 1933. Mr. Hearst had an iron door installed on the “wine vault” by 1924. This was not to stop the flow of wine to his guests. Rather to protect his selections and secure them given the unusual political climate. The Hearst newspapers were searching for an end to this repressive governmental measure. They offered a $25,000 reward for the best plan to repeal the 18th amendment. After repeal the California wine industry based in Napa began its renaissance with a recovery and then tremendous expansion. The refinement of this industry has been during the recent years of our own lives.
W.R. Hearst had his tastes influenced by his own visits to Europe and the education his mother gave him about the world’s fine cultures. The fine wines he selected were from the classic regions of Alsace, Bordeaux and Burgundy in France, as well as the ancient Rhine and Moselle regions of Germany.
As a host, the word on Mr. Hearst was that he did not wish for his guests to over imbibe. Many a guest who became intoxicated on the premises would be escorted off the property and receive no further invitation. The only one who was known to break this rule was his confidant and so called woman friend actress Marion Davies who did have a reputation to overindulge.
At dinner the wines served were memorable as stated by more than one Hollywood celebrity. Particularly the Moselle wines from Germany! Apparently the foods and their presentation were not the equal to the wines themselves. The overall atmosphere in the great dinning room was one of a very large formal picnic. One could imagine all the many guests of Mr. Hearst from political dignitaries, movie stars and captains of finance and industry. These privileged of society had always been exposed to the finer foods and wines of the era. Here at the castle things were much different than at a cosy restaurant or fine hotel in a major city. They were visiting here to experience the shear beauty of living in luxury amidst nature. It is a place with views of an endless and all-powerful sea that captivates your soul and stimulates your imagination.
I can only guess what it must have felt like to be lead outside from the dimly lit, richly panelled, artistic, museum like main dining room to these magnificent views. Just after an indoor luncheon of salads, breads, cheeses and fruits all complimented by a wonderful French Alsatian Gewürztraminer. What wine could even taste bad in these surroundings?
That is the way it was in the roaring twenties if you dined there. You had Dom Perignon as a glass of Champagne to set the beginning of an evening. A dinner of fish or seafood caught locally and enhanced with the best Pinot Noir in the world like Richebourg, Chambertin, or Romanee Conti. Or perhaps a Chardonnay like Montrachet or Corton Charlemagne all grand cru Burgundy’s from the Cote de Beaune and Cote de Nuits. A main course meal with tender cuts of the finest red meat could mean drinking Chateau Margaux, Chateau LaFite or Chateau haut Brion all famous for being grown sculpted and bred in Pauillac and Margaux. All these wines followed by a sauterne desert wine known world wide Chateau Yquem.
Now I could go on about the fine wines of Germany that captured the attention of the many who visited Casa Grande, but you need to go out and fine some Moselle of good quality and have your own picnic. Perhaps by the large body of water near here and allow your thoughts to wander to movie stars and wealth beyond description. Take my word for it the wine will taste as beautiful as the dream you can conjure up.
If you visit San Simeon take the tour that brings you to the wine cellar at Hearst Castle. There you can see some of the original labels that were poured to those guests who reveled in the glory of years gone by.