Back When Wines Were Still Made Here
Just about the time that Joshua Chauvet converted his grist mill to a winery, and brought a state-of-the-art brandy still around the Horn from his native France, a new era was beginning in California. Chauvet was one of the first winemakers in the valley, and when the railroads were built he made quick use of them to distribute his wines across the young nation.
In 1880 he sold 20,000 gallons of wine, but before he could sell the rest the upper floor of the old mill collapsed, pouring the remainder of his wine and brandy into the creek. The following year he built a grand three-story stone wine cellar in what is now our south parking lot. He increased his production to 130,000 gallons that year, and his reputation continued to grow; over the years he became a very prosperous and widely respected businessman.
When Chauvet died in 1908, his son Henry continued to operate the winery until 1913, when it was sold to Felice Pagani. Pagani was an Italian winemaker who had worked in the valley since 1885; he was able to produce wines and brandies even during Prohibition I understand, though I don't quite understand how.
After Pagani's death in 1925, his widow and older son Charles continued to operate the winery and distillery, but when Prohibition was repealed in 1933 the name was changed to the Glen Ellen Winery & Distillery. It was Charles who had the great cinderblock building constructed in the early 1940s, featuring the innovative cement fermentation vats that now swerve as individual rooms.
Charles died in 1954, and although his mother Angela was able to continue running the winery with the help of his younger brother Louis, I suppose Louis was more concerned with his winery in Kenwood; and so with Angela’s death at some point afterwards the old winery in Glen Ellen fell into gradual disuse. It was about this time that stories of Charles Pagani’s ghost roaming the buildings at night began to be told.
When Charles Beardsley purchased the buildings in the late 1960s he renamed the complex the Jack London Mill and Wine Village, with an eye toward establishing shops, restaurants, and galleries. In time the name was shortened to Jack London Village, but the memories of winemaking were never left far behind.
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This article originally appeared in The Jack London Villager September 2006.