Collection context
Summary
- Creators:
- Romolo Winery
- Abstract:
- The Romolo Winery was a winery that operated from 1934 until 1972 in Cucamonga, California. The collection contains photographs of the Romolo Winery and the Romolo family home; Romolo Winery labels; photocopies of records, including an alcoholic beverage license; and winery ephemera, including a business receipt.
- Extent:
- 0.21 Linear Feet (1 box)
- Language:
- English
- Preferred citation:
-
Romolo Winery Collection, Collection no. 0079, Southern California Wine and Wine Industry Collection, Special Collections and Archives, University Library, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
The collection contains photographs of the Romolo Winery and the Romolo family home; Romolo Winery labels; photocopies of records, including an alcoholic beverage license; and winery ephemera, including a business receipt. The family members in the photographs include Louis Romolo; his father, Giuseppe "Joe" Romolo; Louis' mother, Giuseppine "Pina" Romolo; and Louis' wife, Henrietta.
- Biographical / historical:
-
The Romolo Winery was a family-operated winery that opened in 1934 in Cucamonga, a Southern California community that was later incorporated into Rancho Cucamonga. The winery was owned by an Italian immigrant named Giuseppe (Joe) Romolo and his son, Louis. Henrietta Romolo, Louis' wife, was also a partner in the winery.
Giuseppe and his son started by planting grapes on 20 acres of land but opened the winery in 1934 because they were unable to get the price they wanted for the grapes. The Romolos later purchased an additional 20 acres of land during the 1950s.
The winery experienced some particularly busy years during World War II. That may have been a result of the winery's location near the Kaiser Steel plant in Fontana, which had brought in more workers to support the war effort. The winery experienced an increase in sales during that period and would even sell out of wine before the next crop was harvested.
One unique aspect of the Romolo Winery was its tasting room, a feature that was not common at that time. The winery started offering one ounce samples to its customers in the mid-1930s. In addition to selling wine out of the winery's store, Louis Romolo would deliver wine to restaurants, stores, and various customers in places as far north as Fillmore in Ventura County.
The Romolo Winery's most popular wines were dry, red wines but the winery's varietals included Zinfandel, Muscatel, Port, and Sauterne. The winery operated until 1972 and the Romolos sold the land they owned to San Bernardino County in 1976.
- Acquisition information:
- The materials were donated to California State Polytechnic University, Pomona by Anita Romolo Mittelman in 2004 and 2006 and gathered from Special Collections' Southern California Wine and Wine Industry Collection files.
- Processing information:
-
The processing of this collection and the creation of this finding aid was funded by the generous support of the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.
The collection was processed by Rob Strauss in September 2018.
- Arrangement:
-
The collection is arranged alphabetically by folder title.
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Indexed terms
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
Advance notice required for access.
- Terms of access:
-
Unpublished manuscripts are protected by copyright. Permission to publish, quote, or reproduce must be secured from the repository and the copyright holder.
- Preferred citation:
-
Romolo Winery Collection, Collection no. 0079, Southern California Wine and Wine Industry Collection, Special Collections and Archives, University Library, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.
- Location of this collection:
-
3801 West Temple Ave.Pomona, CA 91768, US
- Contact:
- (909) 869-3775