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The Mission and The Guv

The Mission San Jose acreage was originally owned in the 1800s by California Governor Leland Stanford. Some say that Stanford's original plan was to build a university there to honor the untimely death of his fifteen-year-old son. But Mrs. Stanford thought that the educational memorial would be better suited on a parcel west, across the bay in Palo Alto - affectionately known then as "The Farm". It is today known as Stanford University. Once the decision was made in 1869 to found the university in Palo Alto, the Stanfords proceeded to build a winery annexed with newly planted vineyards. It also turns out that the afternoon breeze off the bay was just the cool relief needed for the sun-drenched grapes of Mission San Jose.

While the university across the bay thrived into the next century the Leland Stanford Winery did not. The vineyards went fallow because of the potent punch of phylloxera and prohibition. In 1917, the Stanfords finally sold the winery. The next thirty years saw various owners and commercial uses, including a period when it was a horse-racing track!

An Old Wine Press

Next: Family and Vineyard Replanted