- Paul Masson
Paul Masson (1859 – 1940) was an early pioneer of
California viticulture and the most successful popularizer of Californiansparkling wine .Biography
Masson emigrated from the
Burgundy region ofFrance in 1878 toCalifornia ,United States , where he metCharles Lefranc , one of a number of French immigrants who had expanded theviticulture introduced into theSanta Clara Valley by the Catholic mission fathers.Masson went back to France in 1880, but later returned to California due to the depression in the French wine industry caused by the Phylloxera plague.
According to the Paul Masson company web site, in 1892 Masson's first
sparkling wine under the name "champagne" was introduced at Almaden, and Masson eventually became known as the "Champagne King of California".Paul Masson winery and brand
Masson shifted part of his production to the
Santa Cruz Mountains aboveSaratoga, California and built his "chateau" on a knob overlooking theSanta Clara Valley in 1905. Now known as "TheMountain Winery ", the Paul Masson Mountain Winery is on theNational Park Service 'sNational Register of Historic Places . Various events are held at the winery, such as concert series, weddings, and other special events. A famous chess tournament was held there annually for a number of years in the late 1970s and early 1980s. [National Park Service. "Paul Masson Mountain Winery". Retrieved from http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/travel/santaclara/mas.htm on 2004-12-28.]The Paul Masson winery and brand were acquired by Vintners International in 1990. [cite news|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CEFD81130F931A25756C0A966958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=print|accessdate=2007-11-13|publisher=New York Times|date=
12 May 1990 |title=A Troubled Winery Where Debt Is Aging|author=Lawrence M. Fisher] Vintners was in turn purchased by Centera Wine Company (formerly "Canandaigua") in 1993. [cite news|publisher=New York Times|accessdate=2007-11-13|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9F0CEFD9173CF935A2575AC0A965958260| title=Canandaigua to Acquire Vintners|author=Lawrence M. Fisher|date=16 September 1993 ] Canandaigua was renamedConstellation Brands in 2000.The Paul Masson brand is best remembered for its 1970s marketing association with
Orson Welles , who promised for Masson: "We will sell no wine before its time." An infamous outtake for one commercial from the Orson Welles campaign features Welles attempting to deliver his lines while inebriated.References
External links
* [http://www.mountainwinery.com Paul Masson Mountain Winery]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.