The following information is from the book “The Winemakers of Martinez”, written by James G. Carroll, All his information came directly from Mary Gonsalves in personal communication on February 21, 1975. Mary Gonsalves came from Portugal, arriving with her mother in San Francisco on 8 August 1920. Her father was already located here, having come to Port Chicago in 1911 to seek his fortune. Shortly
thereafter, she met Joe Gonsalves, who had also come to the area from Portugal via Massachusetts. Mary and Joe were married in 1922. The young couple tried several semi-commercial ventures: their hard work paid off and it was with considerable pride that they deposited their nestegg in The Bank of Martinez in 1932. They also established their family home on F Street in Martinez. There was no Montecito School and their home was actually a small farm for the growing of farm produce. Included also was a 20,000 gallon winery. A further part of this operation was the Valley Market. The Gonsalves were the original owners of this operation. Following the repeal of prohibition, Joe announced, I want to go into the wine business.” He obtained the necessary papers and purchased about five tons of grapes (which made about 750 gallons of wine). He made the wine then and then discovered that he had more wine than he was supposed to. What to do? Be careful!--until you can amend the license. The following year he bought more Grapes, and the F Street winery was officially launched and continued successfully until the wars years of WWII. In 1943, the Gonsalves began moving their operation to Vine Hill. The purchased plot from Ellis Giannini, adjacent to Vine Hill School. An additional acreage was purchased from the Viglienzone Family, bringing the total acreage to about 50, all in grapes The Gonsalves built their own complex in Vine Hill, completing the house in 1945 and the winery about two years later. The year 1945 was of course, a particularly difficult time for construction. The new concrete block winery was 100,000 gallon capacity, although the largest vintage was 75,000 gallons. The wine was moved from F Street to the new location in 1945, at night, to take advantage of the cool night and not expose the wine to heat. Moving the 20,000 gallons by truck was considerable effort and expense. Wine, at the time was selling about 50c a per gallon. For the next few months,things were slow, then old customers returned and the move proved to be a wise one. Mary Gonsalves vividly recalls helping to pick the Grapes, crush the Grapes, wash bottles, fill the barrels and to participate in the whole operation during this period. She even developed her own watering system, and administered a welcome drink to her charges once or twice during the growing season. The Gonsalves grew most of their own Grapes until the last four years when they bought Grapes locally, particularly their Muscats and Zinfandels. They made only dry wines, Sweet wines, Muscatels, Ports and Angelicas were purchased from the Mango Brothers, whose vineyards stretched from Benicia to Cordelia. In their early Years, wine was sold mostly in barrels-- 50, 25 and 10 gallon containers. Later, the bottling business came into mode and added further hard work to the operation. Joe Gonsalves decided to quit the wine business in 1952 because of the burden of regulation. One particularly vexing aspect was revenue stamps. The state tax was paid as you go; however federal tax all had to be paid before the wine was sold. Particularly officious officials dictated that stamps be in place by a certain date; thus, the family had a crash program of pasting stamps on barrels to meet deadlines; plus the nuisance of digging up cash to pay all the taxes at one time. This kind of thing helped in the decision to get out of the wine business. The decision was implemented immediately. The winery was dismantled and the equipment was sold. However, for many years Gonsalves wine was still made every year from Gonsalves Grapes, a rich, hearty wine reminiscent of Portugal. The Gonsalves label is interesting. The O-Doura Brand refers to Mary Gonsalves’ hometown of Port in Portugal. The Doura Valley in Northern Portugal is the locale where the vine is cultivated most intensively. The bridge is a famous bridge in Oporta, the second city of Portugal. The bridge is as well known in Oporta as our Golden Gate Bridge is known in San Francisco area. Mary and Joe returned to Portugal for regular visits every three years; they have many kinfolk in the Doura Valley. Joe Gonsalves died in 1966. In 1970, his dynamic lady returned to Portugal for her visit and participated in the purchase of 200 acres of property, including pine trees, pasture and yes-- an acreage of Grapes. She spent her vacation picking Grapes, crushing Grapes,and making wine. Mary Gonsalves is dedicated to the wines of Portugal. Mary Gonsalves died in June 2001 at the age of 97.
