Jacob Beringer Signed Napa and Sonoma Wine Co. - Stock Certificate

Stock signed by Jacob Beringer who co-founded Beringer Vineyards with his brother Frederick. Beringer Vineyards is the oldest continuously operating winery in the Napa Valley. Light X cancelled. Very Important! Rare!

Jacob Beringer (18??-?) In 1868, Jacob Beringer left his home in Mainz, Germany, to start a new life in America. His brother, Frederick, had settled in New York five years prior, but New York life did not appeal to Jacob. Unlike his brother, Jacob enjoyed toiling in the cellars in his youth in Germany. He had heard that the warm sunny climate of California was ideal for growing wine grapes, so in 1870 he traveled by train to San Francisco, then to Napa Valley. To his delight he discovered rocky, well-drained soils similar to those in the Rhine River Valley. Best of all, he found the hills could be dug out to provide storage and aging tunnels that would maintain the constant temperature needed to produce fine wines. Jacob bought land with Frederick in 1875 and settled into producing wines comparable to the premium wines he had developed in Europe. In 1876, they founded Beringer Winery.