Concannon Vineyards Riesling Wine Bottle

1925

This bottle of Riesling was produced by Concannon Vineyards in Livermore, California, in 1925, at the height of Prohibition in the United States. National Prohibition, the 18th amendment to the Constitution, was passed by Congress in January 1919 to prohibit the manufacture, transport, sale, export, and import of alcoholic beverages in the United States. Lasting almost 14 years (Repeal took effect on December 5, 1933), Prohibition had a tremendously negative impact on the American wine industry. Yet this Riesling was produced legally during Prohibition, due to an exception in the law, which permitted certain wineries to make wines for sacramental and medicinal purposes. The Concannon family made altar wine for the Catholic Church during this period.