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From the ‘Noble Experiment’ to noble wines

On Saturday four local wineries, Boeger Winery, David Girard Vineyards, Gold Hill Winery and Wofford Acres Estate will be celebrating the day Prohibition ended in 1933 with a very special “Repeal of Prohibition Celebration” event benefiting Mother Lode Rehabilitation Enterprises (MORE).

This event started a few years ago when Boeger and David Girard winemakers, Justin Boeger and Mari Wells, were reminiscing about their days at University of California, Davis.

It was a tradition there for the enology students to take Dec. 5 off from class and, as a group go wine tasting to celebrate the repeal. They were wondering why that special day wasn’t celebrated by the rest of the world and from that thought this event was born.

The two event founders decided two wineries involved in the event was too few and that they should add a couple more. After talking it over, they selected Gold Hill and Wofford Acres, , to join them.

It was decided early that the event had to be on Dec. 5, no matter what day of the week that date fell on, and that it had to support a local non-profit. MORE was selected not only because it is a wonderful organization, but also because it packs wine shipments for Boeger Winery and Ann Wofford is on the board of directors.

Great response

The public response to the first two times this event had been held has been wonderful. People dress up, drive vintage cars and Prohibition dignitaries such as Al Capone make at least a couple of appearances.

For those not familiar with the background of the prohibition movement prohibition, which was also known as the “Noble Experiment,” was a period of nearly 14 years (1920-1933) in which the manufacture, sale, and transportation of liquor was made illegal in the United States.

History

Adopted as the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution on Jan. 16, 1919, it was later repealed by the 21st Amendment on Dec. 5, 1933, being the only Amendment to be repealed in the history of the United States.

The 18th Amendment established prohibition, but it was the Volstead Act, which was passed on Oct. 28, 1919, that clarified the law. The Volstead Act stated that “beer, wine, or other intoxicating malt or vinous liquors” meant any beverage that was more than one-half percent alcohol by volume. The act also outlawed items designed to manufacture alcohol and set fines and jail sentences for violations of the law.

The law did not cover the actual consumption of alcohol, so during the time period between the adoption of the 18th Amendment, and its effective date, one year later, many people simply stockpiled liquor for the uncertain future.

After prohibition was in effect, there were still ways to get alcohol. A doctor could provide a prescription for it and private clubs serving liquor, known as “speakeasies,” abounded in many areas.

Although the alcohol provided by prescription was legally made at highly controlled domestic businesses, the supply for the speakeasies came in illegally from the Caribbean by way of “rum runners,” across the border from Canada (were it was often hijacked) or was provided by the numerous illegal “bootleggers” in the United States.

Grapes still needed

Wine was still available for religious purposes and people could make a very limited amount of wine in their home for their own consumption. Although the number of wineries decreased, some vineyards continued to thrive due to the demand for grapes by a rapidly increasing number of home winemakers.

The supplying of liquor for “speakeasies” and other outlets required a lot of organization and front money, which led to the creation of a new breed of gangster, one of which was Chicago’s infamous Al Capone.

To control all of these illegal acts, a large number of prohibition officers were hired. Photographs of them smashing barrels often appeared in the newspapers of the era, but their hours were long and their pay minimal, leading to numerous reported cases of them being bribed and the photographs being staged.

The temperance movement

The idea leading to prohibition was not something that just happened overnight, as some think. Many people, believing that the consumption of alcohol led to almost all of the world’s problems and evils, started forming societies in opposition to drinking right after the American Revolution, creating a growing temperance movement. Initially they promoted moderation, but after many unsuccessful years of trying to do this, they decided that alcohol should be totally banned.

By 1900 there were temperance societies in most states and by 1916 drinking was prohibited in over half of them. Only three years later prohibition became the law.

Anti-prohibition groups immediately formed and grew as the promised “perfect world” failed to materialize. They argued that it was not a federal issue and should not be in the U.S. Constitution, but regulated by each state individually.

Jobs and money

When the stock market crashed in 1929 and the Great Depression started, the people needed jobs and the government needed tax money. The initial argument for “states rights” was bolstered by the new argument that making alcohol legal again would create both jobs for people and money for the governments coffers, helping to repeal the law.

On Dec. 5, 1933, the 21st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified, repealing the 18th Amendment and making alcohol once again legal.

This year the “Repeal of Prohibition Celebration” is Saturday from 3 to 9 p.m. There will be “soup kitchen snacks” at each winery for noshing, and vintage costumes and cars are encouraged.

In addition to having a great time, participants will draw a card for a winning poker hand at each winery (two are drawn at Wofford Acres because there are the “farthest out”). There will also be prizes for the designated drivers. Artwork from MORE clients will be displayed and for sale at each winery with a a portion of the proceeds from the art sales going to the artist and the rest going to the “Something MORE” art program.

Tickets are on sale at each winery and at MORE, 399 Placerville Drive in Placerville, for $15 per person, $20 per couple and $5 for a designated driver. Boeger Winery is at 1709 Carson Road, David Girard Vineyards is at 741 Cold Springs Road, Gold Hill Winery is at 5660 Vineyard Lane in the Placerville area and Wofford Acres Estate is at 1900 Hidden Valley Lane in Camino

For more information contact MORE at (530) 622-4848.

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Reverend Horton Heat, the band credited with merging psychobilly with alternative rock, have released a steady stream of albums over the last couple of decades but none of them rock quite as hard as their 1994 release, Liquor in the Front (subtitled, with a typical lack of subtlety, Poker in the Rear).  Despite the juvenile title, and the album’s celebration of sex, drugs and booze, this is no Blink 182, with the band displaying as much creativity as raw power.

As with most albums made by the good Reverend we kick off with an instrumental, Big Sky, that wouldn’t sound out of place on a Dick Dale album.  This is only an appetiser, though, for the main course, and the next three songs rock harder than Coldplay can only dream of.

Baddest of the Bad is perhaps the weakest of the three, but it’s still an exhilarating listen.  “Young girls and gin may be the cure” preaches lead singer Jim Heath, supported by the typical rockabilly formula of guitar, slap bass and skipping drums, all of which build up to a roaring climax.  Sure, the lyrics are a little silly, but you’re having such a good time you forget to care. Liquor in the Front is primarily an album aimed at men, as One Time For Me, an ode to female masturbation, demonstrates, with the funny/creepy lines “You know I love you baby / Let’s have fun / Come on and give me a show.”  The song is a blast, though, with a great guitar solo and crashing drums, as is Five-O Ford, an ode to fast driving that rocks like a motherf***er, as does Yeah, Right, a snarling beast of a song that has producer Al Jougensen’s prints all over it.

With so much adrenaline pumping, the softness and gentleness of In Your Wildest Dreams comes as something of a surprise, a romantic accordion ballad.  I Can’t Surf, too, is a hit, with a great bass line that fully merited its inclusion in Tony Hawk 3(!)  Although the album does tail off at the end (with the last track, a burped version of Scott Joplin’s The Entertainer, ‘interesting’ at best) Liquor in the Front contains enough highlights to remind us that when Reverend Horton Heat are on form, few bands can touch them.

Click here to buy the CD at Amazon.com

Click here to download the album at Amazon.com

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