Old Winery

This is a picture of the grape wines of the San Gabriel Mission. They grow on a trellis that runs along the north side of the church. They are huge vines. They were planted in 1925. The grapes that grew here were used to make wine.

The building on the northeast corner of the former padres' living quarters was originally used as a winery. At the time, San Gabriel Mission had the largest winery in California. In making the wine, grapes were laid on the floor of the little room and stomped upon by barefoot indians until thoroughly crushed.

The juice of the crushed grapes flowed into barrels to be fermented. Part of the winery was used also to make olive oil.