HALTER RANCH VINEYARDS remaining structures from the Adelaida settlement, is currently open during wine festival weekends and once a year for a concert by Symphony of the Vines, but will be utilized much more in the future for different types of special events, Mays said. Smith’s time on the ranch came to an unfortunate end, as his transport business was made obsolete when the railroad was built through area in the early 1900s. Smith ended up penniless and buried in an unmarked grave in at the Paso Robles Cemetery. The property passed through the hands of two different anonymous owners over the next few decades before being bought by the MacGilliavray family in the 1940s. The ranch was owned by the MacGilliavray family for more than 50 years, during which time they ranched cattle and grew grains, threw lavish parties that sometimes drew half the population of Paso Robles, and even built a runway on the property for use by their celebrity and politician friends. According to May, Ronald Reagan landed on the ranch in the late 1960s to announce his second bid for governor. The MacGilliavrays also planted the first 40 acres of grapes on the property in 1996 and changed the face of the ranch by selling 1,600 acres of the original 3,600acre parcel to the adjacent Tablas Creek Vineyard in 1989. In 2000, the ranch was bought by Swiss businessman Hansjörg Wyss who, in addition to renovating the property’s historic structures south of the creek, also began a methodical build-out of the property immediately north of the creek starting in 2009, which included the construction of a state-of-the-art winery, a 20,000 square-foot wine cave and a new tasting room, which is still under construction and scheduled to be finished this June. The new facilities required a new bridge across the creek for access by emergency vehicles and Wyss decided to install a beautiful covered bridge, reminiscent of the type common around his hometown of Bern, Switzerland. “It’s also symbolic of the transition from the historic barnyard into the winery portion,” Mays said. Mays said that former Halter Ranch winemaker Bill Sheffer spent six years
VINO
Central Coast Edition
This covered bridge, which spans across Adelaida Creek, was added to provide access for emergency vehicles. The bridge is in the style commonly found near the hometown of Halter Ranch owner Hansjörg Wyss in Bern, Switzerland.
Reclaimed water is sent back to Halter Ranch’s holding pond, which is stocked with fish. Published by the
Paso Robles Press
Winter/Spring 2015
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