Francesco Leonetti - Italian Immigrant and Winemaker
 
Berle “Rusty” Figgins, Jr., portrays his maternal grandfather, Francesco Anthony Leonetti. Born in Pedace, Cosenza in the Calabria region of southern Italy, Leonetti emigrated to Walla Walla in 1901 when he was twenty-one. A truck gardener, Leonetti made room in his vegetable fields for an acre of Black Prince grapes, from which he made wine for family use.
The destruction of his vines in the infamous 'Black Frost' of 1955 “broke his heart” and contributed to his death shortly thereafter. The Leonetti Winery, however, has continued with a reputation of creating exclusive wines found in the finest restaurants. Francesco Leonetti’s example inspired Rusty, with Cave B Winery in Quincy, and his brother Garym co-founder with his wife Nancy at Leonetti Cellars in Walla Walla, to pursue winemaking careers. Rusty as Francesco Leonetti explains the history of viticulture in the Walla Walla Valley and the Italian-American contribution to area grape cultivation.
Planted under Figgins’ direction in 1995, Fort Walla Walla Museum’s vineyard features Black Prince (“Cinsault”) grapes of the kind grown by Francesco Leonetti. The vineyard is one of the Museum's horticultural displays in support of its Italian Farmstead in the pioneer village. In recent years, students of Walla Walla Community College’ Institute for Enology and Viticulture program have tended the vines. Black Prince grapes are known for their ability to withstand hot, dry climates. Unlike most vines in this region that are trained laterally on wire trellises, the Museum's Black Prince grapes employ a method common in the 1800s known as head-trained, where a vine is grown on a single, vertical stake. Pruning the grape vines to create an 'open basket' allows more sunlight to penetrate and promote the ripening of the grapes.
A Cinsault varietal wine, first planted on the Morrison Farm in the Walla Walla appelation in 1998, is available at Morrison Lane tasting room in downtown Walla Walla.
Performances begin at 2:00 p.m. in the pioneer settlement at Fort Walla Walla Museum. Visitors are encouraged to question the Living History re-enactors about their lives and times. The Museum is open daily, 10 am - 5 pm, April through October; 10 am - 4 pm, November1 through December 23; and weekdays, 10 am - 4 pm, January through March.
Admission is free to Fort Walla Walla Museum members,
eligible service personnel & their familes through
the Blue Star Museums program, Tamástslikt Cultural Institute's
Inwai Circle cardholders,
enrolled members of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, and all children under 6;
$3/children
6-12; $6/seniors (62+) and students; $7/adults.
Your admission fee today may be applied to a membership,
priced beginning at $27. For more information, contact Fort Walla Walla Museum at 509-525-7703, or email: info@fortwallawallamuseum.org. |
