In 1881, Andrea Sbarbono developed an agricultural colony just south of Cloverdale that would later become known as Italian Swiss Colony. In the 1960s, the Colony produced TV commercials that strangely, featured a little old man as a winemaker costumed in an Alpine hat and lederhosen. He closed the commercial with the classic phrase, “That little old winemaker, me!”
Today the wine facility is home to Cellar No. 8 winery. Near the tasting room, two vintage train cars sit in the middle of a vineyard, a carryover from glory days of the 1960s when the Italian Swiss Colony tasting room received more than 10,000 visitors per year.
I love this one – I know, I know, I love them all! I remember those commercials, and I remember wondering, young as I was, why a winery would want to have such silly commercials.
I agree Jean, those commercials were very silly. Not the sophisticated image that the wine industry now portrays. These train cars are right in the middle of the vineyard and I was lucky to have a nice shade tree while drawing.