Johnson Estate bottle label for Sweet Rose Wine, 1969

Item

Title
Johnson Estate bottle label for Sweet Rose Wine, 1969
Identifier
4004.107
Description
Bottle label from Sweet Rose Wine of 1969, Johnson Estate Winery label.

Label is rectangular with rounded edges and a gold tone border. Label is printed in black, red, and gold. Text centered near top "Johnson ESTATE New York State, Sweet Rose Wine, Alcohol 12% by volume." Below that is a printed red and black line drawing of a farm with several buildings in the background with rows of vines angled toward the back of the image. Below is text "Grown, Produced, and Bottled by, Frederick S. Johnson Vineyards, Westfield, Chautauqua County, New York."

Frederick Johnson (1877-1960). He immigrated to Canada in the late 1800s and later to NYS to study entomology at Cornell. In 1908, Johnson purchased a farm near Freelings Creek in Westfield, NY, planting fruit orchards and Concord vineyards, naming the farm Sunnyslope Fruit Farm. Johnson worked as an entomologist with the Department of Agriculture in both Washington, D.C. and in North East, PA. In 1920, he built an apple cold storage facility using timber from an 1860's dairy barn found on the farm. According to family lore, Johnson started making wine in the basement of the farmhouse during Prohibition.

The founder's son Frederick Spencer Johnson grew up on the family farm and following service in WWII, graduated from Cornell University in 1946. He worked in agriculture overseas until 1960 when he returned to the farm after his father died. He removed the aging fruit orchards and claims to have been first farmer in Western New York to plant French-hybrid wine grapes in a region completely dominated by Concord and Labruscan juice grapes. His favorite French hybrid grape was Chancellor. Frederick Spencer officially opened the winery in 1961, receiving New York Farm Winery license No. 2.

As of 2023, this winery is still in operation.
Abstract
Johnson Estate bottle label for Sweet Rose Wine, 1969
Date
1969
Subject
Johnson Estate Winery
Johnson, Frederick
Johnson, Frederick S.
Westfield, NY
Format
TIF
Creator
John T. Slater
Provenance
Johnson Estate Archives
Access Rights
Open Access
Media
FSJV 1969 Sweet Rose.tif