San Francisco County
Biographies
GEORGES DE LATOUR
Conspicuous among the vineyardists and wine-makers of northern California is Georges de Latour, of San Francisco, whose Beaulieu vineyard and winery near Rutherford in the Napa valley are considered models of perfection, and a credit to the genius and knowledge manifested by their owner in the industry.
Mr. de Latour was born October 20, 1856, in Bordeaux, France, and is a son of the late John and Marguerite (Mercadié) de Latour, both of whom spent their entire lives in their native land. Georges de Latour attended the Jesuit College in France, and prepared himself to become a chemist. At the age of twenty-six, however, he crossed the Atlantic to the United States, and for a short time remained in New York. He then came west to San Francisco, and shortly thereafter went into the mining section of the state for one year. Returning to San Francisco, he was employed as a chemist from 1884 to 1888. Next, he established himself in San Jose, in which city he manufactured cream of tartar from the skin of grapes. His business increased, and finally he had plants for the manufacture in San Jose, Healdsburg, Fresno, and Rutherford, while in 1895 he constructed a refinery in San Francisco at Sansome street and Broadway. In 1897, he merged his business interests with the Stauffer Chemical Company, and later he sold these same interests to the chemical organization. He purchased his place in Napa valley, near Rutherford, and there built his winery. His property at this location, as it now exists, has cost him over two hundred thousand dollars, and during the wine-making season about seventy-five people are employed. The wine which is made at the Beaulieu plant is shipped to all parts of the United States, and is reputed to be equal to any similar beverage made in the United States. Mr. de Latour established his residence in San Francisco in 1883.
On April 25, 1898, Georges de Latour was married to Miss Fernande
Romer, who was born in Alameda, California, and
descended from pioneers of that vicinity. They have two children, namely:
Richard and Hélčne, the latter now being the wife of
Count Galcerand de Pins of Paris, France, and the mother
of a daughter, Dagmar. Mr. de Latour
spends some time each year with his daughter in France, and she divides her own
time between Paris and San Francisco.
In political affairs, Mr. de Latour is associated with the republican party. His church is the Roman Catholic, and his local clubs are the French and the Bohemian. He has won the confidence of the business men with whom he has come in contact during his career, and has made of himself a popular figure in the different circles in which he has moved. He possesses all of the fine courtesy and other admirable qualities of his race, and his addition to the citizenship of San Francisco is a valuable contribution to the cosmopolitan character of this city.
Transcribed by: Jeanne Sturgis Taylor.
Source: Byington, Lewis Francis, “History of
San Francisco 3 Vols”, S. J. Clarke Publishing Co.,
Chicago, 1931. Vol. 3 Pages 344-348.
© 2008 Jeanne Sturgis Taylor.
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