Two Generations of a Winemaking Family

August 6th live event: come hear me share the gripping Gemello story and eat ice cream, too!

👋 Hello, I’m Kevin Ferguson, author of 🍷 Rain on the Monte Bello Ridge,🍷 a memoir about health, aging and winemaking. (Book summary) 🍇 This is my newsletter. It includes book research and early release chapters about winemaker Mario Gemello and his centenarian widow, Kay Gemello. 📖 They are my lovable maternal grandparents. You can subscribe by clicking on this handy little button.

From Prohibition to the Great Depression to Award-Winning Wines

I’m excited to announce I’ll be speaking about the trials and tribulations of the early days of the Gemello Winery and more. For much of the 20th Century John Gemello and his son, Mario (my maternal grandfather), operated the family winery on El Camino Real in Mountain View, while battling the city’s explosive growth. 

Discover their fascinating history while enjoying some delicious ice cream, as part of Mountain View Historical Association’s Ice Cream Social event.

Click To Reserve Your Seat

Date: 2 pm, Sunday, August 6th
Location: 157 Moffett Blvd., Mountain View, CA

How This Book Project Came About

I grew up playing in the orchards of Mountain View and Los Altos, at the home and winery of my maternal grandparents, Mario and Kay Gemello. I earned a degree in journalism and worked as a reporter in Los Angeles and Las Vegas. 

After returning home to the Bay Area in the early 2000s, Grandpa Mario shared with me an old cassette tape of his father telling tales of the old days of Mountain View. It unlocked a treasure trove of stories of Great Grandpa John Gemello’s emigration from Italy to the Santa Clara Valley, the struggles during Prohibition and the launch of Gemello Winery in the depths of the Great Depression. This was definitely a story that needed to be shared.

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