The A. Baccilieri Manteca Winery, Manteca’s oldest brick structure built in 1905 and one of the city’s historical points of interest, is closed to the public until further notice.

Contractor Tim Valentine, who took ownership eight months ago of the former Celpril compound on Oak Street, is currently working with city officials to get all his “legal ducks in a row” and have the century-old winery re-open as a banquet facility which has been his plan for the brick building from the very beginning.

An apparent misunderstanding over permit applications that Valentine has filed at City Hall prompted the closure of the old winery structure late last week until it is brought up to code. Valentine said the misunderstanding was on his part and not the city.

 Valentine is hopeful that, financial resources permitting, he will be able to “bring (the building) up to standard so that we can utilize it as a banquet facility.”

City officials Lumen Arceo, senior engineer, and building inspector Brad Wungluck informed Valentine during a meeting Tuesday afternoon at the winery that a structural analysis of the building by a state-licensed engineer would be the first order of business to get him moving to that goal. That process will determine whether the building is structurally sound.

“Unless you keep it the way it is,” said Arceo, referring to the winery building as an F Occupancy facility to be used as a warehouse only and not have it open to the public.

An A Occupancy permit is what the Winery needs to keep it open for events that are open to the public.

Valentine, however, wanted to know, “What can we do with what we have?”

He was told that if he sticks to doing barbecue outside in the courtyard, but not as a public event, “you’re OK.”

Arceo pronounced the ramp that is the access from the courtyard to the winery as “pretty good; it just needs rails.” The water heater inside the building was also deemed up to code and with the right permit. Not so, though, for the indoor bathroom facilities.

The building would also need a second ingress and egress door to be qualified for an A Occupancy building rating. Currently, the winery has a door on the Oak Street side and another door to and from the courtyard. However, the city is looking at an entrance/exit that does not have to go through another building in the compound which is the currently existing situation.

The meeting Tuesday with the Building Safety Division staff of the Community Development Department was Valentine’s way of getting the ball rolling to get his property up to speed with the city’s building codes, and how and where he needs to proceed from there.  Representatives of the police, fire, and public works departments were also invited to the meeting but were unable to attend for various reasons.



Several events have already been held

Eight months ago, when Valentine purchased the old Celpril compound that straddles Oak Street between Park and Vine streets a small block south of West Yosemite Avenue to be the home of his Valentine Construction Company, he had visions of reviving the A. Baccilieri Manteca Winery which was one of the property’s five buildings, into its historical glory with the rest of the community sharing the pride of having such a rich architectural treasure in their midst. After securing the necessary permits at city hall and other agencies, he opened his new property to the public by holding community events such as the street fair in the summer and the fall festival just last month. These were intended to be annual celebrations for the public to enjoy.

But all that ended last week. Valentine offered the use of his winery building for the neighborhood meeting in that part of town. These ongoing meetings are taking place in various neighborhoods in the city as part of the plan to get the city and residents working together to improve their community. However, at the last minute, meeting facilitator Rex Osborn found out that the winery did not have the right permit for the meeting that was about to take place. The meeting was cancelled and rescheduled.

Believing there was a mistake since he thought he had all the legal papers filed, Valentine sprang into action and talked with the people at city hall which led to the meeting with the building officials on Tuesday.

Valentine, though, remains strongly committed to his original goal of preserving the Manteca Winery as a rich architectural heritage that the city and its residents can be proud of by having it open as a banquet facility and as a place where groups can go for historical tours.

The reality, however, is that “funding is my biggest limitation” to get to that goal, said a frustrated Valentine.

It’s that frustration which prompted him to put up a sign at the door of the Manteca Winery on Oak Street announcing Valentine Construction is For Sale. But he is hoping that the city and the public will “help and support our efforts to preserve and improve Manteca’s first brick structure.”

He added, “The brick and mortar building’s significance to Manteca’s early growth and development had all but been forgotten. When we took stewardship of the many properties on Oak Street to support the continued growth and development of our construction operations, new and wonderful dreams and ambitions quickly developed and we discovered the history and significance of Manteca’s first brick structure.”

The public’s continuing support and the “combined efforts of the various departments of the city government have allowed us to re-introduce the grand novelty of this unique historic icon of the San Joaquin Valley to hundreds of interested people,” he said.

“It is clear further investment is required to meet the standards of our building codes and city ordinances. As we continue working diligently to meet these requirements, your guidance and support is ever more important and necessary. The Manteca Winery is truly worth preserving,” concluded Valentine.



Manteca Winery history in a nutshell

Built in 1905, in what was then Cowell Station, the building produced wine for a brief nine years. In 1914, realizing that prohibition would devastate the wine-making industry, A. Baccilieri, one of Manteca’s early pioneers, created Manteca’s first industry, converting the winery into the Manteca Canning Company which thrived for 50 years, providing for the economic growth of Manteca and the San Joaquin Valley farming industry, supporting thousands of Manteca families.

In 1957, the cannery closed due to economic pressure and more efficient modern canning operations. As the cannery’s many buildings deteriorated, the Manteca Winery was almost lost again, utilized as a warehouse until about 2008.”