Graveyard wines of US diocese commended

A Californian diocese has been commended for wines produced from grapes grown within the grounds of three of its cemeteries.

Bishop’s Vineyard’s Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in the Diocese of Oakland.

Bishop’s Vineyard in California started life in 2006 as a “beautification” project at its Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in the Diocese of Oakland.

Instead of spending some $50,000 per acre to plant weed-free, irrigated turf, Robert Seelig, executive director of cemeteries for the diocese of Oakland and Tom Richardson, director of development, decided to plant some grape vines instead, costing just $17,000 an acre.

Vines require less water than grass, an added advantage given California’s ongoing drought.

With the support of the then-Bishop, the pair went on to plant vines at three sites suited to different grapes; Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Primitivo at Holy Sepulchre in Hayward, Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel at Holy Cross in Antioch, and Pinot Noir, Merlot and Sangiovese at St. Joseph’s in San Pablo.

“The cemetery doesn’t seem like such a sad and fearsome place when you go there and see the vines,” said Bishop Michael C. Barber of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Oakland, who became the bishop in 2013, speaking to the New York Times. 

At first their efforts yielded altar wine that was offered free of charge to the parishes within the Oakland diocese. It wasn’t until 2013 that the church upped its game, collaborating with Shauna Rosenblum of Rock Wall Winery in Alameda to improve the wines that it was producing.

The project now produces a Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Zinfandel and Cabernet Sauvignon. This year, a Bishop’s Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon won a silver medal at the Monterey International Wine Competition, while its Cabernet and Zinfandel won silver medals in the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition.

Burial sites close to the vines cost $5,000 to $6,000, with those closest commanding the highest rates, with the dioceses selling bottles of wine in its Cathedral shop and online. However the project is yet to turn a profit, and still produces 7,200 bottles of altar wine that it gives away for free to 45 churches in the area each year. This year however, the diocese expects to break even.

“You just drive by cemeteries like they’re a museum,” said Robert Seelig, who oversees the diocese cemeteries. “People are attracted to wine. It draws them into a cemetery and attracts you to a different story line.”

The project is an example of cemetery owners’ efforts to remain relevant and cover their costs as cremations become increasingly popular among Americans.

In 2014 a funeral parlour in Florida has opened an on-site wine cellar in order to offer mourners “a different way to grieve”. Hodges Funeral Home in Naples, Florida, was the first of its kind in the US to offer wine tastings during its services.

Other cemeteries hold horror movie nights, bird watching tours or concerts in mausoleums to draw in visitors and help better cover the costs of land upkeep.