End time wines
August 29, 2018 9:48 AM Subscribe
The lost civilization of California wine -- A California cult unwittingly created one of the country’s great wineries — and then lost it. The haunting story of a vineyard’s rise, collapse and refusal to die. Esther Mobley, The San Francisco Chronicle’s wine critic, writes of Renaissance Winery, a part of an expansive complex in Yuba County, California (Google maps), which supports and is supported by The Fellowship of Friends, Robert Earl Burton's esoteric Christian group that is widely regarded as a doomsday religious cult. Though the religion once boasted a membership that exceeded 2,500, today it has just 585 members worldwide, and Burton is still making doomsday prophecies, despite past proclamations not panning out as predicted.
Wilfred Wong, a San Francisco-based wine buyer, said that Renaissance's story is “too bizarre” to support their products. “While their quality is good, there are a lot of other wines out there and I just don’t want to work with a winery that has all that excess baggage.”
There are elaborations on that "baggage" in this copy of a 2008 news article:
Wilfred Wong, a San Francisco-based wine buyer, said that Renaissance's story is “too bizarre” to support their products. “While their quality is good, there are a lot of other wines out there and I just don’t want to work with a winery that has all that excess baggage.”
There are elaborations on that "baggage" in this copy of a 2008 news article:
Former members of the Fellowship of Friends want state officials to investigate the Yuba County-based religious group, contending the nonprofit organization uses donations to fund "the extravagant lifestyle" of its leader Robert Burton and that unpaid labor of foreign nationals developed its Yuba County property.This and other stories are copied on the Fellowship of Friends page on the Cult Education Institute website.
Workers with religious visas have made possible the vineyard and commercial winery at the Fellowship's 1,171-acre headquarters in the Sierra foothills community of Oregon House, the petition states.
"This fact has been intentionally hidden from authorities," according to the petition. "Workers are required to donate back to the church the largest portion of their salary, leaving an average monthly wage of about $460."
He warns that his is the only path to consciousness and eternal life. Invoking his gift of prophecy, he has over the years prepared his flock for great calamities (e.g. a depression in 1984, the fall of California in 1998, nuclear holocaust in 2006, and an ominous, yet unspecified new threat late in 2018.)
"We will sell no wine beforeits the end of time."
That suit, though:
I will offer a few comments on this photo, as well as other related happenings within the Fellowship of Friends.
The young man with Robert is Alexander (Sasha) Shalapanov. He appeared from Russia several years ago, and was fairly quickly put on the “list of 7 conscious beings to be produced by the school”
Carry on. Seems legit.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 9:58 AM on August 29, 2018 [2 favorites]
"We will sell no wine before
That suit, though:
I will offer a few comments on this photo, as well as other related happenings within the Fellowship of Friends.
The young man with Robert is Alexander (Sasha) Shalapanov. He appeared from Russia several years ago, and was fairly quickly put on the “list of 7 conscious beings to be produced by the school”
Carry on. Seems legit.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 9:58 AM on August 29, 2018 [2 favorites]
But can he predict which year will be the best vintage?
posted by sammyo at 10:23 AM on August 29, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by sammyo at 10:23 AM on August 29, 2018 [1 favorite]
Everyone always gets the good cult setups before I can start my own. I've always thought cults should have some more productive side gigs, and wine making is just that!
posted by GoblinHoney at 10:26 AM on August 29, 2018
posted by GoblinHoney at 10:26 AM on August 29, 2018
Reading this makes me want to try this Black Pearl wine, even though I already know it'll just taste like every other wine of its colour to me. I took a damn course in college on wine and still have next to zero appreciation for it. The last time I enjoyed a wine was when I mixed it with my coffee and everyone really hated me for doing that.
Part of me wonders if the grapes grown in Renaissance don't just seem better because of the interesting hype of a cult and its beliefs, though I suppose there are very physical reasons why these grapes would be different than the standard ones elsewhere in California. Either way, even if I can't appreciate the wine, it's cool someone who does is getting access to the land and grapes now. Presumably once Burton dies, the land will get snatched up by the highest bidder and they'll reset the land to be used how it is in most professional wineries, which seems like it would lose some of its character in the process -- and it seems that sort of thing is important to how a wine is perceived. Or the world could end on Oct 21 like Burton is predicting now.
Thinking more about it, I totally understand why the wine isn't selling despite how good it supposedly is. People love a narrative with their wine, some people want to hear about the goddamn dirt it grew in, like, the story of Rennaissance wines is just going to throw a wrench in things. "Oh yes, this wine was grown on pristine lands in California, harvested and produced by unpaid workers, all working together to be collectively exploited by one sick pervert hungry for power, sex, and molesting children -- and let me tell you about terroir!"
These articles are leaving me morbidly hungry for more stories about and from the cult. I love how the dude who ended up being one of the best wine makers in the cult originally joined fully acknowledging it was a stupid thing. Would love to hear more about how people slide into these lifestyles.
posted by GoblinHoney at 10:57 AM on August 29, 2018 [1 favorite]
Part of me wonders if the grapes grown in Renaissance don't just seem better because of the interesting hype of a cult and its beliefs, though I suppose there are very physical reasons why these grapes would be different than the standard ones elsewhere in California. Either way, even if I can't appreciate the wine, it's cool someone who does is getting access to the land and grapes now. Presumably once Burton dies, the land will get snatched up by the highest bidder and they'll reset the land to be used how it is in most professional wineries, which seems like it would lose some of its character in the process -- and it seems that sort of thing is important to how a wine is perceived. Or the world could end on Oct 21 like Burton is predicting now.
Thinking more about it, I totally understand why the wine isn't selling despite how good it supposedly is. People love a narrative with their wine, some people want to hear about the goddamn dirt it grew in, like, the story of Rennaissance wines is just going to throw a wrench in things. "Oh yes, this wine was grown on pristine lands in California, harvested and produced by unpaid workers, all working together to be collectively exploited by one sick pervert hungry for power, sex, and molesting children -- and let me tell you about terroir!"
These articles are leaving me morbidly hungry for more stories about and from the cult. I love how the dude who ended up being one of the best wine makers in the cult originally joined fully acknowledging it was a stupid thing. Would love to hear more about how people slide into these lifestyles.
posted by GoblinHoney at 10:57 AM on August 29, 2018 [1 favorite]
Came for the Orson Welles gag and it was delivered
posted by thelonius at 10:57 AM on August 29, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by thelonius at 10:57 AM on August 29, 2018 [2 favorites]
That suit indeed, mandolin conspiracy!
posted by doctornemo at 11:20 AM on August 29, 2018
posted by doctornemo at 11:20 AM on August 29, 2018
This is all really fascinating, if creepy. Burton now looks like Julian Beck in Poltergeist II.
Ah. Of course:
But wait, there’s more. It’s 2018 and time for another end-of-world/civilization prediction. This one is set to occur on Oct 21 (though some heard Oct 18) of this year. No specifics are being shared at this time; no doubt “Influence C” is withholding that information for their own reasons. All the student body is “invited” to vacation in Oregon House/Apollo for 1 month at that time. Meanwhile, all gatherings amongst centers are suspended for 1-1/2 years, so people can save their money to give to Robert in October.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 12:30 PM on August 29, 2018
Ah. Of course:
But wait, there’s more. It’s 2018 and time for another end-of-world/civilization prediction. This one is set to occur on Oct 21 (though some heard Oct 18) of this year. No specifics are being shared at this time; no doubt “Influence C” is withholding that information for their own reasons. All the student body is “invited” to vacation in Oregon House/Apollo for 1 month at that time. Meanwhile, all gatherings amongst centers are suspended for 1-1/2 years, so people can save their money to give to Robert in October.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 12:30 PM on August 29, 2018
A place like that would make for a great cooperative. Imagine, instead of a cult you have a bunch of folks reviving and working the vines, making wine, and pouring the profits back into the community. Just have to wait for the "guru" to die.
posted by vivzan at 12:42 PM on August 29, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by vivzan at 12:42 PM on August 29, 2018 [2 favorites]
"A place like that would make for a great cooperative. Imagine, instead of a cult you have a bunch of folks reviving and working the vines, making wine, and pouring the profits back into the community. Just have to wait for the "guru" to die."
Seems like a nice vision, but the reality is more like some business will buy up the place, supplanting the guru with their own corporate structure, and hire laborers for near-slave wages instead of just slave-labor. The money will be poured into a community, just not the one where the vineyard or workers are.
posted by GoblinHoney at 2:42 PM on August 29, 2018 [1 favorite]
Seems like a nice vision, but the reality is more like some business will buy up the place, supplanting the guru with their own corporate structure, and hire laborers for near-slave wages instead of just slave-labor. The money will be poured into a community, just not the one where the vineyard or workers are.
posted by GoblinHoney at 2:42 PM on August 29, 2018 [1 favorite]
Damn, now I want to taste some of those wines.
But don't drink the Kool-Aid.
posted by roger ackroyd at 3:48 PM on August 29, 2018
But don't drink the Kool-Aid.
posted by roger ackroyd at 3:48 PM on August 29, 2018
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