In 1865, he moved to
Napa. Three years later, he bought land near
Oakville, close to the
Napa River; and sold some of that land in the same year to build the railroad depot. His early establishment, Hermosa Vineyard, produced table grapes and raisins. (Greek: "the call of beauty") and by 1877 had planted and was producing 50,000 US gallons of wine per year. By the later half of the 1880s, the vineyard covered 1,100 acres. Crabb experimented with over 400 grape varieties to find the types best suited for the area, The
Refosco or
Mondeuse was occasionally referred to as Crabb's Black Burgundy prior to
Prohibition in California. His Zinfandels received awards at the San Francisco Midwinter Fair (1894) and at the Alaska-Yukon Exposition (gold medal, 1909). Along with another one of California's early winegrower,
John Lewelling, Crabb developed a method for shipping grapes on ice. With agencies in New Orleans, the Midwest and the East, Crabb shipped his wine in cases and in bulk. Most of Crabb's To-Kalon acreage is now owned by the
Robert Mondavi winery. The remaining To-Kalon acreage is owned by the
Opus One Winery,
Beckstoffer Vineyards, Detert Family Vineyards, MacDonald and the University of California. ==References==