Christopher Augustine Buckley built Buckley’s Winery in 1890 and added a brandy distillery in 1897 on an original 100-acre site that was one of the larger early vineyards in the Livermore Valley. After its expansion in 1897, the winery produced 150,000 gallons per year. As a winemaker, Buckley researched grape varieties resistant to phylloxera, the root mite which, combined with Prohibition, almost wiped out the early wine industry both here and in the Napa Valley. In 1891, he was growing twelve grape varieties, including Zinfandel, Folle Blanche, and Muscat de Bordelais, all sold and shipped in bulk. Buckley was one of the founding members of the original Livermore Valley Winemakers and Grapegrowers Association. A 12-acre vineyard planted in 2006 was divided into two distinct areas representing historic and modern planting styles. The northern area contained Zinfandel, Grenache, and Mourvedre planted in the historic style, with individual plants head-pruned on individual stakes. The southern area contained Zinfandel, Petite Sirah, Petite Verdot, Malbec, and Caberne Franc planted in the modern style, a method that started in the 1950s with multiple plants on a V trellis system. The grapes were also planted at an angle running from SW to NE to reduce direct sun exposure. The vineyard yielded its first harvest in 2009, and its wine was sold under various labels including Corvino Bosco, Italian for “raven’s woods.” Restoration of the vineyards was made possible by a donation from Friends of the Vineyards, a local non-profit founded in 1981 to stop development from pushing out local vineyards and wineries. In July 2003, Friends of the Vineyards donated $83,939 toward reconstruction of vineyards at Ravenswood Historic Site.