1939 - 1951 Hans & Del Hoheisen The modern hi-tech cellar had humble beginnings, being built in 1944 when the war prevented the importation of any new machinery. Hans put much careful thought into its construction, and the design of the 25 concrete storage tanks was quite revolutionary for the time. With a capacity of 1000 gallons (4500 liters) each, it took until 1962 for production to fill all 25 tanks for the first time. A small basket press and a continuous press, hand pumps and a filter made up other very basic cellar equipment. Bottling was done by gravity from a small cask situated on top of a concrete tank, and in this way 3000 bottles per day could be filled. Modern technology has increased that daily rate to 15 000 bottles! Corking was also done by hand and labeling was a messy, laborious task. The labeling equipment consisted of a second-hand toothbrush, pot of glue, wobbly box to support each bottle, and most important for that professional look, a wet cloth to remove all traces of extraneous glue. All this was initially done without the aid of electricity. read more