Brother Timothy
Brother Timothy FSC recently passed away at the age of 94. The De La Salle Institute on Mount Veeder was his longtime home. Few individuals impacted the industry to the extent that Brother Timothy did.
He was born in New Jersey in 1910. The Christian Brothers bought their Napa Valley Vineyards in 1930 and assigned Brother Timothy to the job of wine chemist in 1935. He taught high school chemistry in the Bay Area prior to taking the position. When asked how he landed the job many years later, the always modest Brother Timothy remarked, “I guess it was because I was big and strong and young and all that.”
At the time, the Christian Brothers were only producing about 10,000 gallons of wine a year. But this would soon change under Brother Timothy’s leadership.
Along with Andre Tchelistcheff, John Daniel Jr, Georges de Latour, Louis M Martini and the Mondavi Family, Brother Timothy was one of the most influential men in the California Wine Country during the 20th Century.
Robert Mondavi once said that Brother Timothy was, ”...fighting the good fight for wine when there weren’t too many soldiers around. ... He was the heart of the industry.” Brother Timothy is remembered as a vibrant individual who loved life. He once said, “All I can say is that a little wine in moderation seems to have been good for me.”
