Wine grapes and apples were among the first cultivated fruits in the Pacific Northwest. Initially planted here in 1827, both were cherished by early pioneering settlers, but whereas apples became a lucrative farm commodity early on, Washington-grown grapes and the local wine industry did not achieve widespread recognition until the 1970s. According to the Washington State Wine organization, as of 2018, Washington State is the second largest premium wine producer in the U. S., with over 900 wineries and 55,000 acres of vineyards.

In this image Gerardo "Jerry" Scaringi (1910-1986) steers a hand truck full of crates of grapes out of a refrigerator car at the railroad yard south of downtown Seattle. Mr. Scaringi and his partner, Giovanni A. "John" DeSanto (1919-1987), operated a second-generation grape brokerage firm, buying and selling grapes that arrived annually on trains from California. At the time, U. S. federal law allowed each family to make 200 gallons of wine a year at home for personal use.

Caption information source: The Seattle Times, September 27, 1967, p. 24
Caption information source: "Wine in Washington," by Peter Blecha, HistoryLink.org Essay 8658
Caption information also derived from captions written by Post-Intelligencer staff and attached to the back of the photograph.