Owners of the Calhoun House, who also own Rapazzini Winery,
converting home built in 1927
Gilroy – The lone white house that sits across the highway from Rapazzini Winery may be grabbing a little more attention in the near future.
Owners Alex and Charlie Larson, who also own Rapazzini Winery, are currently converting the historic Calhoun House into a wine tasting room. According to Alex Larson, the tasting room should be open about July 1, although a specific date hasn’t been revealed.
The Gilroy Historical Society held their annual meeting at the residence Saturday. Connie Rogers, president of the Gilroy Historical Society, said the house would make a perfect place for future events.
“It’ll be a great asset to the winery for events such as parties. For me it would be the perfect place for events; it’s a very attractive setting,” said Rogers, who added the new name of the house will be Adagio.
The Larsons, who declined to talk on the record for this story except to say when it would open and that it would include a wine tasting room, declined to say if any events are on the horizon for the upcoming tasting room.
The house was originally built in 1927 for a woman named Mary Calhoun who moved to Gilroy from Pennsylvania, Rogers said. The house was built by William Radke, who Rogers said is responsible for building half of the downtown homes.
Thought to have been some type of heiress, Calhoun disappeared with her sons after marrying her chauffeur, Rogers said. The home then bounced from one owner to another – even being bought by churches on two separate occasions – until the Larsons purchased the property about a year ago.
According to County Planning Manager Bill Shoe, the plan was to eventually move Rapazzini Winery across the street to the Calhoun House property. However, Shoe said the meetings with the Larsons were held about a year ago and that plans can change. He said the Larsons do not need planning approval for their wine tasting room due to a “matter of right” since they own the winery across the street.
Gilroy Visitors Bureau Director Jane Howard was especially excited to hear the news about the tasting room. The Visitors Bureau is in development with its Web designer to add a winery component to its Web site that would feature an itinerary and map of the local wineries.
“Obviously (the wine tasting room is) a wonderful addition to the wineries in the South Santa Clara Valley,” Howard said.
