Biography
Raymond Mettler was the son of a Russian German farmer, Henry Mettler, who settled in Lodi (Calif.) in 1905. He was a charter member of the Lodi Future Farmers of America and was a member of the state champion tree judging team (1930). A past President of the Victor Farm Bureau, member of the Board of Directors of the Lodi Grape and Wine Festival, Raymond Mettler was plant superintendent at the Bear Creek Vineyard Association. The Association began bulk wine production shortly after the repeal of Prohibition (1933) and, in an effort to improvement marketing, later joined the Del Rio Winery Association of Lodi and the Muscat Cooperative Winery Association of Fresno in a cooperative known as California Wine Sales (1937). The tremendous success of the newly formed sales agency during the 1940s led to the idea of bottling a variety of products from all member wineries under a single bottling label. This was accomplished in 1944 when the Guild brand was created and the cooperative name was changed to Wine Growers Guild. The company subsequently established a central bottling plant at Lodi (1947). By the 1960s Guild Wineries & Distilleries was the third largest wine producer in the United States, with eight wineries and nearly 500 grower/owners.
From the guide to the Mettler (Raymond) Bear Creek Winery Collection, 1934-1974, (San Joaquin County Museum.)
