Bishop Michael Barber is the spiritual leader of the 550,000 Catholics in the Catholic Diocese of Oakland. He is also, it seems, a vigneron. Not like “Archbishop Vigneron,” who is leader of the Detroit archdiocese; rather, Bishop Barber can claim the title because of a most unusual vineyard owned and operated by the diocese. Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Hayward, California, which is the property of the Oakland diocese, has begun production of fine wines.

Ten years ago, the cemetery—located in the East Bay suburbs of San Francisco—planted its first grapevines. The motivation was not the production of pinot noir and chardonnay, but was the serendipitous result of a cost-cutting measure: While a new lawn would have cost $50,000 per acre, the grapevines cost only $17,000 per acre, making them cost-effective. An added bonus was that the grapevines are both beautiful and drought-resistant, bringing an additional savings in the cemetery's water bill. Bishop Barber told the New York Times, “It was kind of like Jesus' miracle when he made water into wine.”

Now, ten years later, the 16 acres of mature vines at the diocese's cemeteries are producing fruit. In 2013 Robert Seelig, who oversees the diocesan cemeteries, approved the production of altar wine from the cemetery's grapes. Soon, though, winemakers realized that the grapes growing along the pathways in the diocesan cemeteries were capable of producing fine wines that could bring more profit. To expand their appeal on the mass market, the wines, which were first bottled with the label “Cathedral of Christ the Light,” were renamed “Bishop's Vineyard.”

The New York Times has the story:

In 2013, church officials approached Shauna Rosenblum of Rock Wall Wine Company to process the cemetery grapes for altar wine, which need not be “that good,” Mr. Seelig said. She worked with Jim Ryan, a wine consultant who had been with Firestone Vineyards and Concannon Vineyard, two well-known winemakers. Mr. Ryan is now the general manager at Rock Wall.

That first year they put all the cemetery grapes into a press to make rosé. But they were amazed when they evaluated some of the fruit. The chardonnay and pinot noir grapes from the Hayward cemetery were of “outstanding quality,” Mr. Ryan said. And the cabernet and zinfandel grapes from the nearby Holy Cross Cemetery were “fantastic.”

They approached Mr. Seelig with their idea: Why not make serious wine?

This year, a Bishop’s Vineyard cabernet sauvignon won a silver medal at the Monterey International Wine Competition. Its cabernet and zinfandel won silver medals in the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition.

Despite the critical acclaim, cemetery officials haven't let their agricultural success go to their heads. Most of their grapes have gone to the production of 7,200 bottles of altar wine, which has been distributed among 45 churches. And $35,000 has been donated to parochial schools, providing scholarships for needy students. Bishop Barber said, “At our cathedral gift shop, we sell rosaries, statues of Mary and, oh, by the way, bottles of our wine.”