Three living legends of the California wine industry: Ernest Gallo, 94, (at left) and Robert Mondavi, 90, joined Brother Timothy Diener to celebrate his 75th anniversary in religious life and to benefit the Lasallian Education Fund.

Brother Timothy Diener, FSC, celebrates his 75th anniversary as a De La Salle Christian Brother this summer. Brother Timothy, still an active gardener and occasional public speaker, will turn 93 in November, and is the oldest Brother in the District of San Francisco, the West Coast province of the De La Salle Christian Brothers. He was celebrated by the Brothers of the District at their District Convocation in February, and in May he was honored by the California winemaking community at a gala fundraising Jubilee Dinner in the Napa Valley. The dinner program called him "a master winemaker, an industry pioneer, and a mentor and friend to generations of Californians." Funds raised by this benefit evening went to the District's Lasallian Education Fund to support greater access for the poor to Lasallian schools and programs.

Brother Timothy was a young high-school chemistry teacher when he was assigned, shortly after the repeal of Prohibition, to be the "wine chemist" at a new, larger winery on a property in Napa that the Brothers had purchase and renamed Mont La Salle. To support their educational work, the Christian Brothers had been running a small business making sacramental and medicinal wines since the late 19th century.

As Brother Timothy told the Jubilee dinner attendees, "I had joined the Christian Brothers to serve God and to help in the educational work of the Brothers. So, I was convinced that my work in wine would also help our schools financially. And, indeed, the making of wine turned out to be a great help to our educational mission. For over forty years we had a successful business that grew as the California wine industry grew and as the Napa Valley became known for the quality and dependability of its grapes and its wines."

Brother Timothy and his talented colleagues created fine wines and brandies that were distributed nationally for decades. The profits from the business allowed the District to recover from indebtedness incurred during the Great Depression and its aftermath, and to open several new high schools on the West Coast.

Brother Timothy worked as cellarmaster of Mont La Salle Vineyards until 1987. The winery business was sold in 1989, and in that same year Brother Tim retired to the Provincialate Community at Mont La Salle in Napa. He is an honorary member of the board of directors of the Lasallian Education Fund.

As Brother Tim summed it up for his audience of winemakers at the Jubilee dinner, "I believe that winemaking is an art and a science. I enjoyed those winery days and all the activities, as well as the lasting friendships made over a bottle of wine. But the sale of our wine and brandy business freed us from many distractions and allowed us Brothers to concentrate exclusively on our three-century-old role of teaching. I have always been a Brother first and a winemaker second. I thank you for honoring me with your presence here tonight and for your moral and financial support of the educational work of the De La Salle Christian Brothers."