The friends immediately began scouting for land for their first vineyard. They raised

capital and purchased a small twenty-acre vineyard of Mission grape vines in

the Los Angeles area at Seventh and Kohler Street in May of 1854.

Employing fellow German immigrants as laborers, they bottled their first vintage by autumn of that year. Charles Kohler was in charge of sales and remained in San Francisco, and John Frohling ran the production. With a combination of hard work

and talent, the business thrived.

In 1856 Kohler & Frohling received an award for their port and won

"best wine" at the California State Fair in 1858. By this time, they dominated the Los Angeles wine trade, sending crews from vineyards to vineyard to harvest and crush grapes to supply their over-increasing demand. They soon realized that

their rapidly growing orders would require a much larger supply of wine

than Los Angeles could provide.