In 1929, Jean-Pierre Auguste Dalmas, a Waldensian immigrant from Villar Pellice, Italy, started construction on the dairy barn on his property in Valdese, NC. After the barn had been completed, work began on the main house. He built a rock veneered masterpiece, large enough to house his 7 children. He cleared a field for a vineyard and until his death in 1972 (at the age of 92), he made wine in the basement of the main house every autumn.

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After the death of Jean-Pierre Auguste Dalmas (grand-père), the wine making operation moved out of the basement and into the top of the old dairy barn. Over the years the children of Jean-Pierre invited other Waldensian families to join in on the wine making. In 1986, Jean-Pierre’s youngest child, Edward Albert Dalmas, died at the age of 62. Edward was a very successful inventor and businessman who largely underwrote the wine making operation. Faced with the possibility of having to give up the annual autumn making of wine, the surviving sons of Jean-Pierre (Jean Pierre Dalmas and Joel Auguste Dalmas), along with 3 friends started the Waldensian Heritage Winery. Six acres of land, on which there were 2 buildings, were sold from the Dalmas Estate to the Winery.

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The old dairy barn was used as the production area and tasting room for the winery. The chicken house was remodeled and became La Casa Gallina, an event venue with a seating capacity of 70. As the business grew, a new production building was built. In 2019, the grandchildren of Jean-Pierre Auguste Dalmas, bought the winery and returned the land and buildings back to the Dalmas Estate.

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The Winery is now an events venue that offers 3 different settings for your special event. La Casa Gallina (the Chicken House) provides a venue with a seating capacity of 70. The Tasting Room (The old dairy barn) has an inside seating capacity of 50. Le Grand Bâtiment (the big building) can seat 232 with chairs only or 108 with tables and chairs.