California Wine History
The Spanish planted Vitis Vinifera vines in California in the 18th century, along with every mission they established there. The cuttings from the vines came from Mexico and had descended from the common black grape (as it was called) and introduced to the New World in 1520 by Hernán Cortés, the Governor of Mexico. The wine was used at this time for religious sacraments and also for daily life. Because the grape was associated with the church, it was named the Mission grape. This grape was the dominant variety until the 20th century throughout California.
Because this wine was so successful, the King of Spain did not allow further plantings or vineyard replacements in Mexico for fear that his colony would become self-sufficient in wine. This edict, enforced for 150 years, prevented the formation of a commercial wine industry.
The Gold Rush
The newly growing wine industry was based mainly in Napa and Sonoma. In the mid-19th century, the California Gold Rush brought a lot of new settlers to California, increasing the demand for wine. Some of California's oldest wineries were founded at this time, including Inglenook Winery, Buena Vista Winery, Charles Krug Winery, and Schramsberg Vineyard. In the mid- to late 19th century, there was a lot of Chinese labor in the Californian wine industry, building wineries, digging cellars, harvesting grapes, and planting new vineyards. Some were even winemakers before the introduction of the Chinese Exclusion Act, which encouraged Caucasian labor over the Chinese. Very few Chinese remained in the industry after 1890.
Phylloxera Epidemic
In the late 19th century came the phylloxera epidemic, which had already destroyed many European and French vineyards. The California vineyards were using resistant American rootstock and damage was minimal. New grape varieties were planted. There were almost 300 new grape varieties used throughout California by the beginning of the 20th century. This was enough to supply 800 wineries.
Prohibition Laws
On January 16, 1919, Prohibition was introduced. California wineries were ordered to close down and their cellars were destroyed. Some wineries managed to stay open by producing only grape juice. Some others stayed open by producing sacramental wine for churches, something the Prohibition law allowed. Most wineries, however, did go out of business completely. The Prohibition eras ended in 1933 and only 140 wineries were still running by then.
It took the wine industry quite some time to get over this set back. In the 1960s, California was mainly known for its port-style wines made from Carignan and Thompson Seedless grapes. These wines were rich and sweet. A new wave of winemakers arrived around this time and decided to found new wineries and place the winemaking emphasis on quality and the use of the best technology.
California Wine Gains Global Recognition
As the quality of the wine improved, California received more recognition for its wine-producing abilities. In 1976, some Californian wineries were asked to take part in a blind tasting event in Paris, to compare the best of Burgundy and Bordeaux with the best California wines. California wines won, in both the red and white categories, and attitudes towards Californian wines changed, with California emerging as one of the world's premier wine regions.
Author: California Wine Guide Staff Writer
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