the future of american wine

M

Matt Latuchie

Matt Latuchie
1934 article from forbes magazine...was re-released from the archives today. i especially liked this quote:

"If California had been any state but California it might have produced something fine in wines. But California has always done things on a grand scale; it would rather produce the most than the best. The psychology of California, from its Haraszthy on down, has not been the psychology of fine wine makers. For the possibilities of wine as an art, or as a habit, in the U.S. we must go eastward."

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features.blogs.fortune.cnn.com
 
This is from the 1870 U.S. Census. It shows California wine production, I believe by gallon. I'm sure things changed a little bit in 50 years, but I bet not that much.

COUNTY Wine
Los Angeles 531,710
Sonoma 308,496
El Dorado 118,831
Calaveras 99,860
Santa Clara 85,150
Yuba 76,743
Sacramento 74,797
Placer 61,209
Solano 54,780
Amador 54,165
Tuolumne 51,590
San Bernardino 48,730
Napa 46,745
Tehama 33,000
Butte 27,919
San Joaquin 21,165
Shasta 19,287
Sutter 14,630
Santa Cruz 14,550
Merced 10,815
Contra Costa 10,330
Yolo 10,250
Nevada 10,183
Santa Barbara 6,275
Tulare 5,430
Monterey 5,200
Stanislaus 5,140
Alameda 2,785
San Diego 1,000
Marin 800
Klamath 580
Siskiyou 525
Mendocino 500
San Mateo 500
Sierra 400
Mariposa 395
Colusa 170
Lake 16
Humboldt 5
Alpine 0
Del Norte 0
Fresno 0
Inyo 0
Kern 0
Lassen 0
Mono 0
Plumas 0
San Francisco 0
San Luis Obispo 0
Trinity 0
 
Interesting list, especially how much greater magnitude Sonoma is than Napa, and the importance of LA County before Rancho Cucasansubdivision's took over ag land.
 
Not only was Sonoma hugely more significant than Napa, but even Solano County was bigger than Napa. How many Solano County vineyards can you name now?
In looking at the map provided on the Fortune site, it looks like much of the Los Angeles grape growing simply shifted east into San Bernardino County.
 
I've never paid too much attention to Solano wines but it and Sonoma both contain much more in the way of square miles of arable land than Napa. Napa also is much more restrictive in the ability to plant or build anything. The whole county is an agriculture preserve, with very tight restrictions.
 
I'm guessing in 1870, Napa was pretty much wide open for anyone who wanted it. I know Sonoma County was where a lot of wealthy people had homes and small farms and ranches. There's this great photo of Joel Peterson and Morgan Twain-Peterson taken in front of vines planted by Hearst in Sonoma County around 1880.

petersons.jpg
 
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