California's Grape History

Wines are produced in almost all of the states within the US, including the big wine growers of Oregon, Washington, and New York. However, when it comes to quality and quantity, California wines by far out shines them all. It is beyond any doubt one of the largest and most innovative wine growing regions on earth.

Short History Overview

Wine growing in California dates back to the 1700s, when vines were planted after being brought in from Mexico. The first winery in California was established at the San Gabriel Mission just east of Los Angeles. Unfortunately, the grape they planted produced wines from poor to medium quality. It was not until around the 1830s when a man named Jean-Louis Vignes began to import higher quality grapevines from Europe. The expectation was that wine would be of higher quality and taste if made from the European variety of grape. This of course turned out to be so true.

Others tried in various parts of the country but were not as successful due to less forgiving and colder climates. Many parts of California offered the warm sunny climate that was so similar to the successful vineyards in Europe. Then in the 1860s, the commercial winemaking industry got a huge kick-start when a man named Agoston Haraszthy imported thousands of European vines, covering hundreds of different grape varieties. He planted many in Sonoma County and then sold the rest for planting in various parts of the state.

The California wine industry went through numerous difficulties, but continued to grow its output volume over the years. In the 1960s, large investments of capital expanded the industry, including establishing the wineries Heitz Wine Cellars, Chalone Vineyard, and Robert Mondavi.

Today California is among the world's top five wine producing areas and its top-quality products easily rival those of Europe's fine wineries.

Grapes

Grapes love California and you can grow any just about anything in the state. However, there are a wide variety of climatic differences within the state, therefore different varieties of grapes do well certain parts.

White Grapes

Chardonnay is the most widely planted white wine grape. Other successfully harvested types follow: Colombard, Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Blanc and Muscat.

Red Grapes

The most widely planted red grape is Cabernet Sauvignon. Other red grapes widely grown include: Zinfandel, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Rubired, Barbera, Grenache, Syrah, Ruby Cabernet, Carignane, Petite Sirah and Cabernet Franc.

Wine Regions

There are five major wine producing areas in the state. They all vary in soil type and climate, producing a variety of wine. The wines produced from these regions range from the very exclusive to the most affordable wines.

North Coast	Napa Valley Sonoma Mendocino Lake County
Central Coast	San Francisco Monterey Santa Cruz Mountains South Central Coast
Sierra Foothills	Amador Calaveras El Dorado Mariposa Nevada Tuolumne Placer Butte Yuba
South Coast	San Diego Temecula Los Angeles Orange Riverside
Central Valley	Lodi Woodbridge

Final Thought

As the California wine industry continues to grow, other quality wine producing areas are being discovered in the central coast region as well as the Sierra foothills. It is easy to learn about Californian wines and what regions they where grown. All that remains for you to do is try them!

Contributor: Debbie Parker (Miami Springs, FL)

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