The association of the California style of wine with deep flavors, forward fruits, high alcohol and a hint of oak, is a thing of the past. However, its a common belief that America witnessed an increase in the revenue of the wine industry, in recent times. The U.S. and Canada were previously accused of favoring beer and spirits over wine, till the magical effects of wine were discovered by the present generation. The burgeoning California wine industry has an origin, prior to the Prohibition in the 1920s. Over 140 wineries had sprouted all over the Napa Valley alone, in 1889.
The Spanish government banned wine grape cultivation in Mexico after the wine industry started competing with Spanish imports, in the late 16th century. The effects of the prohibition were evident in Mexico till the 20th century. The California missions, throughout the 18th and 19th centuries, needed wine on a regular basis. Fr. Junipero Serra at the Mission San Diego de Alcala planted the first vineyard of California in 1769. Fr. Serra brought the Mission grape to California, supposedly from cuttings brought from South America. Though, initially this grape was not considered to be ideal as a table wine, by the mid nineteenth century over 4,000 acres were cultivated around the missions.
Immediately after the Santa Cruz Mission, in 1804, vineyards were planted throughout California. Owing to the deforestation by the lumber industry, vineyards sprouted up on the Santa Cruz Mountains in the following years. Padre Jose Altimira planted several thousand grape vines at the northernmost mission, twenty years after that. Los Angeles had its first European table grape varietals plantation cultivated by Jean-Louis Vignes, in 1833. Richard Henry Dana discussed the wine of early California in his historic account of life on the California coast, in 1934. George Calvert Yount planted the first vineyard in Napa Valley, in 1836.
In the mid nineteenth century, most of the table wines consumed in California were Portuguese imports. Portuguese red wine, cooked in the sun on sailing ships and inadvertently oxidized, was made palatable by sweetening them. This led to the commercialization of Madeira wines, one of the most preferred wines in America. Till date, whenever wines take on a tinge of brown because of being old or due to poor cellaring, they are said to be maderized.
However, consumerism has played a significant role in determining the quality, quantity and even the process involved in wine making. The English designed a rating system for French wines in the eighteenth century and also created Sherry and Madeira. Consumerism steered the California wine industry and later the market determined that the wines should be a little sweet and smooth on the palate. In addition, the market demanded that the acid level should be low. Thus, owing to these requirements, the wine industry had to turn grapes used for making table wines for processing several base wines.
Unlike cheese lovers, wine lovers have better options, as they can find good wines in the supermarkets, provided they know which ones to choose. The market is the most powerful factor that determines not only which varietals will sink or swim, but also which ones will thrive.
California Cook: Focaccia, straight up, no twists
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by Raul P
Since decades, the California wines have been associated with distinct deep flavors, high alcohol level, forward fruit and a hint of oak. California wine makers have focused mainly on the cultivation of the Barbera grape, to cater to the demand for Italian styled California wine. Despite a great difference between the Italian and California styles, California wine tastes similar. The California wine industry owes much to the influence of the Italian immigrants. The long list of influences includes, Sebastiani, Mondavi, Martini, Gallo, Cribari, Parduci, Martinelli, Nichelini, Pedroncelli, Rafanelli and Rochioli.
American wine drinkers could never indulge in the California wine, till it flaunted the Italian style. The vineyard owners commenced a serious exploration of suitable sites to cultivate grapes of a better quality, after the rush to terroir movement in the 80s. They found the sites in the Sierra Foothills and Central Coastal regions. But, this too failed to attract the desired business. A new direction was noticed in the early 1990s and it began with a subtle educational campaign by the winemakers and wine industry representatives. They attempted to educate the people that Barbera was not the great red Italian grape, but from the family of Sangiovese and Nebbiolo. Still the Italian wines continued to be popular as food-friendly. Earlier, the Italian wines used to complement food and were not appreciated for their maturity.
Despite the Italian influence on California wines, the Italian wine industry developed very slowly in America. The wine makers of California used to spend most of their time trying to catch-up with their French counterparts. They focused more on the French varietals and convinced the Americans to a great extent that the best wines were Merlot, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
However, Barbera carved a niche for itself among the Italian style wines, in California. Though, Sebastani and Martini bottling was often considered the best and reasonably priced, the California Barbera achieved a breakthrough in the 1990s. This came from the wineries that had never even been associated with Italian style wines, such as Renwood in Amador County, Boeger in El Dorado County and Eberle in Paso Robles. These wines were made in the California style, thick and fruity, with around 15% alcohol. In spite of being more expensive than several Italian style wines, it became the favorite of many Californians. Eventually, it became so popular that dedicated writers on the Italian wines wrote several articles praising the vineyard locations in Piedmont, designated for Barolo and Barbaresco. This encouraged and forced the Barbera growers to settle for lesser sites, in time.
Barbera is grown mostly along the North Coast. However, Italians have also spotted the Sierra Foothills as one of the best cultivation spots for the Italian varietals. The packaging style adopted for California wines is quite similar to the Italian style. Some of the famous wine producers, like Boeger have made the regular and reserve bottling one of the specialties. Lava Cup released a splendid example of this. Montevina and Chameleon flaunt Barberas and have done quite well in blending the tastes preferred by the wine enthusiasts and the Beverage Testing Institute.
Wine Column: What makes Long Island wines ‘cool’
From 1973 to 1999, when I had my own vineyard, I always loved to work in the field after the sap began to flow in mid-March. The barely sweet liquid would drip from the pruning cuts on every vine, intimating the surge of new life and a new vintage. Walking down the rows, feeling the [...]
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