The Grapes Had A Path: An American Wine Story

Wine has been a Western civilization staple for centuries. Some claim wine even gave birth to it. This may have been the case for the Ancient Near East as well. That area spans modern-day Turkey, Armenia, Georgia, and Iran. You could say the Caucuses were the original "Wine Country."

Georgia, the former Soviet nation, has been called the "Cradle of Wine." Evidence of consumption there goes back 8,000 years. Fermentation jars were discovered in a cave in Armenia dating back to 4,000 B.C. Those primitive people appeared to have been both innovative and thirsty.

The finest wines in the world have been made in France for centuries. The regions of Bordeaux, Burgundy, and Champagne are synonymous with quality. The Romans spread the wine fever in France, but evidence suggests that both the Greeks and the Celts planted vines and made wine before the Roman conquest. The French wine history has been as eventful as France itself. Its wine industry flourished, crowning France the undisputed wine king. France's reign lasted more than a millennium, until a young upstart formed in the new world.

California is America's "Wine Country." Wine is produced in every state. But nearly 90% of America's wine production comes from California. It's big business. Wine is a $73 billion industry. California is the 4th largest producer in the world.

The first California vines were planted by Spanish Missionaries in the late 1700s. They were called "Mission" grapes. Wine was a way of life for the Padres. It was consumed with meals as well as for medicine. Wine became hard currency for trade. Wine consumption spread well before California became the Golden State.

Sonoma and Napa Valley had a perfect combination of a warm climate, great soil, and cheap land. It was fertile for grapes. Demand exploded in 1849 with the Gold Rush. San Francisco's population spiked from 1,000 to 25,000. The vast majority were young men seeking their fortunes. Those 49ers were thirsty too. Wine consumption spiked.

Early California wines were mostly lower-quality Mission grapes. Did you know that before he led the March through Atlanta in the Civil War, General William Sherman was in the wine business? He and General Joe Hooker planted vines at the Madrone Ranch in 1854. That winery is now Bedrock, in Sonoma. Abraham Lincoln was the first President to serve California wine.

Buena Vista became the state's first commercial winery. It was founded in 1857, near the Sonoma Mission. Though it doesn't get the notoriety of Napa Valley, Sonoma is ground zero for Northern California wine. The wines of that time were mostly sweet and jammy. What came next was an innovative approach. European immigrants led the way. The familiar labels of today were talented risk-takers from yesterday.

Napa Valley got its start when guys named Osborne and Yount planted vines. A young winemaker, Charles Krug, opened a winery in St. Helena in 1861. Others followed. Jacob Schram founded Schramsberg in 1862. President Benjamin Harrison served it in the White House. The Korbel brothers began making the first Champagne-style wines in Sonoma county.

The Beringer winery opened in 1875 by brothers Jacob and Fredrick Beringer. They had previously worked for Charles Krug. A Finnish sea captain and fur trader hit the shores of San Francisco with aspirations of making great wines. His name was Gustav Niebaum and he created Inglenook. Founded in 1879, Inglenook's popularity exploded after its Bordeaux-style wine medaled at the Paris world's fair. Famed filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola now owns the winery and brought Inglenook back to prominence.

Wine pioneering in California wasn't relegated to men. The first woman vintner, Josephine Tychson, started planting vines in 1881. That vineyard later became Freemark Abbey, whose wine sent shockwaves around the world a century later.

The California wine industry was blossoming, but French wines were still considered superior. In 1894, the California Wine Association was formed. The organization encouraged producers to enhance the quality and charge more. It worked.

A young Frenchman named Georges de Latour left Bordeaux and landed in Napa. He founded Beaulieu Vineyards in 1900. The name came from his wife describing the beautiful place. Decades later, de Latour returned to Bordeaux and hired a young Russian wine mind named Andre Tchelistcheff. He is credited for modernizing winemaking in Napa. BV became Napa royalty.

Another name emerged: Mondavi. It's synonymous with wine and Napa. Cesare Mondavi left Minnesota and brought his family to Lodi in 1923. The Mondavis bought the Sunny St. Helena Winery, which is Merryvale today. Later they bought the famed Charles Krug winery.

The Mondavis were among the first Napa growers to swap cheaper grapes with Cabernet Sauvignon. The bold Napa Cabs were basically put on the map at Charles Krug. Others followed. Bordeaux varieties were planted throughout the valley.

Robert Mondavi left the family business to form his own winery in 1965. He became America's wine ambassador. Robert Mondavi promoted wine as part of a healthy, civilized lifestyle. Amongst his great achievements was forming a partnership with Baron Philippe Rothschild, creating Opus One. That was 1979. The famed wine institute at U.C. Davis bears his name.

Prohibition nearly killed California's wine industry. Production dropped by 90%. The Great Depression exacerbated the challenges. It took half a century for Napa Valley to recover. The turn occurred in the spring of 1976. Something explosive happened. There was a blind tasting in Paris. California wines competed with French. Importantly, it was an all-French panel.

The results shook the wine industry upside down. California wines won both categories: Reds and Whites. It was called the "Judgment of Paris." Time magazine covered it. Napa Valley instantly became wine royalty and demand soared.

Wine-making has always had an innovative drive. Stainless steel tanks were embraced in the early 20th century for ease of cleaning and temperature control. Later, semiconductors were embedded in the tanks to better monitor sugar levels and make timely adjustments. Today, artificial intelligence is playing an enhanced role in some wineries in managing vineyards. Blockchain is being used to securely track every stage of the wine-making process, from winery to your wine glass. Robots may soon be picking the grapes and bottling those cabs.

California continues to produce some of the best wines in the world. Those victorious wines are still in circulation today. Wine country is an American success story and that success has been evolutionary. Like most success stories, it was driven by innovative risk-takers who dare to dream and do what most don't.