Book Excerpt: A Brief History of Napa Valley, Part 1

Driving through Napa Valley today, it’s hard to imagine that anything other than grapes was ever grown here. Even to those august few who remember a time when plum and walnut trees outnumbered vines, it seems the distant and hazy recollection of a dream. This valley craves the grape, and since its introduction in 1838 that natural affinity has been obvious to anyone who paid attention. But Napa Valley’s modern prestige cannot be taken for granted; the path that led here has been fraught with peril, and more than once it seemed that the Napa wine industry had been crippled beyond repair. Prohibition, the Great Depression, two world wars and flanking phylloxera infestations effectively rubbed out Napa’s late-19th-century successes. But the idyllic allure and raw oenological potential of the Valley proved irrepressible, and the vine and its farmer persevered. Against seemingly insuperable odds, Napa has thrived, and today it is counted among the world’s finest wine regions.

Mexico Breaks From Spain, California Breaks From Mexico, 1821–1847

America was no stranger to the grape when Europeans appeared; indigenous vines of all sorts crept across the continent. But to the colonizing settlers, grapes meant wine, and the native species were quickly judged unsuitable for fermentation. As such, the various occupying forces of Europe brought their own fine-wine-producing species of vine, known as Vitis vinifera. In California, these cuttings came via the Spanish.

Until Mexico’s War of Independence, all of Mexico and much of what is now the western United States was considered part of New Spain. The religious Spanish monarchy sought to convert its new population to Catholicism. Toward this end, a series of missions were established which brought not only religious instruction to the wilds of California, but also formal viticulture. Overwhelmingly, the grape they cultivated was Palomino Negro (also known as Listan Prieto), a dark-skinned cousin of Andalusia’s primary sherry ingredient. This was a hardy variety, easy to grow, and perfectly suited for the manufacture of sacramental wine. Over time the grape came to be known as Mission for the institution that propagated it.

Viticulture from a bygone era