This book examines how Napa became a pre-eminent site for the production of great and sometimes iconic wines in a short space of time. Unlike its Old World counterparts whose development took place over centuries, Napa’s inception didn’t start until the beginning of the 19th century, and even then struggled to identify appropriate grape varietals and find a market for such wine, only to be frustrated when Prohibition occurred in the early 20th century and practically shut down the industry. It was in the 1960s that winegrowing would re-emerge on a scale and quality that began to be noticed by informed critics and neophyte consumers. In the following decades, critical information sharing networks of owners and winemakers emerged, facilitating a collective organization learning that fostered a commitment to quality and consistency that would cement Napa’s reputation. During these decades, technical skills were embraced, institutional support harnessed, and demand for premium wine in America grew. This book is a story about this evolving wine market, about how key individuals were able to shape its organization and build a brand that would increasingly be identified as amongst the best in the world. It starts with an early discussion of what constitutes quality and how wine has been evaluated over the centuries, and ends by exploring Napa’s apotheosis and the current critical issues facing the industry in that area.

This book examines how Napa became a pre-eminent site for the production of great and sometimes iconic wines in a short space of time. Unlike its Old World counterparts whose development took place over centuries, Napaâ (TM)s inception didnâ (TM)t start until the beginning of the 19th century, and even then struggled to identify appropriate grape varietals and find a market for such wine, only to be frustrated when Prohibition occurred in the early 20th century and practically shut down the industry. It was in the 1960s that winegrowing would re-emerge on a scale and quality that began to be noticed by informed critics and neophyte consumers. In the following decades, critical information sharing networks of owners and winemakers emerged, facilitating a collective organization learning that fostered a commitment to quality and consistency that would cement Napaâ (TM)s reputation. During these decades, technical skills were embraced, institutional support harnessed, and demand for premium wine in America grew. This book is a story about this evolving wine market, about how key individuals were able to shape its organization and build a brand that would increasingly be identified as amongst the best in the world. It starts with an early discussion of what constitutes quality and how wine has been evaluated over the centuries, and ends by exploring Napaâ (TM)s apotheosis and the current critical issues facing the industry in that area.

Charles Sullivan's Napa Wine: A History, is the engaging story of the rise to prominence of what many believe to be the greatest winegrowing area in the Western hemisphere. This new edition completes that picture, bringing to light more than a decade of dramatic changes and shifted norms visited upon the valley, from pholoxera-wasted vineyards to High Court-officiated territorial battles, told in a rousing, transportive narrative. Beginning in 1817 with the movement of Spanish missions into the San Francisco Bay area, Sullivan winds his way through the great wine boom of the late 19th-century, the crippling effect of Prohibition, and Napa's rise out of its havoc to its eventual rivaling of Bordeaux in the judgments of 1976 and 2006. Published in cooperation with the Napa Valley Wine Library, the book includes historic maps, charts of vineyard ownership, and vintages from the 1880s to present.

California's Napa Valley is one of the world's premier wine regions today, but this has not always been true. James T. Lapsley's entertaining history explains how a collective vision of excellence among winemakers and a keen sense of promotion transformed the region and its wines following the repeal of Prohibition. Focusing on the formative years of Napa's fine winemaking, 1934 to 1967, Lapsley concludes with a chapter on the wine boom of the 1970s, placing it in a social context and explaining the role of Napa vineyards in the beverage's growing popularity. Names familiar to wine drinkers appear throughout these pages—Beaulieu, Beringer, Charles Krug, Christian Brothers, Inglenook, Louis Martini—and the colorful stories behind the names give this book a personal dimension. As strong-willed, competitive winemakers found ways to work cooperatively, both in sharing knowledge and technology and in promoting their region, the result was an unprecedented improvement in wine quality that brought with it a new reputation for the Napa Valley. In The Silverado Squatters, Robert Louis Stevenson refers to wine as "bottled poetry," and although Stevenson's reference was to the elite vineyards of France, his words are appropriate for Napa wines today. Their success, as Lapsley makes clear, is due to much more than the beneficence of sun and soil. Craft, vision, and determination have played a part too, and for that, wine drinkers the world over are grateful. This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1996.

Facts & insights on Napa Valley’s 16 wine regions through exclusive winemaker interviews, industry’s first Price to Value charts powered by Vivino data, bold design and unstuffy language. Drive Through Napa provides fundamental information on California wine history and the 16 American Viticulture Areas (AVAs), or “Napa neighborhoods,” that are home to more than 400 wineries throughout Napa Valley. It lists the regions from south to north, much as Napa visitors would encounter them during a drive up Napa’s central highway. Q&A sections with prominent winemakers and experts begin the chapters. You’ll learn secrets about each region from the wineries that produce there: Alpha Omega, Cade, Chateau Montelena, Dyer Vineyards, Far Niente, Grgich Hills, Hess Collection, Italics, Keever Vineyards, Raymond, Rombauer, Silverado, Smith-Madrone and Trefethen. Drive Through Napa concludes with a very special chat in which iconic Napa winemaker and consultant Andy Erickson (Screaming Eagle, Harlan, Spottswoode, Ovid, Dalla Valle, Staglin, Favia, Mayacamas, Mulderbosch) explaining Napa’s unique appeal.

The New York Times bestselling author of Napa tells the captivating story of how the Napa Valley region transformed into an extraordinary engine of commerce, glamour, and an outsized version of the American dream—and how it could be lost—in “a strong plea for responsible stewardship of the land” (Kirkus Reviews). Not so long ago, wine was an exclusively European product. Now it is thoroughly American; emblematic of Napa Valley, an area idealized as the epicenter of great wines and foods and a cultural tourist destination. But James Conaway’s candid book tells the other side of the romanticized story. Napa at Last Light reveals the often shadowy side of the latter days of Napa Valley—marked by complex personal relationships, immense profits, passionate beliefs, and sometimes desperate struggles to prevail. In the balance hang fortunes and personal relationships made through hard work and manipulation of laws, people, and institutions. Napans who grew up trusting in the beneficence of the “vintner” class now confront the multinational corporations who have stealthily subsumed the old family landmarks and abandoned the once glorious conviction that agriculture is the best use of the land. Hailed as the definitive Napa writer, Conaway has spent decades covering the region. Napa at Last Light showcases the greed, enviable profits, legacy, and tradition that still collide in this compelling story. The area is still full of dreamers, but of opposing sorts: those longing for a harmonious society based upon the vine, and self-styled overlords yearning for wealth and the special acclaim only fine wine can bring. Bets are still out on what the future holds. “This is a stunning and sad look at how an idyllic community became a victim of its own success…fascinating and well-researched” (Publishers Weekly, starred review).

“The 2014 Napa Valley Wine Harvest: Demystifying the California Wine Industry and Coming Economic Decline” is a photographic edition portraying the beauty and landscape of the northern California wine region during each stage of the annual wine harvest. Photographer Marques Vickers 80+ images captures the diversity of the vineyard terrain and majesty of the individual vines from his artist perspective. The photography is supplemented by his observations and projections regarding the 2014 final grape crush report released on March 10, 2015 by the United States Department of Agriculture, Pacific Field Office. Vickers addresses the three most strident issues: water, real estate value levering and overproduction that peril the continued stability of the industry. The 2014 Napa Valley harvest may ultimately prove a benchmark before the reality of the California drought radically affects the region’s yields. The harvest was the second largest and most lucrative in the history of the Napa Valley region bringing in a 9% value increase from 2013. By contrast, the state of California’s overall production shrunk 8.3% and valuation rose less than 1%. The Northern San Joaquin Valley region had production decreases of 16%. Vickers elaborates on what is going on within Napa that is eluding the majority of the State’s wine regions. Despite the continued effects of severe drought conditions, the 2014 harvest may ultimately emerge as the finest year of the decade due to the smaller and more concentrated berry sizes, creating greater flavor complexity. What distinguished 2014 from the current year has been the timely rains and seasonal heat spikes. As water sourcing becomes the new alchemy within the Napa Valley and throughout California, aggressive deep well water drilling for underground sources is creating a potential for economic, liability and ecological catastrophe. The depletion of underground sources and storage reserves may prove necessary for short-term coverage caused by the continuing drought and overproduction. Longer-term implications such as stricter water rationing and production moratoriums may inhibit continued growth and elevate pricing. Will fine wine palettes and consumers foot the bill at the marketplace? Vickers writings elaborate beyond the traditional marketing rhetoric and hype both Napa’s production success and California’s decline during 2014. More poignantly, the results from the grape crush report identify significant production trends taking shape regarding emerging drought resilient grapes and increasingly out-of-favor Zinfandel and Merlot varietals. Based on the immediate economic threats and absence of nimbostratus (rain) clouds, a major financial correction appears eminent. Vickers’ “The 2014 Napa Valley Wine Harvest: Demystifying the California Wine Industry and Coming Economic Decline” edition is a straightforward guide for wine enthusiasts to understand the complexities of a wine harvest and outstanding visual overview of one of the most renown wine regions internationally.