INTRODUCTION

WARREN WINIARSKI

I am delighted to have been asked to offer a few thoughts of introduction to On California: a thought-provoking and diverse collection of essays on the story of California and wine. A plethora of words on California’s wine story already abound, but this book is unique. It is not a chronological narrative on the development of California’s wine endeavour. Instead, On California offers a display of the singular elements behind California’s modern wine potential and success, and how that success was achieved in such an extraordinarily short period of time. It also proffers some informed speculations about current challenges facing the state’s wine industry, as well as some we have yet to face.

I want to congratulate the editors who cast their net so wisely and well to assemble such a lyrical array of different voices and perspectives. Through them, we journey back and forth through time, discovering as we go the pillars of California’s success: the people, their goals and dreams, the methodical post- Prohibition pursuit of empirical knowledge, the state’s natural resources, and its viticulturally blessed locations. There are also accounts of the uncontrollable circumstances (phylloxera twice, Prohibition and World War II) and the unforeseen god-sends (the Paris tasting) that shaped, moulded, and forged a modern viticultural endeavour in an untried land.

One might pause at first, to question why no more was made of the generally accepted beginning – the importation of Vitis vinifera by the Spanish missionaries. Rather, the plentiful but unkempt character of Agoston Haraszthy is presented as an alternative starting point. From there, another narrative is quickly established and the essays show that those woolly beginnings were followed by an undishevelled nerve of purpose and outcome. This is a fresh approach that will make On California a must-read, then re-read, addition to any wine lover’s library.

As I read through the anthology, I was struck by how clearly my friend Steven Spurrier’s spirit must have been a guiding light for the publishers and editors at the Académie du Vin Library. Steven’s love for wine, and his ever-enthusiastic hope to rouse a similar appreciation in others, shines through these pages. In the early days, Steven spread the word of wine through classes and tastings. Later came the writing for Decanter and other publications, and the numerous speaking engagements. Now, through the Académie du Vin Library’s words on wine, so handsomely printed and bound, a tactile pleasure is added to the joy of learning.

In the broad spectrum of topics covered in the book, one sees Steven’s penchant for championing the broader, more universal story of wine at the same time as he valued the qualities of particular wines. To this thoughtful bent of mind On California stays true. Each essay reveals some critical facet in the plotline of the California wine story and answers questions about the elements essential to a good story. Who were the compelling characters? What were their motives and driving goals? What were their challenges and obstacles? Where was the story set? How did the setting affect the outcome? Who and what might star in the sequel?

The answers to these questions and many others, dear wine-loving readers, lie within these pages. Some articles explain the vital roles played by California’s natural resources. ‘Without the Pacific We’re Nothing’ describes how California’s temperate climate is due to the moderating influence of the cold Pacific Ocean. Similarly, ‘A Volcanic Tour of California’s North Coast’ explains how California’s prehistoric volcanic past, left imprinted in the soils, accounts for much of the immense diversity of wines that can be grown here.

As for the main characters, the ‘Brains, Boffins, Whizz-kids and Scholars’ section is full of them. The history of the amazing research and sheer dogged persistence of Professors Hilgard, Amerine, Winkler et al, is both important and fascinating. And California wine has had its share of colourful storytellers too – not least Harry Waugh who, as the editors note, was perhaps the first British champion of Napa wines. I met him in 1964, in my first year of apprenticeship at Souverain. I recall that he was so impressed with our Souverain 1961 Cabernet Sauvignon that he ‘bought and paid for a case of it, there and then’. In his 1972 Diary of a Winetaster, he explained that he wanted to send it back to the UK to offer ‘yet another proof of the possibilities of the great wines of this district’.

California is my home now after almost three lifetimes of my family for- bears residing in the middle of this great country. My surname suggests that it and wines and vines have a tethering further back in time. Only in California, with its ‘many forms of viticultural gold’, did the fullness of that tether come to pass.

I did not think of that when I first heard of the results of the Paris tasting. I knew nothing beforehand of the wines or the tasters, and for a very new winery, good results in a tasting are always ‘nice news’. Only later, with fuller knowledge, would I realize the ‘Copernican’ implications of the Paris tasting on the international wine universe. ‘Eppur si muove.’

The 2021 harvest will mark my 57th, and I often get the question: ‘How have things changed?’ Henceforth, I will simply recommend inquirers to this book, On California. It will give them more comprehensive answers than I can provide and possibly provoke some thoughts on how the next chapters of the California wine story might unfold.