California's First Wines

In previous articles we laid to rest the notion that the American wine industry began in California with the padres. We informed you about the extensive efforts to establish a wine industry in the original thirteen colonies and about noteworthy successes in New York State, Ohio and Missouri. But we left alone the interesting facts about the beginnings of the wine industry in California which have come to light through the research of wine historian Thomas Pinney, whose two volume tome A History of Wine in America is considered the most authoritative source on this subject in print.

It's Los Angeles, Not Sonoma

It turns out that the development of wineries in Sonoma County by people such as Agoston Haraszty and Mariano Vallejo—much trumpeted as the beginning of European grape viticulture in California—originated as a means to circumvent the already established wine trade with Los Angeles. Yes, I said it. California wine first originated in Los Angeles. One of its most popular wines was even named after the city—Angelica.

The first California vineyards on record devoted to commercial table wine were planted along the banks of the Los Angeles River very near what is now the city center and approximately on the site where Union Station (Amtrak) is located. The first commercial vineyard was planted in 1849 by Jean Louis Vignes; and the early industry was dominated, not by Spanish padres, but by Frenchmen and Germans. The vineyards quickly expanded eastward to Cucamonga, where a few still remain producing outstanding Zinfandel fruit for vinification elsewhere.

California's First Commercial Winery.

The first commercially successful winery was in full swing by the time of the Civil War and sold its bottled wines through offices in San Francisco, St. Louis, New York City, and Boston. It was the firm of Kohler & Frohling. Their wines included hock, Riesling, Muscat, Tokay, Gutedel, Claret, Zinfandel, Malvoisie, Burgundy, Sherry, Port, and of course, the fabled Angelica.

San Francisco bought the lion's share of Kohler & Frohling's wine, since they had no comparable supply. The first recorded judged wine tasting in America was held in New York City in 1862 while the Civil War raged. While Kohler & Frohling are not specifically mentioned in the report, it is believed by wine historians such as Pinney that their Port and Angelica must have figured prominently. There is a note in the report of the New Yorkers' dislike of Angelica. One judge concluded that Angelica was not a ladies' wine (being fortified with brandy) and "a bottle full of it contains I don't know how many headaches." Another judge proclaimed "I think the samples shown today prove that America is capable of producing its own wine, and that we are really independent of the wine countries of Europe."

That prophecy proved true over time, but European wines still offer the same allure today and are no less sought after. Today we have a choice. And what a choice it is!

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