*California's wine industry has its roots in the 19th Century, by the late 1800s, over 800 wineries existed in the state. The current number of wineries in California today is right under 3,000! keep in mind some of the wineries included in this number are "virtual wineries". A virtual winery is a winery that does not hold their own bond, it has a physical location (which is usually at another winery), produces at least one brand and has its own management and winemaker (although the winemaker can be a consultant or work for multiple wineries).
*In 1861 - Agoston Harazthy, a political exile from Hungary, is credited with bringing in 100,000 European vine cuttings representing over 300 grape varieties. He built Buena Vista Winery in Sonoma County and the wine business flourished.
*UC Berkley and UC Davis began wine research in 1880.
*By 1891, Sonoma had 22,683 acres of vines, to Napa's 18,000 acres.
*Phylloxera (late 1800s) and Prohibition (1920-1933) curbed development severely so that by the end of World War II, California only had 120 active wineries.
*The "Judgement of Paris" in 1976 places California wines on the international stage as world class. The industry has never looked back.
*1983 the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (BATF) administered a system of delimitation of wine growing regions. The delimited unit is called an American Viticultural Area (AVA).
*An AVA is a delimited grape growing area distinguished by geographic features. Petitions for establishment must include evidence that the name is locally or nationally recognized, and evidence relating to geographical features which distinguishes it from other areas, and which can be found on US geological survey maps.
*Approximately 3.1 million tons of wine grapes were crushed in California during 2006! Chardonnay is the most popular and largest grown grape variety, followed by Cabernet Sauvignon, then Merlot and White Zinfandel.
Pics and links to some favorite wineries
Wine MapsMaps of popular wine regions
