History

As planter of the first California grapes in 1779, Father Junipero Serra is credited as the "Father of California Wine," but the wine industry as California knows it today began in Sonoma County almost a century later with the creation of Buena Vista Winery around 1857.

In 1889, Captain Gustave Niebaum's Inglenook Wines (the first Bordeaux-style winery in the USA) won gold medals at the World's Fair of Paris and all seemed to be going well until that little thing known as Prohibition hit and more than 2,000 wineries had to shut their (cellar) doors. 

Note: Inglenook is still in existence but is now owned by Coppola and the view is better than the wines.

Thankfully, the 21st amendment undid that horrid mess and wineries were back in business by 1934. California wine seemed destined to be the red-headed stepchild of the industry, however, until May 24, 1976 when a blind tasting in France proffered up sensational results.

After comparing six California Chardonnays with four French Chardonnays, a panel—made up exclusively of French wine experts—rated three California bottles in the top four. When reds were evaluated, Stag's Leap Wine Cellars was unanimously ranked number one. Since the "Judgement of Paris," Napa and Sonoma Valley wines have gained world reknown.