It is impossible to study
history of wine country in Sierra Foothills and Delta without knowledge of broader economic forces that have shaped region since mid-nineteenth century.Years Before Gold Rush
Until Gold Rush, Stockton and Sacramento were natural deep water ports. The subsequent mining during Gold Rush filled riverbeds with debris. These cities are still deep water ports, but only because a path through Delta is dredged.
The early economy revolved around transport of goods to and from these regional centers. However, population was relatively small and did not support a significant wine industry.
The Independent Miner: Impact on Wine Country
On January 24, 1848, James Marshall discovered gold in American River. When news got out, a flood of young men raced to region to seek their fortunes.
For a few years, miners searched streams throughout Sierra Foothills for surface placer. It was during these early years of Gold Rush that romanticized notion of self-sufficient miner emerged. The mythological independent miner is a part of California's identity to this day.
These miners had an incessant thirst for alcohol. This demand led to birth of Sierra Foothills Wine Country. In 1856, Swiss immigrant Adam Uhlinger planted grapes in Shenandoah Valley. These were original vineyards in Sierra Foothills and were located in Amador County.
The wine industry boomed in following years to satisfy need for alcohol amongst miners. Despite unhospitable soils, rugged entrepeneurs continued to seek out new locations to grow grapes and make wine.
Early vineyards were also planted to north of Uhlinger's original vines in more elevated El Dorado County. In 1860, Fossati-Lombardo was first winery established in newly incorporated town of El Dorado.
At height of Gold Rush, there were over 100 wineries in Sierra Foothills. All evidence points to Zinfandel as primary varietal at time. Wines were extremely rustic, naturally very alcoholic and often fortified.
Industrial Mining: Impact on Wine Country
After surface placer was discovered and mined, large-scale operations took over. The idea of independent miners striking their fortunes is largely a misnomer. It was true for first few years, but as with any major business opportunity in a free market society, capital was rapidly pooled to profit from it. The Pacific Stock Exchange was epicenter of concentrating capital needed to undertake these massive operations.
Entire rivers were diverted with wooden flumes in an effort to scour dry riverbeds for gold. The scale of these operations was monumental.
The mining industry also began to delve deep into earth through practice of hydraulicking. Hydraulicking was process of literally blasting away mountainsides with pressurized water. This tactic had immediate as well as long-lasting implications for region's wine country, environoment and economy.
To this day, there are man-made canyons that are hundreds of feet deep in Sierra Foothills from this process. Debris washed downstream to Delta and caused massive flooding and devastation at time. They also formed a base of silt which is partly responsible for current region's remarkable productivity. However, immediate economic benefits were felt in emerging metropolis of San Francisco.
The industrial and real estate fortunes of San Francisco were tied not only to actual gold of Sierra Foothills, but also frenzy created by gold fever. A handful of wealthy San Franciscans owned factories located south of Market Street that produced machinery needed for hydraulicking. They also owned much of real estate north of Market Street. They completed their highly profitable cycle by using newspapers and magazines to advertise potential for vast riches to anyone who moved to area.
Large numbers of people moved to San Francisco and surrounding areas to claim their piece of windfall. The population increase sky-rocketed their land values and provided an abundant and cheap labor force to extract more gold. The burgeoning San Francisco skyline was a direct result of inverted skyscrapers that were mines in Sierra Foothills.
The gold from these mines literally financed this urban prosperity. It was unbelievably lucrative for a select few. The immediate collateral effects of whole process were devastated farmlands (including wine country) in Delta. Flooding was so common that region became a shallow extension of San Francisco Bay for much of year. Ships could barely navigate mud-choked waters of once pristine Bay.
