California Wineries

The California winery industry contributes over $57 billion US dollars to California's economy and employs over 34,000 people. In general, winery makes up a major sector of the California economy and it also one of California's top exports. California makes some of the best wines in the world and is one of the most renown industries in California. California and the US should protect the winery industry in California, especially from the ravaging forest fires, which have been made worse by climate change.

History of California Wineries
California wineries date back as far as the 1700s but it was in the 1900s when California wines took on the world's best wines and became famous worldwide. The gold rush to California in the 1800s led to an increase in the population in California and in turn, this led to an increased the demand for wine in the California region. Gradually, more and more wineries sprouted up around Napa and Sonoma. By the late 1800s, the phylloxera epidemic hit the wineries in California and many wineries struggled to stay afloat. However, a resistant American rootstock became more widespread and the California winery industry was able to recover. When the prohibition era started between 1920 and 1933, the California winery industry once again took a big hit and many wineries exited the business, until the prohibition era ended in 1933. Gradually, the California winery industry has been able to recover from prohibition up to today.

California Wineries Today
Today, there are wineries all over California, not just in the original locations of Napa and Sonoma. However, Central Valley is still the largest wine region, stretching for almost 300 miles. There are now over 3500 wineries in California and the number keeps growing every year. California wineries account for the majority of the wine production in the United States, as well as the majority of the wineries in the United States. The wineries in California are producing new wines and new flavors, giving more options to wine consumers around the world. And many wineries are welcoming visitors and tourists so if you want to experience a winery, make sure you contact a California winery today to organize your trip.

Wines produced by California Wineries
Various grapes are used in California, but the most common wine grapes are Sauvignon blanc, Zinfandel, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot noir, and Merlot. An increasing number of grapes are used to produce different wines, which give more variety of wines to customers around the world. Before the 1980s, California wineries were dominated by Chardonnay and Bordeaux, but since then, the wineries have switched to other wines to accommodate the changing tastes of wine consumers. California wineries are also making dessert, sparkling, and fortified wines, to increase the variety of wines available to people that enjoy drinking wine.