The Valley of Wine: A Century of Italian Presence in the California Wine Industry (1850–1950)

Location:

Calandra Institue

25 W 43rd St Suite 1700, New York, NY 10036

Event:

The development of the California wine industry was significantly influenced by the involvement of numerous Italian families who immigrated to the state. Contrary to the idyllic portrayals often associated with it, California’s viticulture was profoundly affected by capitalist machinations and the conflicts that shaped the region’s historical landscape. The contributions of Italian-owned vineyards played a crucial role in the consolidation of the state’s agribusiness and the establishment of a wine culture that served as both a marketing instrument and a means of asserting Italian identity within California’s complex ethnic makeup. Reconstructing the events of a century of the Italian-Californian wine industry, Pietro Pinna in his book La valle del vino (Viella, 2023) narrates how grape cultivation and wine production were essential in the process of social and cultural integration of the Italian community in California.