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Trial and Error, Innovations, and Capabilities 57
missionary Junípero Serra planted the first California vineyard in 1769 at Mission San Diego,
and Serra continued to plant vineyards until his death in 1784. The first European vines in
California were planted in 1833 near Los Angeles by a Hungarian immigrant, Agoston
Haraszthy. Haraszthy provided much optimism and enthusiasm for the potential of wine
production in California and is considered the founder of the California wine industry.
One historical event, Prohibition, greatly impacted wine production and wine grape
growing across both the United States and Canada. Prohibition was intended to reduce
drinking by abolishing businesses that manufactured, distributed, and sold alcoholic beverages.
In the United States, the movement grew out of concern for increasing alcohol consumption
and its negative effects on society. This concern was partially driven by the growing
numbers of immigrants from Europe and the fear that a culture of drink among some sectors
of the population was spreading.
The dry movement began in 1816 and persisted explicitly for more than a hundred
years—banning the sale of alcohol on Sunday, removing the mention of wine from school
and college texts, creating dry counties (and provinces), and finally becoming a national
movement in the United States and Canada.
The U.S. prohibition movement continued to pick up steam in the late nineteenth
century, and prohibition was enacted into U.S. law in 1920 with the Eighteenth Amendment
to the U.S. Constitution. Two organizations were the main lobbying forces behind this
amendment: the Anti-Saloon League and the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union. While
the movement had much support prior to the U.S. entry into World War I, it gained significant
support during the war mobilization. The dry movement was billed as a sacrifice to
support the armed forces, family, and the American way, and it exploited the patriotic emotions
surrounding the war effort to initiate this constitutional amendment. Prohibition was
repealed in 1933 with the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. 20
The Canadian prohibition movement followed a similar path, with Prince Edward
Island being the first province to enact alcohol prohibition in 1901. Quebec was the last
province to do so, in 1919, and the first to repeal it, in 1920. The majority of Canadian
provinces repealed prohibition during the 1920s, with Prince Edward Island being last to
repeal it, in 1948.
During Prohibition, alcohol consumption dropped to 30 percent of pre-Prohibition
levels. From 1919 to 1925, wine production dropped 94 percent. Wineries that survived
made wines for medicinal and sacramental uses. Alcohol consumption did not return to pre-
Prohibition levels until four decades after its repeal. 21
What was the impact of Prohibition on the wine industry? Even after repeal, the ‘‘drys’’
have influenced alcohol use, with many states and provinces creating monopoly liquor stores
to restrict consumption. Dry forces are not dead—they continue to pursue obstructionist
legislation encumbering direct wine sales to consumers and preventing the inclusion of information
on wine labels about the potential health benefits of wine.
The above examples are but a few of the influences culture and history have had on
how, where, when, and why we drink what we do. The impact of history and ethnic diversity
is distinctly apparent in wine production. In the wine-producing regions of California, Canada,
and other parts of the New World, the influence of French, Hungarian, Italian, and
German wine makers is evident. The unique history and cultural diversity of a locality affect
the local winemaking industry and create a distinct identity and differences in finished wine
styles that differentiate one wine region from another.
TRIAL AND ERROR, INNOVATIONS,
AND CAPABILITIES
Trial and error is at the heart of innovations and lasting traditions in wine production.
Innovations can have a lasting impact, such as the techniques furthering the evolution of