Franciscan missionaries planted vineyards in California, but commercial production of wine did not begin until the missions had been secularized. Later, immigrants from France and Germany established the first commercial vineyards with vines they brought from their home countries. Agoston Haraszthy de Mokcsa, born in Hungary, worked in California vineyards and published his experiences in Grape Culture, Wines and Wine-Making (1862), the first American wine book to discuss California wine production. Thomas Hart Hyatt’s Hand-Book of Grape Culture (1867) was the first wine book actually published in California. California wine was sold at Philadelphia’s Centennial Exposition in 1876 and was again marketed at the Columbian World’s Fair in 1893, but these promotional campaigns did not create much of a response. Despite the rapid development of the wine industry in the state, there was little demand even in California. America was not a wine-drinking country, and the wine industry almost disappeared during Prohibition and the Depression. This changed beginning in the 1930s, when Frank Schoonmaker, an American wine authority, began publicizing the best California wines, especially those of Napa and Sonoma counties. Previously California wines had been marketed with French names. Schoonmaker urged winemakers to call the wines by the varietal names of the grapes, such as Zinfandel and Cabernet Sauvignon. Some vintners earned excellent reputations, and by the 1980s California wines were competing successfully with the best French wines.
