The ViniCode™

November 10 - California's First Winery - Podcast

November 10 - California's First Winery

Union Station

The first winery to be built in California was at the San Gabriel Mission in 1771. This Franciscan monastery was located just east of Los Angeles. The wine produced there featured the mission grape and was used solely by the monks. It took 60 years before the first commercial winery would be built. A Frenchman, appropriately named Jean-Louis Vignes, imported European vines. His winery was located in the heart of Los Angeles, precisely where Union Station stands today. Vignes, however, was not the first person to plant European vines in North America. Others had tried, mostly on the East Coast, but the harsh winters and vineyard diseases thwarted their efforts. The secret to California's success is no mystery, it all has to do with climate. There is plentiful sunshine, similar to that of Southern Italy, tempered by the cooling effects of the Pacific Ocean. It offers the closest approximation to a European climate on the North American continent.