Reviews for Harvesting the Dream: The Rags-to-Riches Tale of the Sutter Home Winery

The average rating for Harvesting the Dream: The Rags-to-Riches Tale of the Sutter Home Winery based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2013-11-12 00:00:00 Johnny Daugherty It wouldn’t be a surprise to find that the first definitive history of wine production in the United States had been written by a British author. This isn’t so much because American wine writers spill so much of their ink on European wines or even because British wine books have been as successful an export to North America as French and Italian wines, but because the British reverence for history exceeds even their appreciation for wine. Another quality we might look for in a British author is perspective: a lens through which the efforts of American wine producers can be distinguished from the efforts of others throughout the world. An American author, on the other hand, might have a better awareness of the cultural context, a more personal sense of connection with the individuals involved and less tendency to drift off into the digressions that British audiences seem rather immune to. Although Paul Lukacs, the author of American Vintage, is an American, there is no loss of perspective or historical rigor in his account of the trials and tribulations Americans have faced as they struggled to become one of the leading producers of wine. As his more recent book, Inventing Wine, amply demonstrates, Lukacs has a comprehension of the history of wine that extends far beyond the United States and the relatively brief period in which wine has been produced within its borders. Although he has an evident respect for original sources and data points, Lukacs’ mission isn’t to unearth overlooked materials or penetrate the bias behind contemporaneous accounts of events. Rather, his emphasis is on the key elements that sustain the narrative, plucking from the vineyards the stories that best exemplify the currents that shaped the landscape of American wine as we see it today. There is much to support Lucaks’ essential thesis that the daunting struggle to overcome natural and societal obstacles itself placed American wine producers in the position to emerge as world leaders at the end of the 20th century. The reasons for the dominance of strong spirits and a preference for sweeter tastes in the United States have been described by Ian Williams, who describes what he calls the “real spirit of 1776” in his 2005 book Rum and by David Hancock in Oceans of Wine, his detailed historical account of the Madeira trade in the 18th and 19th centuries. Professor John Hailman has provided a thoroughly researched exegesis of Jefferson’s writings on wine, which chronicle his tireless efforts to incorporate wine into the fabric of American agriculture and promote its use as a more civilized alternative to strong spirits than beer or hard cider. In his book, The Wild Vine, Todd Kliman recounts the strange story of the Norton grape variety and coincidentally that of much of American viticulture as well. The lives of the pioneering producers who first put California and on the global wine map have been ably chronicled by writers like James Conway, in his two volume series on Napa Valley’s early producers, and by Cheryll Aimee Barron in her book, Dreamers Of the Valley, while the efforts of those responsible for spreading the boundaries of that map have been reported on by Paul Pintarich in The Boys up North and Katherine Cole in Voodoo Vintners. Lukacs’ signal contribution to this body of work is his ability to sort through all these disparate elements and craft a history that maintains a momentum and a clear point of view. Surveying the vast quantity of engrossing materials available to these and other authors, he pulls the threads of his narrative together in a fashion that weaves them neither so tightly as to become indistinguishable, nor so loosely as to unravel. With a penetrating eye, he has been able to shine a spotlight on influential figures whose stories had previously drifted into obscurity, while at the same time avoiding interesting but trivial details that would simply be a distraction. What results is an efficient and well-crafted narrative that delivers an instructive message. There is a moral to the story that is neither over-reaching nor commonplace. Lukacs doesn’t dwell on the well-documented failure of Jefferson’s viticultural efforts, but rather on the vision he instilled in succeeding generations, recounting the successful (if short lived) achievements of Nicholas Longworth in establishing an “American Rhineland” near Cincinnati and the more enduring contributions of Eugene Hilgard, first professor of agriculture at the University of California. In their vision of a United States where the production of superior wines could be both the envy of the world and a powerful civilizing influence, the stories of these men exemplify both the energy and aspirations behind Jefferson’s efforts as well as marking important first steps in the process of making his dreams a reality. Lukacs likewise doesn't dwell on the devastation wrought on American wine production by prohibition, preferring to emphasize the more positive aspects of the struggle to recover from it. He does show the significance of the wine industry (and it was an industry) prior to prohibition and touches on the role Christian and Jewish producers of sacramental wine played in sustaining production through the dry years. Here he perhaps provides less emphasis than he should, but he is clearly interested more in the evolution of fine wine than the successes of bulk producers who promoted their wines as one-size-fits-all products in the years immediately following prohibition. While he shows that the infrastructure created by the bulk wine business was a necessary adjunct to the development of finer wines, he spares us the embarrassment of reprising images of little old winemakers, deceptive labels suggesting non-existent connections with fabled far-away wine regions and jingles jangling that syrupy plonk was perfect for every occasion. Lukacs doesn’t say it, but the mass marketing of wine in the 1950’s undoubtedly set back the ability of ordinary Americans to appreciate wine for several decades. Once again preferring to dwell on the positive, Lukacs shows how bootlegging and bulk wine were connected to the development of fine wines by contrasting the histories of the Gallo and Mondavi families, each of which used a different approach in using low-end wines as a platform for developing world-class products they could be proud of, even if their premium offerings weren’t immediately profitable. Each of these families has written its own history and others have added their own commentaries. What Lukacs does is use this wealth of material to demonstrate the different currents California producers had to navigate in order to build world renown brands, touching on the significance of growing locations, new technologies, adaptations of traditional styles, brand management, financial resources and family succession to the emergence of an “artist-winemaker” culture that inspired American producers and gave them confidence to try to carve their own unique niches in a global industry. Only two or three generations removed from prohibition, American wine was now increasingly focusing on quality wines for consumption at meals. “Put simply” Lukacs says, “American wine finally left skid row.” One has to admire the restraint that Lukacs shows in avoiding gossipy asides as he focuses on the issues most meaningful to the development of a uniquely American wine style. He touches, but does not dwell, on the family struggles at Mondavi and Gallo, mentioning them only when they are relevant to the main story. Comments such as his reference to John Daniel as the “tragic, but reticent steward of Inglenook” make us aware that he knows the backstories, but sees no way to do them justice without distracting from the economical and efficient telling of his tale. Yet, he doesn’t ignore the personal issues when they are connected to that story. In particular, he shows the importance of Paul Masson’s outreach, and the faithful expression of his precepts by Martin Ray, in demonstrating to other producers that marketing and distribution were less important to ultimate success or failure than the consistent production of high quality wines. As he closes his narrative, Lukacs can do little more than mention the many individuals who led the way as the wine-producing potential of more and more regions in the United States was discovered or redeveloped, adding to the variety of American wines and bringing Americans in closer and closer proximity to their production. As he points out in his final chapters, the ultimate recognition their wines achieved on the world stage freed Americans from the notion that world class wines could only come from historic appellations in Europe and created a greater pressure on producers to make wines that could rival esteemed wines from abroad. As this coincided with new notions of American cuisine that gave pride of place to the use of local ingredients and regional dishes, commentators such as Leon Adams began to predict as early as the 1970’s that wine would be “recognized as an integral, wholesome part of the national diet” in the United States. Although this vision has been recognized in many affluent enclaves, Lukacs resists the temptation to end the book with a rosy prediction that this will inevitably spread happiness throughout the land. Instead, he recognizes that the story of American wine is unfinished: “With few exceptions, American wine producers today are just as short sighted as vintners were following prohibition. Rather than trying to increase demand, they continue to play to an existing market, charging ever more money for wines that can make them a profit but that cannot attract new customers." Where Lukacs sees promise is in the home, where cooks have become more adventurous and more inclusive, building demand that suppliers are responding to in the marketplace. This and the continued overall improvement in the quality of wines being produced throughout the world are what give Lukacs hope that wine’s “golden opportunity” will “at long last, come home.” In giving us the remarkable saga of how this opportunity has been brought to the doorstep of ordinary Americans, he will undoubtedly leave his own mark on the chronicles to be written by future generations.

Review # 2 was written on 2014-01-25 00:00:00 Brian Landon I read it way back. I recall it to be very very interesting. Did you know that Cincinnati was very first location of wine production in America? Also did you know that current northern california wine share French roots (grafting). Some of the original locations of California Wine like Stag's Leap so close to where i live in South Bay, CA that I felt a personal connection. The opening where a Californian wine beats French wine is both dramatic and strong.