THE STORY OF WINE IN CALIFORNIA

The literature of wine has been directed for the greater part to European wines, so to find this book dignified first by a poetic- and informative- text by a world famous authority on food, then with superb photographs, black and white and color, by a creative photographer, who has brought imagination and artistic values to his work, is indeed welcome news. The history of wine in California dates back to the Jesuit and Franciscan missionaries who brought grape cuttings along with their sacramental vessels. Junipero Serra was probably the first. Later adventurers from troubled lands and serious vintners seeking freedom found their futures lay in this new land. Notable among them were Don Luis Vignes, a Frenchman, and the Hungarian, Agoston Hayaszthy, now known as the father of modern wine growing in California. Many ghost vineyards and wineries are covered by expanding cities and have melted into encroaching forests,- but thousands of prosperous vineyards, private ones and large commercial ones, flourish, products in the main of post-Prohibition days. Mrs. Fisher traces the pattern of seasonal care, the choice of new stock, the rites and rituals of budding, pruning, culture and harvesting, the interdependence of soil, temperature, rainfall, stock and men- and the progress from fruit to wine, the art of coopering, the laboratories for experiment, on down to bottles, corks, labels and serving. The pictures provide their own running supplement of beauty. A book for those interested in regional data- and gourmets who care to know the background of our native wines.