Before Thomas Jefferson planted 24 European varietals at Monticello in 1807; before the first American commercial winery was founded by John Dufour in Kentucky in 1799; and before the American Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776, the Franciscan Friars in 1769 planted California’s first vitis vinifera grapes at Mission San Diego de Alcala.

And in 1771 they planted the same varietal that was to become known as the Mission grape at Mission San Gabriel Arcangel. Centuries later the Mission grape, through DNA testing, would be identified as Listan Prieto, a red grape from the Spanish region of Castilla-La Mancha. But that’s a topic for another time.

By the mid 1860s, as the Civil War ended and German, Italian and French immigrants moved from the East Coast to San Diego, bringing vines and viticulture with them. The San Diego area wine industry grew for the next 50-plus years. However, a combination of events, which included the great flood of January 1916 caused by two weeks of rain from an El Nino storm, prohibition and Word War II, overwhelmed San Diego’s wine industry.

The recovery of San Diego’s wine production was marked by the creation of the San Pasqual Valley AVA in September 1981 as the fourth AVA established after Augusta, Missouri (June 1980), Napa Valley (January 1981) and Santa Maria Valley (August 1981). The San Pasqual Valley AVA has a total area of 9,000 acres along the banks of the San Dieguito River near Escondido with a Mediterranean climate conducive to growing Grenache, Merlot, Sangiovese, Tempranillo and Viognier.

In December 2005, San Diego was approved for a second AVA in Ramona Valley. Surrounding the town of Ramona, this AVA added 89,000 acres to San Diego County’s viticulture lands. And there are now more than 115 wineries in the county. So whenever or wherever it began, if you have the wine enjoy it!

—CL Keedy, Wine Education Committee