Our tour begins in 1894 when almost half of California’s 200,000 acres of vineyard were producing wine grapes, yet the wine industry found itself in a difficult situation. The country was in the midst of a lingering financial depression; there was continued over-production in the vineyards and wine cellars, and the prices of grapes and a novelty such as wine were at rock bottom. California wines were being sold and delivered in the important New Orleans market for as little as ten cents a gallon, and both the winemakers and the vineyardists were in dire financial difficulties. In an earnest struggle to stabilize skidding wine prices and bring a standard of quality to the California wine industry, seven of the State’s largest and most powerful wine firms incorporated as the California Wine Association. Headquartered in San Francisco, under the brilliant leadership of financier Percy Morgan, this giant organization came to control 84% of all pre-Prohibition California wine and owned vineyards and wine cellars in every major wine-producing area of the State. At the beginning of the 20th century, the C.W.A. had $10,000,000 invested in the industry and controlled nearly eighty of the State’s largest wine facilities. This special vintage postcard tour will visit member wineries from six counties representing one of wine country’s grandest enterprises.