Say the words "California Gold Rush," and images of miners plying glittering gold from streams and mines come to mind. But there is a larger story in the California Gold Country than just the discovery of this precious metal. Immigrants from around the world rushed into the area, bringing with them their own languages and traditions in a quest for riches. One of those traditions was wine making, which, for some, would prove to be a greater boon than panning for gold as they discovered that the region's soils and microclimates were ideal for vineyards.
These memorable photographs—gathered from private collections and archives—tell the story of the wineries of the Gold Country. Author Sarah Lunsford takes readers on a journey from Gold Rush–era wineries to the region's third and fourth largest wine producers in California in the late 1800s to the dormant years following Prohibition and finally into the 1970s, when a handful of winemakers brought the art back to the Gold Country, changing the landscape and initiating a renaissance that continues to this day.