#34: The History of Wine Part 6 of ? (Not Cliffs Notes, but Squire’s Notes)

April 2024

Correction:

In last November’s article, I wrote that Agoston Haraszthy’s eventual failure at Buena Vista was brought on by the decimation of his vineyards caused by phylloxera.  I stand corrected.  Authur Dawson, Sonoma Historian Extraordinaire, alerted me that Mssr Haraszthy passed away in 1869, just about the same time that phyloxera was first discovered in Sonoma.  Even though Buena Vista’s vines had been infected with phylloxera (but not yet identified) Haraszthy’s overreaching financial woes were much more the cause of the loss of his empire.  (I knew all that but wanted to see if anybody was reading my articles….)

The Volstead Act

When we last chatted about the history of wine, I ended with the 18th Amendment to our Constitution called “Prohibition” which was ratified by Congress in 1919 and was fully “the law of the land” by 1920.  Officially named The Volstead Act, its passage essentially outlawed the making of, sale and/or transportation of all alcoholic beverages in the USA.  It also effectively destroyed our burgeoning wine industry and wine culture in America.  Even though wine was originally not thought to be part of “the alcohol problem”, the more that support for temperance grew, wine and beer were unfortunately lumped together with higher alcohol “spirits”. 

The Alcohol Problem

During the 19th and into the 20th Centuries, alcohol abuse in America had become a serious concern.  Alcohol consumption was 10-14 times greater than today and the “legal” age for drinking was just fifteen and folks (even imbibers) seemed to agree that there was a problem. The saloons were full and some customers were in their teens.  Alcohol was definitely a problem and well-meaning folks wanted to reduce its too-easy availability. Alcohol had become associated with many social ills of the times including violence in the home, child abuse, child labor and poverty.  Women (it was illegal for a woman to drink in a saloon) were seen as the more “virtuous sex” and were thought to be more responsible for children’s moral education; also women seemed to be the family member most affected by alcohol abuse. 

The American Temperance Society (mostly comprised of women) at its height boasted over 200,000 members and support for outlawing alcohol was strong and growing.  Early temperance advocates mostly aimed their focus on bars and saloons where hard liquor was poured.  From the Temperance Society came the Anti-Saloon League, formed by Protestant religious groups who joined women in their cause.  The timing also coincided with the onset of WWI when a temporary wartime prohibition was declared “in order to save grain for our troops”.  Since grain was a key ingredient to producing spirits, hard liquor became scarce.  The timing was perfect for the temperance movement and after the war ended, the 18th Amendment was submitted by Congress for state ratification.  Within a year, it would passed as a law that would be in effect for the following 14 years.  (Interesting to note that the 19th Amendment giving women the right to vote was ratified the same year that Prohibition went into effect.)

The amendment was written in such a way that most voters felt that Prohibition was justified.  They felt it was a hard alcohol (spirits) problem and not a beer or wine issue.  Until the day the amendment was ratified, many folks in the wine industry mistakenly believed that the lower alcohol drinks like wine or beer would still be allowed.  They were deadly wrong.

Even though it was ratified by Congress in 1919, it wasn’t until January 17, 1920 that the Volstead Act went into effect.  Initially, the general public seemed upbeat with this “grand and noble experiment”.  That was not to be the case….

What was shortly discovered (a law or not) was that folks (as they have throughout the millennia) still enjoyed drinking alcohol and looked for ways to do so, legally or otherwise.  And legally there were a few loopholes that folks took advantage of.

 The Legal Loopholes…

One legal exception to the ban of alcohol was that doctors could write a prescription for “Spiritus Frumenti” (ethyl alcohol) as a “medicine” for their patients.  Needless to say, agreeable doctors and pharmacies became very popular.

Another exception to the law was created so that the church (particularly the Catholic Church) could continue religious ceremonies that included wine.  A winery that could prove they had “church connections”, could produce “sacramental wine” for the church.  George de Latour of Beaulieu Winery in Napa was apparently quite devout. Beaulieu produced more wine “for religious purposes” during Prohibition than it had prior. 

A third amendment to the Amendment allowed individuals across the US to make up to 200 gallons of “home wine” each year (still in effect).  Unfortunately, most areas in our country were not well-suited for growing wine grapes, so planting your “own vineyard to make wine” was not very practical. Those wineries and vineyards that didn’t close their doors and/or convert their vineyards to other crops found they were able survive by selling their fruit, juice, juice concentrate and “bricks” (solid dried concentrated juice) and ship it to folks to make their own wine. 

 A new industry was created, but it was soon discovered that shipping fresh grapes or juice was not very practical.  The delicate Vitis vinifera grape varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay would easily spoil from the time it took to ship (this was long before Amazon Prime).  Even the concentrated juice or “bricks” of these delicate varieties were more susceptible to spoilage, so many enterprising farmers re-planted their vineyards to more sturdy varieties such as Alicante Bouschet that were less apt to develop mold during transportation.  Included on the “brick” package were instructions to dissolve the brick in a gallon of water and wait for twenty days to turn it into wine.

The “good news” was that people all over the US could easily make home wine. The “bad news” was simply that the inferior grapes would not produce a good quality wine. 

Regardless, home winemaking became enormously popular all over the country.  In fact, it is estimated that home winemaking grew nine times its size after Prohibition had begun and more wine was being made in homes after 1920 than had been made in wineries prior to that time!  During Prohibition Americans consumed about 156M gallons of wine yearly.  Prior to prohibition wine consumption was about one-third that number.  

With all the home winemaking and increased wine consumption, this sounds like a terrific recipe for “wine success” in America, right?  That was, unfortunately, not the case.  Tune in next month to discover “why”….

 Until then, be sure to raise a glass of legal (or homemade) wine tonight and give thanks to the men and women who worked very hard to fill that glass for you!

 “In Vino Veritas!” (In Wine there is Truth)   Pliny The Elder, Roman Historian