Charles L. Sullivan: Napa Wine: A History from Mission Days to the Present

Missionaries established a system north along the west coast. San Diego was established in 1769; San Francisco in 1823 (click here for a timeline). With them came the first grape designated for wine making in California: the Mission grape.

--Brent W.

Hugh Johnson and Jancis Robinson: The World Atlas of Wine

Call me a geek, but this is one of my favorite books. It features amazingly detailed cartography and highlights a handful of the world's top producers.

--Brent W.

Stephen Rannekleiv: “Review of the Industry: Future of the California Wine Industry"

What is the future of the wine industry in California? Is it in the famous Napa Valley, or in the expansive vineyards that stretch across the irrigated fields of the Central Valley? What becomes of inexpensive California wine in a world flooded with inexpensive wine from vigorous competitors like Australia, Argentina, New Zealand, and Chile?

--Brent W.

Amy B. Trubek: “Chapter Three: California Dreaming" in The Taste of Place

Trubek introduces the cultural phenomena that surround the concept of terroir. Is it strictly French, or can the United States also achieve this elusive marker of quality? What is that quality, anyway? Note: On the left is a quote from Randall Grahm of Bonny Doon (Santa Cruz Mountains), where we will travel in August.

--Brent W.

Cesar Chavez: "The Organizer's Tale"

Chavez is a significant leader for farmworker rights.

--Brent W.

J. V. Palerm: "A season in the life of a migrant farm worker in California"

This is a harrowing story of personal challenge. Immigrant labor is key to the success of California agriculture. Click here to hear a song by Tom Russell focusing on some aspects of the Mexican immigrant experience.

--Brent W.

Sydney Mintz: “Food and Diaspora”

How do you compare Lucy Long and Sydney Mintz' approaches to food as representations and products of culture? What is the significance of geography for Mintz?

--Brent W.

Pacific Fishery Management Council: Readings on Fish Types

It is important to recognize the stringent controls the Pacific Fishery Management Council places on the harvest of fish--really the hunting of fish.

--Brent W.

Marcia Gagliardi: “The Abalone Rangers”

Abalone is one of the most treacherous sea creatures to harvest. Due to extensive overfishing, it is also one of the most protected fisheries in California.

--Brent W.

John Steinbeck: Cannery Row.

“Cannery Row in Monterey in California is a poem, a stink, a grating noise, a quality of light, a tone, a habit, a nostalgia, a dream.” Now it is also a tourist attraction and home to the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

--Brent W.

Greig Tor Guthey, Lauren Gwin, and Sally Fairfax: “Creative Preservation in California's Dairy Industry"

Land conservation, agricultural community, and food quality intersect in this article. The Marin Agricultural Land Trust (MALT) is a leader in the effort to preserve open agricultural space through the purchase of development rights. Link to MALT's website here.

--Brent W.

Lucy Long: “Culinary Tourism: A Folkloristic Perspective on Eating and Otherness,” from Culinary Tourism.

We do not have to travel far to find the foreign, or "other," expressed in food. Long lays out a system of definitions that describe the experience of culinary tourism and notes the methods of negotiation a person may employ to navigate difference.

Brent W.