Travel Journals - Napa Valley

NAPA

Napa Valley is home to premier wine producers, restaurants, resorts, spas

and beautiful scenery. The mixture of climate and soil are virtually perfect for

growing the type of grapes required to produce premium wines.

As a result of this marriage of climate and soil, wineries were founded in the

Napa Valley as early as the mid 1800's.

The wealth of post-Gold Rush San Francisco created a huge demand for wine,

and by 1891 there were 619 vineyards throughout the valley.

The wineries survived economic depression and the disease of phylloxera

but were no match for Prohibition.

Prohibition closed almost every Napa Valley winery.

The few that survived provided medicinal wine or sacramental wine for churches.

Vineyards were ripped out, to be replaced by prune and walnut orchards.

Prohibition ended in 1933, but it was not until 1966 that a new winery

was finally built in the Napa Valley. It was Robert Mondavi Winery

in Oakville. Since that time several hundred wineries have been built,

as the Napa Valley was rediscovered as a premium wine region,

recapturing its earlier pre-Prohibition fame.

Today there are more than 200 wineries throughout the county.

The Napa Valley's climate and soil have made it one of the

world's great wine growing regions.

Inland off U.S. 101 is the Napa & Somona Valley .

This is where most of the California wineries are located.

The land here is ideal for growing vines and besides being

a favoriate among Californians for wine tasting,

the landscape and scenery is considered

as a "must see" in the state.

Now that we've bought our wine,

there's one more stop to make

before we reach home.

Outside of Santa Barabara,

and about 1 1/2 hour drive

from Los Angeles,

there's a little town called "Solvang" .

Everything in the town revolves

around their Danish culture.

SOLVANG

Less than 150 miles north of Los Angeles and

300 miles south of San Francisco,

Solvang is ideally located to explore California's Central Coast.

Solvang, meaning sunny fields, was founded in 1911

by a small group of Danish educators wanting to establish

a Danish-type folk school in an area where settlers could

farm the rich river bed soil. Danes from the Midwest and Denmark

continued to migrate west to Solvang bringing their skills as

farmers, teachers, carpenters, merchants and artisans.

Solvang reflects an all Danish style.

Visitors from Denmark frequently comment on Solvang's

architectural authenticity reflected in half-timbered walls,

simulated thatch and copper roofs, dormers and decorative

use of tile, stained glass in the buildings and cobblestone walkways

Consequently, the area has an interesting blend of

Spanish-American and Danish-American cultures.

Many of the Valley's population today can still claim

a multi-generational residency.