Page 148 - WINE DINE AND TRAVEL SPRING 2025 GRAND VOYAGE

BY RON JAMES

SAN DIEGO UNCORKED: A WINE HISTORY
BY RON JAMES

While San Diego's burgeoning wine industry is celebrated
today, few realize its rich and enduring past. This first
chapter in the book begins to uncover the captivating history
of grape growing and winemaking that has flourished in
the region's sun-drenched landscape for generations.

Chapter 1: Before the Vines – The soaked in water to create a sweet drink—
Kumeyaay and the Land sometimes fermented into a potent bever-
age. Yet the refined art of winemaking, as
He walked along the shimmering blue it would come to be known, remained ab-
bay that would one day be called San sent.
Diego. The warm sun embraced his back While they did not cultivate wine, the
as he carried a bountiful catch of fish and Kumeyaay were familiar with fermented
mussels toward his village near the mouth and medicinal plant-based beverages. One
of the river. He was a Kumeyaay man, one such plant, Toloache (Datura), held cere-
of nearly three thousand people who in- monial significance. When its leaves,
habited a vast territory stretching from stems, and roots were mixed with water,
the coast to the mountains and deserts they produced a powerful hallucinogenic
beyond. brew—one that could induce visions, stu-
Long before the Kumeyaay, ancient por, or even death if misused.
cultures such as the La Jolla people had Despite the absence of winemaking,
thrived in this land. Their time, devoid of the land held all the right conditions for
modern complexities, may seem idyllic to future viticulture. The warm, dry summers
some. Yet for those who savor the plea- and mild winters, coupled with a diverse
sures of wine, it was an era before its dis- range of soils, would one day prove ideal
covery here. Wild grapes, Vitis girdiana, for cultivating wine grapes.
grew throughout the region, but there is On September 28, 1542, as the
no evidence that they were ever fer- Kumeyaay man carried his catch toward
mented intentionally. Unlike the later-in- the river, his world remained unchanged.
troduced Vitis vinifera, these native But by the next sunrise, the sails of a
grapes had lower sugar content and would Spanish galleon would break the horizon,
have produced a thin, unremarkable wine. bringing with it a force that would forever
The Kumeyaay lived in harmony with alter his people’s way of life. Juan Ro-
the land, adapting to its rhythms with sus- dríguez Cabrillo’s arrival would mark the
tainable practices that ensured survival. beginning of profound transformation—
They gathered wild grapes but also relied one that, centuries later, would introduce
on the mesquite tree, whose sugary beans the art of winemaking to the sun-kissed
could be ground into meal for cakes or hills of San Diego.

148 WINE DINE & TRAVEL MAGAZINE SPRING 2025