Overview
Winner of the 2013 New York Book Show Award in Scholarly/Professional Book Design From Ernest and Julio Gallo to Francis Ford Coppola, Italians have shaped the history of California wine. More than any other group, Italian immigrants and their families have made California viticulture one of America’s most distinctive and vibrant achievements, from boutique vineyards in the Sonoma hills to the massive industrial wineries of the Central Valley. But how did a small group of nineteenth-century immigrants plant the roots that flourished into a world-class industry? Was there something particularly “Italian” in their success? In this fresh, fascinating account of the ethnic origins of California wine, Simone Cinotto rewrites a century-old triumphalist story. He demonstrates that these Italian visionaries were not skilled winemakers transplanting an immemorial agricultural tradition, even if California did resemble the rolling Italian countryside of their native Piedmont. Instead, Cinotto argues that it was the wine-makers’ access to “social capital,” or the ethnic and familial ties that bound them to their rich wine-growing heritage, and not financial leverage or direct enological experience, that enabled them to develop such a successful and influential wine business. Focusing on some of the most important names in wine history—particularly Pietro Carlo Rossi, Secondo Guasti, and the Gallos—he chronicles a story driven by ambition and creativity but realized in a complicated tangle of immigrant entrepreneurship, class struggle, racial inequality, and a new world of consumer culture. Skillfully blending regional, social, and immigration history, Soft Soil, Black Grapes takes us on an original journey into the cultural construction of ethnic economies and markets, the social dynamics of American race, and the fully transnational history of American wine.
Full Product Details
Author: Simone Cinotto
Publisher: New York University Press
Imprint: New York University Press
Dimensions:
Width: 15.30cm
, Height: 3.30cm
, Length: 22.90cm
Weight: 0.567kg
ISBN: 9780814717387
ISBN 10: 0814717381
Pages: 280
Publication Date: 12 November 2012
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Professional & Vocational
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: Manufactured on demand
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.
Reviews
In this important book, Cinotto shows how the success of California's wine industry was not the product of environment and tradition but rather the result of the effective use (and the exploitation) of symbols and solidarities based on ethnicity. -Fraser Ottanelli, University of South Florida
Cinotto adeptly identifies the origins of common stereotypes about California winemakers and unpacks those myths in readable prose. His core argument, that there is nothing natural or inevitable about ethnic niche markets, is important and well-supported by his evidence. -Journal of American Ethnic History Clearly organized and written, this book can be useful for sociologists interested in immigration and the formation of ethnic niches in distinct economic sectors. It will be of interest primarily to wine lovers, but it will also interest social scientists with concerns about the malleability of the concept of race. -William H. Friedland,Rural Sociology This is a fascinating look into the origins of the California wine industry. Simone Cinotto dispels the myth that Italian winemakers brought with them age-old knowledge and grapes from the Piedmont. In place of ethnic stereotype, Cinotto shows how Italian immigrant entrepreneurs with no background in viticulture (including the famed Gallo brothers) deftly negotiated the American ethno-racial landscape to found a niche industry, maneuver through the era of Prohibition, and create a mass market for American wine. A must read for those interested in immigration and business history, and fine wine! -Mae Ngai,Columbia University In this important book, Cinotto shows how the success of California's wine industry was not the product of environment and tradition but rather the result of the effective use (and the exploitation) of symbols and solidarities based on ethnicity. -Fraser Ottanelli,University of South Florida This beautifully typeset book, with well-chosen black and white illustrations, draws the reader into the entrepreneurial spirit and immigrant group dynamic behind the success of California Italian wines. Engagingly written, Simone Cinotto's account deserves a wide distribution among economic, cultural, and migration historians and all who love wine. The book blends rich and colorful descriptions of food history with business intrigues and family passions. It is a story of high-stakes risks and economic rewards. -Mark I. Choate,American Historical Review Soft Soil, Black Grapes makes a significant contribution to our understanding of the place of immigrant entrepreneurs in an important American food industry. It offers an inspired interpretation of race and ethnicity that will be compelling to scholars of immigration and ethnic history, and an interpretation of regional Italian difference that will engage those interested in Italian America. Like a good vintage, this story of the origins of winemaking in California will only get richer with time. -Donna Gabaccia,author of We Are What We Eat: Ethnic Food and the Making of Americans Soft Soil, Black Grapes is nicely conceived, well written ... and nuanced and original in its arguments. -David Vaught,The Journal of American History The writing style is engaging and the author uses a variety of sources to describe the cultural landscape of the California wine industry from its beginnings to modern times. -Library Journal History professor Cinotto traces a unique path in this study of the origins of California's wine industry. -Booklist
History professor Cinotto traces a unique path in this study of the origins of California's wine industry. Booklist, October 2012
This is a fascinating look into the origins of the California wine industry. Simone Cinotto dispels the myth that Italian winemakers brought with them age-old knowledge and grapes from the Piedmont. In place of ethnic stereotype, Cinotto shows how Italian immigrant entrepreneurs with no background in viticulture (including the famed Gallo brothers) deftly negotiated the American ethno-racial landscape to found a niche industry, maneuver through the era of Prohibition, and create a mass market for American wine. A must read for those interested in immigration and business history, and fine wine! -Mae Ngai, Columbia University
Author Information
Simone Cinotto is Associate Professor of Contemporary History at the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenzo, Italy, where he is also Reference Professor for the Fulbright cultural exchange programs. He is the author, editor, and co-editor of numerous works, including The Italian American Table: Food, Family, and Community in New York City (University of Illinois Press, 2013) and Soft Soil Black Grapes: The Birth of Italian Winemaking in California (NYUP, 2012). He is on the Editorial Boards of several journals, among which are Gastronomica, The Graduate Journal of Food Studies, and the Italian American Review.
