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'Sosnowski offers a gripping account of Federal agents looking to seize wine and the winemakers who hid their vintages in ingenious ways. It's also a fascinating look at the birth of some of the California wine dynasties that exist to this day.' - Wine Enthusiast Magazine 'A cool history book for fans of wine and local lore.' - The San Francisco Examiner 'A rollicking story...It'll keep you awake on your towel.' - The Miami Herald 'Sosnowski is a compelling historian...this book will change the way you look at their wines, and you may find yourself tasting them differently knowing what that land and its people have been through.' - San Francisco Chronicle 'Sosnowski's fascinating account of how Napa and Sonoma winemakers struggled to survive during the national insanity known as Prohibition fills a giant hole in the history of American wine. Wine lovers everywhere should thank her for tracking down survivors, many now in their 90s, who provided rich accounts of what it was like to live through that terrible nightmare. A tale well told, Sosnowski has a fine touch.' - George M. Taber, bestselling author of Judgment of Paris 'Rich, moving and evocative, Sosnowski's exquisite writing brings to life a chapter of American history that has largely been forgotten. Anyone who enjoys California's legendary wines will absolutely adore When the Rivers Ran Red. A book to be savored, word by word. Were this a great bottle of wine, it would deserve 5 stars out of 4.' - Don and Petie Kladstrup, bestselling authors of Wine& War and Champagne 'Sosnowski's When the Rivers Ran Red will defeat the misconception that fine California wine represents a recent phenomenon. This fast paced, crisply written account of California winemakers' battle to survive Prohibition breathes new life into this precious American tradition and shows in gripping detail how deep these vines' roots run in the soils of lovely Napa and Sonoma Valleys.' - William Echikson, author of Noble Rot

How the Napa and Sonoma Valley wineries survived Prohibition.California's wine country is an oft-romanticized region, and newspaper executive Sosnowski, a first-time author, seems to have fallen sway to its well-advertised charms in her attempt to showcase the region's fortitude during Prohibition. While it is true that many families suffered mightily during that period (1919 - 33), as the entire region's economy was centered around winemaking, the author's narrative lacks the cohesive direction necessary to give the wineries' plight sufficient dramatic tension. Instead of focusing on the personalities and families behind a few key wineries and how they survived those brutal years - from such obvious dodges as bootlegging to ingenious tactics like the sale of raw grapes for fermenting in private homes - Sosnowski slows the pace with a dry rehashing of facts and figures on everything from the weekly fluctuation of grape prices to the nuances of licensing Prohibition agents. Her empathy for the winemakers - many of them Italian immigrants who brought their craft over from the old country - is evident, but she has difficulty channeling her sentiment into sufficiently energetic prose. Even stealthy midnight shipments of casks and grapes under the noses of Prohibition officials fail to ignite much suspense. While it's refreshing to read a history of Prohibition not focused exclusively on the mob and the speakeasies of New York and Chicago, the colorful personalities and dark excitement unique to this period are lost.Copiously researched, but this particular vintage lacks complexity and depth. (Kirkus Reviews)

'Sosnowski offers a gripping account of Federal agents looking to seize wine and the winemakers who hid their vintages in ingenious ways. It's also a fascinating look at the birth of some of the California wine dynasties that exist to this day.' - Wine Enthusiast Magazine 'A cool history book for fans of wine and local lore.' - The San Francisco Examiner 'A rollicking story!It'll keep you awake on your towel.' - The Miami Herald 'Sosnowski is a compelling historian!this book will change the way you look at their wines, and you may find yourself tasting them differently knowing what that land and its people have been through.' - San Francisco Chronicle 'Sosnowski's fascinating account of how Napa and Sonoma winemakers struggled to survive during the national insanity known as Prohibition fills a giant hole in the history of American wine. Wine lovers everywhere should thank her for tracking down survivors, many now in their 90s, who provided rich accounts of what it was like to live through that terrible nightmare. A tale well told, Sosnowski has a fine touch.' - George M. Taber, bestselling author of Judgment of Paris 'Rich, moving and evocative, Sosnowski's exquisite writing brings to life a chapter of American history that has largely been forgotten. Anyone who enjoys California's legendary wines will absolutely adore When the Rivers Ran Red. A book to be savored, word by word. Were this a great bottle of wine, it would deserve 5 stars out of 4.' - Don and Petie Kladstrup, bestselling authors of Wine& War and Champagne 'Sosnowski's When the Rivers Ran Red will defeat the misconception that fine California wine represents a recent phenomenon. This fast paced, crisply written account of California winemakers' battle to survive Prohibition breathes new life into this precious American tradition and shows in gripping detail how deep these vines' roots run in the soils of lovely Napa and Sonoma Valleys.' - William Echikson, author of Noble Rot

'Sosnowski offers a gripping account of Federal agents looking to seize wine and the winemakers who hid their vintages in ingenious ways. It's also a fascinating look at the birth of some of the California wine dynasties that exist to this day.' - Wine Enthusiast Magazine 'A cool history book for fans of wine and local lore.' - The San Francisco Examiner 'A rollicking story!It'll keep you awake on your towel.' - The Miami Herald 'Sosnowski is a compelling historian!this book will change the way you look at their wines, and you may find yourself tasting them differently knowing what that land and its people have been through.' - San Francisco Chronicle 'Sosnowski's fascinating account of how Napa and Sonoma winemakers struggled to survive during the national insanity known as Prohibition fills a giant hole in the history of American wine. Wine lovers everywhere should thank her for tracking down survivors, many now in their 90s, who provided rich accounts of what it was like to live through that terrible nightmare. A tale well told, Sosnowski has a fine touch.' - George M. Taber, bestselling author of Judgment of Paris 'Rich, moving and evocative, Sosnowski's exquisite writing brings to life a chapter of American history that has largely been forgotten. Anyone who enjoys California's legendary wines will absolutely adore When the Rivers Ran Red. A book to be savored, word by word. Were this a great bottle of wine, it would deserve 5 stars out of 4.' - Don and Petie Kladstrup, bestselling authors of Wine& War and Champagne 'Sosnowski's When the Rivers Ran Red will defeat the misconception that fine California wine represents a recent phenomenon. This fast paced, crisply written account of California winemakers' battle to survive Prohibition breathes new life into this precious American tradition and shows in gripping detail how deep these vines' roots run in the soils of lovely Napa and Sonoma Valleys.' - William Echikson, author of Noble Rot

Author Information

VIVIENNE SOZNOWSKI is the Editorial Director of all three Examiner newspapers, the Washington Examiner the San Francisco Examiner and the Baltimore Examiner. A gifted photographer whose work has been exhibited, she divides her time between the East and West coasts, including a home in the wine country of Sonoma County.

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