Briefs on California Wine Labor History
Ξ December 13th, 2007 | → 0 Comments | ∇ Wine History |
In the present political climate, exacerbated by the interminable presidential campaign, the issue of immigration has been reduced to a convenient, ready-made rhetoric, largely xenophobic in tone, attributing darker motivations such as invasion and terrorism to the undocumented souls who cross America’s porous southern border. That mess is not directly my topic. My effort here, and in posts to follow, is rather more narrow: to provide relevant texts on the history of migrant labor in the development of California’s Wine Industry, and to frame them with contemporary elaborations.
The first piece, the most general, is First Farmworkers, First Braceros. Here is provided a very competent introduction, though, as is made clear, the first farmworkers could hardly be called ‘migrants. ‘Captives’ would be closer to the truth.
Alongside this robust piece I place an odd, contemporary (Nov. 27, ‘07) contrast, a historical gloss from NVWR® 56 - California Wine History from Napa Valley Wine Radio. In this otherwise informative piece the narrator manages to tell something of the history of California wine without mentioning migrant workers at all!
Next is the fine article Grapes of Wrath, Revisited. Here is a sympathetic gloss on recent conditions in Napa.
Lastly, for the purposes of this first Wine History blog post, is something on the success of some migrants, Pickers to Vintners: A Mexican-American Saga.
That is plenty of material for now. Cheers.
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