1985 Morales Pictorial View of California Wine Country, Napa and Sonoma Counties

A vibrant pictorial view of northern California's wine country by Ron Morales, published by Graphic Concepts in 1985, at the height of northern California's wine renaissance.

A Closer Look

Oriented towards the north-northwest, this view focuses on Napa and Sonoma Counties, with the counties' eponymous towns in the foreground and the wine-producing region of Mendocino and Lake Counties in the background. Cities and towns are labeled with white rectangles, while wineries are indicated with curved banners, including long-celebrated operations such as Mondavi, Stags' Leap, and Charles Krug. In addition to wineries, highways and major roads, bridges, forests, lakes, and rivers are illustrated, along with a hot air balloon at top-left that doubles as a title cartouche. The verso includes a table listing wineries with their address, telephone number, and information on sales, tours, and tastings. A map of California highlighting the wine country and a table of distances between towns appears on the verso.

A Brief History of Northern California's Wine Industry

Viticulture in California dates to early Spanish missionaries in the region, who cultivated grapes for sacramental wine. Following the Gold Rush, new arrivals to northern California, many of them European, recognized the suitability of the climate and soil for grape cultivation and built a thriving wine industry. This first fluorescence was brought to an abrupt end by Prohibition in 1919. A small handful of wineries (including Beringer) were allowed to continue operating to provide churches with sacramental wine, though they typically sold wine illicitly as well. After the repeal of Prohibition, a long, slow recovery began, led by academics and dedicated viticulturists. A full-scale renaissance was underway by the 1960s, and by the mid-1970s, California wines were beating French wines in blind taste tests. Today, California wines are celebrated worldwide.

Publication History and Census

This view was designed and drawn by Ron Morales and published in 1985 by Graphic Concepts. Unfortunately, little information is available on Morales or discernible, given the commonness of his name. Multiple editions of the view appeared between 1979 and 1992, which are conceptually the same but with noticeable differences, such as the position of the hot air balloon, the coloration employed, and the angle of the view. A comparison of editions also demonstrates the dramatic expansion in wineries, from 75 in 1979 to 255 in 1992. We are unaware of any examples of this edition in institutional collections or on the market.