Although the local
Pomo were familiar with
Vitis californica vines, the first winegrape vineyards in the area were planted by
European American settlers in the 1870s (although it is claimed the first vines were planted in 1854 at
Lillie Langtry's Guenoc estate), and in 1884 totaled about . Mottier's wine is said to have earned
Arpad Haraszthy's praise. Another early viticulturist was
Serranus Clinton Hastings, who reportedly farmed of vineyards (including 60 acres of Zinfandel) in the
Upper Lake area and had a capacity
winery and
distillery in 1886. He and his brothers eventually acquired more acreage in the region, but the winery ceased operation in 1900. Reported varieties planted in the 1880s feature
Zinfandel,
Charbono,
Riesling,
Golden Chasselas, and
Burger, grown notably in a 300-acre vineyard planted by the California Agricultural and Improvement Association in the Lower Lake area. In 1907, Lake County reported 7 wineries and a production of 34,500 gallons. There existed over thirty wineries when
Prohibition was enacted dealing a serious blow to Lake County's viticulture industry. Wineries were closed and most vineyards were uprooted and replaced with
walnut and
pear orchards which have remained significant, although secondary crops in the region. Some vineyards were replanted after the
1933 Repeal, a 1953 county agricultural report lists of grapes (yielding 175 tons), while walnuts account for and pears for . Lake County grapes would be sent to neighboring counties for
vinification and
bottling, to operations such as Fetzer Vineyards or Parducci Winery in
Mendocino County. In 1972, a
phylloxera control ordinance was passed to address the ongoing pest problem affecting many
North Coast vineyards. The decade saw a rapid uptick in vineyard plantings, with 532 acres of bearing grapevines in 1974, 1,237 acres the following year, and 2,680 by 1979. It's only in 1977 that Lower Lake Winery, the first to open in the county since Prohibition, inaugurated its first crush. In 1979, Albert Moorhead built Konocti Winery in Lakeport. By 1980, 2,990 acres of vineyards had been planted in the county, The
Guenoc Valley, the county's first
American Viticultural Area (AVA), was established in 1981, followed in 1984 by
Clear Lake AVA. In the early 1980s,
Jess Jackson founded Chateau Du Lac in
Lakeport, which would become the foundation for the
Kendall-Jackson brand. In 1987, the county counted five winery tasting rooms: Stuermer Winery (formerly Lower Lake Winery), Konocti Cellars and Kendall-Jackson in Lakeport, and Guenoc and Channing Rudd Cellars in
Middletown. By 1989, Shed Horn Cellars, located south of Middletown, had joined the list. Having outgrown its Lakeport location, in 1993 Kendall-Jackson moved most of its operations to
Windsor, in
Sonoma County. In 1996,
Jed Steele, who had worked for
Kendall-Jackson in Lakeport until 1990 and had since already started his own label as well as consulted for Wildhurst Vineyards in
Kelseyville, purchased Konocti Winery. A slow resurgence of the Lake County wine industry in the late 1990s and 2000s saw the establishments of new wineries, notably Wildhurst Winery,
Brassfield Estate Winery,
Shannon Ridge, Céago, Gregory Graham Wines, Chacewater Winery, and Six Sigma Ranch and Winery. New AVAs were recognized by the TTB:
Napa Valley-based
Andy Beckstoffer was instrumental in the creation of the
Red Hills AVA and
High Valley AVA, where Brassfield Estate and Shannon Ridge already owned acreage, was established the following year.
Wildfires, in particular the 2015
Valley Fire and the 2018
Mendocino Complex Fire, have impacted Lake County's wine industry over the years. While the physical damage to vines has been minimal (some were actually credited as helpful
firebreaks),
smoke taint affected several vintages. The Mendocino Complex Fire is estimated to have cost the county's growers over $37 million. The Lake County Winegrape Commission has been collaborating with
UC Davis, public agencies, laboratories and other wine groups to investigate the effects of wildfire smoke on crops. ==Viticulture==