History of California wine

California wine has a long and continuing history, and in the late twentieth century became recognized as producing some of the world's finest wine. While wine is made in all fifty U.S. states, up to 90% (by some estimates) of American wine is produced in the state. California would be the fourth largest producer of wine in the world if it were an independent nation.
History
Early years
The first recorded planting of a vineyard was by the Jesuit Missionary Eusebio Francisco Kino at Misión San Bruno in Baja California in 1683, but since the mission at San Bruno was abandoned about a year and a half after its founding, the vineyard likely never matured or was harvested, and the site is now in Mexico. In 1779, Franciscan missionaries under the direction of Father Junípero Serra planted California's first sustained vineyard at Mission San Diego de Alcalá. Father Serra founded eight other California missions before his death in 1784, these initially...