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This boom cycle continued until January
7, 1884 when Judge Lorenzo Sawyer of the Ninth Circuit Court outlawed
the practice of hydraulicking. He declared that the impact of using
hydraulics on the natural environment was undeniable. Political
pressure from agricultural interests in the Delta and the Central
Valley was also a factor. However, the most powerful objection to
hydraulicking came from the U.S. Navy. They could barely reach Mare
Island Naval Base through the clogged waterways.
The Bust, Prohibition, and Post-Prohibition Years
One of the defining periods in
California's
history had ended and the economic repurcussions were massive. The
town of Fiddletown is an example of the impact of the mining bust.
Once a vibrant trading center, the population dwindled significantly
after Judge Sawyer's ruling.
Because wine country in the Sierra
Foothills was isolated from the rest of the state, planted vineyards
in the region largely avoided the devastation caused by the Phylloxera
Louse at the end of the nineteenth century. Because of this, there are
some exceptionally old vines still alive in the foothills today.
However, this isolation coupled with the
disintegration of the local market for wine (no more miners) had a
severe impact on the wine industry. When Prohibition became law, only
the Fossati-Lombardo Winery retained its bond to produce wine for
local churches. The wine industry in the Sierra Foothills fell even
further into oblivion in the decades immediately following the repeal
of Prohibition. Even Fossati-Lombardo Winery was forced to shut its
doors.
The Delta weathered these years more
successfully. In the years after the Gold Rush, many of the growers in
Lodi began to form wine producing co-ops to deal with the changing
times. These arrangements were largely successful for several decades.
After Prohibition was enacted, Lodi Wine Country continued to produce
grapes for home winemakers through the Volstead Act. Heads of household
were legally allowed to make a limited amount of wine for personal
consumption. The proximity of logistical routes to Lodi made the business
quite profitable.
The
Flame Tokay and Zinfandel varietals were shipped all over the country,
often east of the Rocky Mountains. Cesare Mondavi (father of Robert and
Peter) came to Lodi from Northern Italy in the 1920s. He began his career
in the wine industry by shipping grapes to the East Coast during
Prohibition.
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