Affect of prohibition on the 19th century Californian Wine Industry

Our area of interest is both what the wine industry did for the Italian Immigrants during the 1800s and 1900s, and also what the Italians provided to the wine industry. They brought knowledge, skill, and foreign grapes with them. The Californian wine industry would not have grown or have been as successful without these Italians. Although there was great financial success, this would not be without setbacks and challenges. Even through these barriers, Italian American winemakers were determined to succeed, no matter the cost. Prohibition was one of the biggest initial barriers that Italian American wineMakers faced. Makers were barred from selling wine, which would completely displace all of these workers and products. There were few attempts to try and get around this barrier of illegality. Those attempts at getting around the prohibition would be questioned. Lets take a look at the various ways around prohibtion for these Italians.