Grape growers and winemakers along California’s Sierra Nevada foothills have to be wondering whether history is repeating itself: Do they face the same consequences as the first immigrants to exploit the region’s soils, the Gold Rush prospectors?
Some struck it rich, but many did not, and fled elsewhere.
All California wine regions are staggered by the industry’s many current woes , which range from slumbering sales to restrictive tariffs , but they especially complicate prospects in the Sierra foothills, where the trade is historic but has struggled to establish a standing as a fine-wine region…