Wine and the Alchemy of Race I: The Social and Cultural Economy of Italian Regionalism

Notions and practices of race played a decisive role in helping Piedmontese immigrants achieve more success in the economic niche of California winemaking than anyone else—fellow immigrants and U.S. natives alike. In fact, race was a major factor in both “modes of incorporation” that substantially explain their emergence as leaders in the trade: their self-segregation from other Italian immigrants and their flexibility in adapting to the segregation imposed on them by the stigma and risks of wine production itself, which caused competitors of other nationalities to flee the industry. Piedmont natives developed such responses and practices out of the