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California Wine Advisory Board and Wine Institute collection, 1940-1975

 Collection
Identifier: SPC-00170

Scope and Contents

Audio and moving image recordings in a variety of formats, including 16mm film, open-reel video tape and open-reel audio tapes, that largely consist of promotional materials produced by the California Wine Adivisory Board and the Wine Institute.

Dates

  • Creation: 1940 - 1975
  • Creation: Majority of material found within 1959 - 1971

Conditions Governing Use

Original films and audio tapes do not circulate and may be examined by arrangement only. Some films converted to DVDs; these may be available for viewing. All films and audio recordings digitized and made avaialble through the Sonoma County Library's Digital Collections link

Publication Rights

Copyrighted. Rights are owned by the Wine Institute. Copyright Holder has given Sonoma County Library permission to provide access to the digitized work online. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the Copyright Holder. In addition, the reproduction of some materials may be restricted by terms of gift or purchase agreements, donor restrictions, privacy and publicity rights, licensing and trademarks. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owner. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user. Consult with the Library for copyright holder contact information: link

History of the California Wine Advisory Board and the Wine Institute

The Caliornia Wine Advisory Board
Established in 1938 by a state marketing order, California’s Wine Advisory Board set out to challenge the widespread attitude—a holdover from the rhetoric of Prohibition—that wine was like all alcoholic beverages and consumed only by those wishing to get drunk. The Board organized various campaigns to convey a different message: that wine could be a positive addition to the American table. Ads and booklets produced during the 1950s and ‘60s reflected this effort, with slogans that encouraged consumers to embrace wine as part of an all-American meal. The Board also commissioned a series of colorful posters in the 1960s to promote California and its reinvigorated wine industry.

The Advisory Board voted itself out of existence in 1975 rather than comply with a set of demands made of it by the U.S. Department of Food and Agriculture.

The Wine Institute
Following the end of Prohibition, the Wine Producers Association and former Grape Growers League of California united as Wine Institute in 1934. The 1938 order that created the Wine Advisory Board also commissioned the Wine Institute to promote California wines. The Institute has continued to be active in that mission

Extent

3 Boxes (3 boxes (1 record storage carton; 2 archival storage boxes))

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

This collection consists of promotional materials from the library of the Wine Institute (San Francisco, Calif.). These materials were produced by both the Wine Institute, a industry-funded organization, and the California Wine Advisory Board, a state agency created in 1938. They include films, television and radio spots and programs on various aspects and uses of wine.

Arrangement

Organized into two series:
  1. Films and television programs, about 1940-1975
  2. Radio programs and advertisements, about 1960-1977

Custodial History

Items from both the Wine Advisory Board and the Wine Institute were originally part of the Wine Institute's library. They were donated to the Sonoma County Wine Library in mid-1990s.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift: Wine Institute, approximately 1995

Existence and Location of Copies

Circulating copies of films may be available at the Sonoma County Wine Library, 139 Piper Street, Healdsburg, CA 95448

Related Materials

Additional Wine Institute materials are held by University of California, Davis, Special Collections, as the Wine Institute Records on the American Wine Industry. The Wine Insititute noted on their website:

In 2019, Wine Institute donated its organizational archive and book collection to the library at the University of California, Davis, including airline menus boasting California wines, vineyard growing histories and even a movie screenplay set during Prohibition. They complement the extensive wine collections already at the university and are broadly available to scholars, researchers, writers and wineries.


A link to this collection is available through the Online Archive of California

Subjects

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Title
California Wine Advisory Board and Wine Institute collection, 1940-1975
Status
In Progress
Author
Processed by Sonoma County Library staff; machine-readable finding aid created by Geoffrey Skinner.
Date
September 2022
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Finding aid written in: English

Repository Details

Repository Details

Part of the Sonoma County History & Genealogy Library Repository

https://sonomalibrary.org/locations/sonoma-county-history-and-genealogy-library
Contact:
725 Third Street
Santa Rosa CA 95404 United States
(707) 308-3212

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