Poster, “Wine Land of America”
date: label: date made
content: 1965
notes: label: Description
content: This poster produced in 1965 was one in a series based on original artwork by Amado Gonzalez, a Mexican-born artist who taught at San Francisco’s City College. Featuring symbols of the wine industry—a large, oval wine cask, a bottle and glass of red wine, grapes, rolling vineyards, and a cellar key, the poster proclaimed California to be the “Wine Land of America.” Such posters were shown at trade fairs and wine events to promote the emerging, revitalized California wine industry.
label: Description
content: Although the repeal of Prohibition in 1933 meant that California winemakers were back in business, selling their product to American consumers proved to be a significant challenge. Many of the wines that first appeared on the market after 1933 were fortified wines—high in alcohol, sweet, and cheap—while wines imported from Europe were seen as luxuries for the rich, not intended for the average middle-class table. Other consumers continued to reject wine for moralistic reasons, or because they viewed it as a foreign beverage.
label: Description
content: Established in 1938, California’s Wine Advisory Board set out to challenge these conventional attitudes and promote wine as a positive addition to the American table. Advertisements produced by the Board during the 1950s and ‘60s reflect 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 wines.
topic: label: Subject
content: Wine
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: Food Technology
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content: Food
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content: FOOD: Transforming the American Table 1950-2000
label: Exhibition
content: Food: Transforming the American Table
label: Exhibition Location
content: National Museum of American History
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 2012.0126.01
label: catalog number
content: 2012.0126.01
label: accession number
content: 2012.0126
objectType: label: Object Name
content: poster
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: paper (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 28 3/16 in x 21 15/16 in; 71.59625 cm x 55.72125 cm