No vineyards in the Napa Valley, nor the lavish wineries and large cellars filled with barrels of the later generations. Five hundred years ago, this was the land of Indian tribes, just like it had been for a thousand, ten thousand years in the past.
Walking from the ancient wilderness to today, countless Miwok people have lived and thrived in this narrow valley. They cleared the lands along the river, built tribal longhouses, passing them down generation after generation. The only constant was the clear summer sun and the Napa River with its sweet taste, irrigating the fertile soil along the banks.
"Such fertile land, so many fields! … It must have been cultivated for a long time, but the crops are growing mediocre. Perhaps it's the lack of fertilizer, or maybe the weeds haven't been carefully removed… Of course, the biggest issue might be that it's not warm enough…"
