Napa County, California
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Template:US County infobox Image:Lightmatter napa valley.jpg
Napa County is a county located north of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. As of 2000 the population is 124,279. The county seat is Napa.
Napa County, once the producer of many different crops is known today for its wine industry, rising in the 1960s to the first rank of wine regions with France and Italy. The combination of natural beauty, pleasant Mediterranean climate, and proximity to San Francisco, Oakland, and Sacramento has made it into one of the United States' most desirable areas in which to live. However, its citizens are famous for their resistance to suburban development, with the result that 33 of California's 58 counties--including many that are far from major urban areas--are more populous. The relative poverty of the city of Napa, which houses most of the Latino migrant workers who tend and harvest the county's vineyards, produces a significant downward bias on its apparent wealth: estates in the county, particularly those with views of San Pablo Bay, have been known to sell for nearly ten million dollars.
The Napa wine country was the inspiration for the fictional Tuscany Valley on the nighttime soap opera Falcon Crest.
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History
Napa County was one of the original counties of California, created in 1850 at the time of statehood. Parts of the county's territory were given to Lake County in 1861.
The word napa is of Native American derivation and has been variously translated as "grizzly bear," "house," "motherland" or "fish." Of the many explanations of the name's origin, the most plausible seems to be that it is derived from the Patwin word napo meaning house.
A joke among local youth is that the word means "you will return," referring to the insular nature of the town, and the fact that many of them who try to "escape" to college and elsewhere often end up either coming back or never managing to truly leave at all.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 2,042 km² (788 mi²). 1,952 km² (754 mi²) of it is land and 89 km² (35 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 4.38% water.
Napa is warmer in the summer than Sonoma County to the west or Santa Barbara to the south. Thus, the Napa wineries favor varietals such as Cabernet Sauvignon, while Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are more the specialty of Sonoma wineries and Santa Barbara wineries. At the north end of Napa County lies Mount St. Helena, the Bay Area's tallest peak at 4,344 feet and home to Robert Louis Stevenson State Park.
Adjacent Counties
- Solano County, California - south, southeast
- Sonoma County, California - west
- Lake County, California - north
- Yolo County, California - east
Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there were 124,279 people, 45,402 households, and 30,691 families residing in the county. The population density was 64/km² (165/mi²). There were 48,554 housing units at an average density of 25/km² (64/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 79.98% White, 1.32% Black or African American, 0.84% Native American, 2.97% Asian, 0.23% Pacific Islander, 10.95% from other races, and 3.71% from two or more races. 23.67% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 45,402 households out of which 31.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.20% were married couples living together, 9.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.40% were non-families. 25.80% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.62 and the average family size was 3.16.
In the county the population was spread out with 24.10% under the age of 18, 8.50% from 18 to 24, 27.70% from 25 to 44, 24.30% from 45 to 64, and 15.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 99.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.40 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $51,738, and the median income for a family was $61,410. Males had a median income of $42,137 versus $31,781 for females. The per capita income for the county was $26,395. 8.30% of the population and 5.60% of families were below the poverty line. 10.60% of those under the age of 18 and 5.60% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.
Politics
| Year | GOP | Dems |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 39.0% 22,059 | 59.5% 33,666 |
| 2000 | 39.9% 20,633 | 54.3% 28,097 |
| 1996 | 36.1% 17,439 | 50.9% 24,588 |
| 1992 | 29.3% 15,662 | 45.3% 24,415 |
| 1988 | 50.2% 23,235 | 48.1% 22,283 |
| 1984 | 57.8% 26,322 | 40.8% 18,599 |
| 1980 | 53.7% 23,632 | 33.8% 14,898 |
| 1976 | 51.8% 20,839 | 44.9% 18,048 |
| 1972 | 59.6% 23,403 | 37.0% 14,529 |
| 1968 | 43.8% 14,270 | 45.3% 14,762 |
| 1964 | 37.1% 11,567 | 62.7% 19,580 |
| 1960 | 52.6% 33,428 | 43.4% 25,805 |
Trivia
The default wallpaper for the Windows XP operating system is Bliss, a JPEG photograph of a landscape in the Napa Valley, with rolling green hills and a blue sky with stratocumulus and cirrus clouds. The photograph inspired Windows XP's 200-million USD advertising campaign Yes you can.
Cities and towns
Wine
Napa Valley has played a central role in the importance of California Wine. Before 1976, California wines, no matter how excellent, tended not to be taken seriously. However, that changed permanently after the historic Paris Wine Tasting of 1976.
The creme de la creme of the French wine establishment blind tasted wines from California and France. To their surprise, California wines won first place in both red and white wine categories; the wines won three of the top four ranking among the whites.
The number of wineries in Napa Valley increased many-fold after the famous tasting. Wine tourism is now big business; the Valley welcomes about five million travelers each year, making it the state's second most popular tourist destination after Disneyland.
Napa Valley Wineries (Partial List)
Image:Lightmatter napa valley vinyard.jpg
- Artesa Winery
- Acacia
- Andretti Winery
- Atlas Peak Vineyards
- Beaulieu Vineyard
- Beringer Blass Wine Estates
- Cakebread Cellars
- Caymus
- Carneros Creek Winery
- Chappellet Winery and Vineyard
- Chateau Montelena (Selected for Paris Wine Tasting of 1976.)
- Chimney Rock Winery
- Clos Du Val Winery (Selected for Paris Wine Tasting of 1976.)
- Conn Creek Winery
- Delectus Winery
- Domaine Carneros
- Domaine Chandon
- Duckhorn Vineyards
- Dutch Henry Winery
- Far Niente Winery
- Folie a Deux
- Frank Family Winery
- Franciscan
- Frazier Winery
- Freemark Abbey Winery (Selected for Paris Wine Tasting of 1976.)
- Frog's Leap Winery
- Goosecross Cellars
- Grgich Hills Cellar
- Hans Kornell
- Heitz Wine Cellars (Selected for Paris Wine Tasting of 1976.)
- Hess Collection
- Honig Vineyard & Winery
- Howell Mountain Vineyards
- Charles Krug
- Markham Vineyards
- Louis Martini
- Mayacamas Vineyards (Selected for Paris Wine Tasting of 1976.)
- Merryvale Vineyards
- Monticello Vineyards
- Mount Veeder Winery
- Peju Province
- Pepi Winery
- Pride Mountain Vineyards
- Raymond Vineyard & Cellar
- Robert Keenan Winery
- Robert Mondavi
- Robert Pecota Winery
- Robert Sinskey Vineyards
- Rutherford Hill Winery
- Rutherford Ranch Vineyards
- Mumm Napa Valley
- Rubicon Estate Winery
- Opus One
- Plump Jack Winery
- Pope Valley Winery
- Rutherford Hill Winery
- Saintsbury
- Schramsberg
- Seavey Vineyard
- Sequoia Grove Vineyards
- Shafer Vineyards
- Silver Oak Cellars
- Silverado Vineyards
- Stag's Leap Wine Cellars (Selected for Paris Wine Tasting of 1976)
- Stags' Leap Winery (Not to be confused with Stag's Leap Wine Cellars.)
- Sterling Vineyards
- Stony Hill Vineyard
- Sutter Home
- Trefethen Vineyards (World Chardonnay winner at Wine Olympics)
- Turnbull Wine Cellars
- V. Sattui
- Whitehall Lane Winery
- William Hill Winery
- ZD Wines
See also
External links
- All about Napa Valley
- Napalinks.com
- Napa County official website
- NapaNow
- Napa Valley Economic Development Corporation
Template:Cities of Napa County, California
de:Napa County fr:Comté de Napa is:Napa County it:Napa County ja:ナパ郡 (カリフォルニア州) pt:Condado de Napa sv:Napa Valley