15

Number of Latino-owned wine brands in Napa Valley. Most are family-owned wineries founded in the last 20 years by former laborers who went on to work in wineries, buy vineyards, and start their own labels. “There’s this preconceived notion that Latinos are just the farmworkers,” said Rafael Rios, former president of the Mexican American Vintners Association. However, many of today’s vintners attended—or sent their children or grandchildren to—respected viticultural programs, like the one at UC Davis.