0:00:02 > 0:00:07I have crossed the Atlantic to ride the railroads of North America
0:00:07 > 0:00:10with my faithful Appleton's Guide.
0:00:13 > 0:00:15Published in the late 19th century,
0:00:15 > 0:00:18it will direct me to everything that's novel, beautiful,
0:00:18 > 0:00:20memorable and curious
0:00:20 > 0:00:23- in the United States. ALL:- Yee ha!
0:00:26 > 0:00:31As I travel through this vast continent, I'll discover gold
0:00:31 > 0:00:34and silver, movies and microchips,
0:00:34 > 0:00:39oil and oranges and learn how America's most famous railroad
0:00:39 > 0:00:42conquered the wild landscapes of the West.
0:01:11 > 0:01:16I'm continuing my American journey along the route of the first
0:01:16 > 0:01:20Transcontinental railroad into California.
0:01:20 > 0:01:23Some years before the line was completed,
0:01:23 > 0:01:25gold was discovered in these parts,
0:01:25 > 0:01:31starting an unprecedented global migration of people magnetised
0:01:31 > 0:01:34by the lure of getting rich.
0:01:34 > 0:01:36It seems to me extraordinary that this state,
0:01:36 > 0:01:41which has had such a profound effect on the USA and upon the world,
0:01:41 > 0:01:43less than two centuries ago
0:01:43 > 0:01:47was a sparsely populated and isolated wilderness.
0:01:53 > 0:01:57My route, which began at Reno in the Silver State, has brought me
0:01:57 > 0:02:01over the Sierra Nevada mountains into the Golden State.
0:02:01 > 0:02:06I'll visit the birthplace of American counterculture,
0:02:06 > 0:02:10San Francisco, and then head inland to explore the natural delights
0:02:10 > 0:02:13of Yosemite National Park. I'll continue down the Pacific coast,
0:02:13 > 0:02:18stopping at Monterey and San Luis Obispo, bound for the
0:02:18 > 0:02:22City of Dreams, Los Angeles. I'll end my journey in San Diego,
0:02:22 > 0:02:25just a few miles from the Mexican border.
0:02:25 > 0:02:30Today I'll start in Sacramento, in California's huge Central Valley.
0:02:30 > 0:02:34Travelling west, I'll visit the town of Fairfield before finishing in the
0:02:34 > 0:02:37famous vineyards of the Napa Valley.
0:02:38 > 0:02:41Along the way, I try my luck prospecting...
0:02:41 > 0:02:44There's stuff shining here as well.
0:02:44 > 0:02:46- Is that gold? - That's fool's gold.- Fool's gold.
0:02:46 > 0:02:50..discover what entertained the miners...
0:02:50 > 0:02:52Bravo!
0:02:52 > 0:02:55..and marvel at America's sweet tooth.
0:02:55 > 0:02:58We make 15 billion jellybeans every year,
0:02:58 > 0:03:00with over 100 different flavours.
0:03:10 > 0:03:12Appleton's tells me that 1848
0:03:12 > 0:03:15was the year that gold was first discovered
0:03:15 > 0:03:18in California by white settlers.
0:03:18 > 0:03:21The influx from the East then commenced,
0:03:21 > 0:03:24but that is to understate what actually happened.
0:03:24 > 0:03:29The gold fever, the hysteria, gripped the world because, by then,
0:03:29 > 0:03:35news was already globalised and it was easier to travel by ship
0:03:35 > 0:03:40from Mexico or Peru or China to California than to trek overland
0:03:40 > 0:03:42from New York or Chicago.
0:03:54 > 0:03:56My first stop is Sacramento.
0:03:59 > 0:04:04Home to half a million people, it became the state capital in 1854.
0:04:09 > 0:04:14In Sacramento elevated highways thread their way between
0:04:14 > 0:04:18enormous glass-panelled skyscrapers, but in the old town
0:04:18 > 0:04:22these covered streets are beautifully preserved because,
0:04:22 > 0:04:24after all, the city and the state
0:04:24 > 0:04:26achieved prosperity during the gold rush.
0:04:28 > 0:04:32That hysteria was to transform not just Sacramento, but the whole of
0:04:32 > 0:04:35California, and it all began here,
0:04:35 > 0:04:39north-east of the city at Sutter's Mill.
0:04:39 > 0:04:41Pioneer founder of Sacramento John Sutter
0:04:41 > 0:04:46had employed carpenter James Marshall to build him a sawmill,
0:04:46 > 0:04:50powered by water supplied from this ditch.
0:04:50 > 0:04:53It is now part of the city's State Historic Park
0:04:53 > 0:04:56and Ed Allen is one of the guides.
0:04:56 > 0:05:00- What happened here?- On the morning of January 24th, 1848,
0:05:00 > 0:05:02Marshall had a problem with the ditch.
0:05:02 > 0:05:04They hadn't dug it deep enough originally,
0:05:04 > 0:05:06so Marshall is down here inspecting it.
0:05:06 > 0:05:10He's standing here in about three inches of water and he looks down
0:05:10 > 0:05:13and here is a shiny piece of metal. It is gold in colour.
0:05:13 > 0:05:17Now, James Marshall had a fifth grade education and his favourite
0:05:17 > 0:05:19subjects are astronomy and geology.
0:05:19 > 0:05:23He knows that gold found in nature is going to be very soft
0:05:23 > 0:05:25and malleable and sure enough, it flattens out.
0:05:25 > 0:05:27Does he tell anyone about the discovery?
0:05:27 > 0:05:30He went to the workmen and said, "By God, boys,
0:05:30 > 0:05:32"I believe I've found me a gold mine."
0:05:32 > 0:05:35How would you assess the importance of this ditch?
0:05:35 > 0:05:40Well, literally, this is the most historic spot in all of California.
0:05:40 > 0:05:42We estimate the population
0:05:42 > 0:05:46of the entire state at 8,000 to 12,000 people in 1848.
0:05:46 > 0:05:49Two years later, we've got a population of 220,000,
0:05:49 > 0:05:51all because of what Marshall found in this ditch.
0:05:51 > 0:05:54Fed by the South Fork of the American River,
0:05:54 > 0:05:58it proved to be rich in gold deposits.
0:05:58 > 0:06:01This, I imagine, is the sort of beach where they would have panned
0:06:01 > 0:06:03for gold. Tell me about the gold rush.
0:06:03 > 0:06:10When you consider that in 1848 the average man made 1 to 1.50 a day,
0:06:10 > 0:06:14these miners are finding 20 worth of gold per person per day,
0:06:14 > 0:06:17on an average. You get an idea as to what was going to happen.
0:06:17 > 0:06:21The people in California had this place pretty much to themselves
0:06:21 > 0:06:23and they found 10 million worth of gold.
0:06:23 > 0:06:29But in 1849, if we estimate that 90,000 people showed up here,
0:06:29 > 0:06:31they found 50 million worth of gold.
0:06:32 > 0:06:34Known as the 49ers,
0:06:34 > 0:06:38they left families behind, hoping to make their fortunes,
0:06:38 > 0:06:43crossing the mountains by covered wagon or coming by ship from China
0:06:43 > 0:06:47and South America. They settled in camps or mining towns.
0:06:47 > 0:06:50Between 1846 and 1850,
0:06:50 > 0:06:55the non-native population of California grew from 8,000
0:06:55 > 0:06:58to nearly 100,000.
0:06:58 > 0:07:01What sort of conditions then were the 49ers living in?
0:07:01 > 0:07:03Not good conditions, that's for sure.
0:07:03 > 0:07:07These were mostly foreign boys. Average age, about 22.
0:07:07 > 0:07:09So these men are left up to their own devices here.
0:07:09 > 0:07:12They're young, they're alone, they don't wash, they don't cook,
0:07:12 > 0:07:15that's what the women did on the farm,
0:07:15 > 0:07:16so it's not a good place to be.
0:07:18 > 0:07:23The territory's population and economy was transformed by gold
0:07:23 > 0:07:25and the riches discovered here
0:07:25 > 0:07:28would have a momentous impact on the United States
0:07:28 > 0:07:31when California joined them in 1850.
0:07:31 > 0:07:34Well, we were the 31st state.
0:07:34 > 0:07:37There were 15 slave states and 15 non-slave states.
0:07:37 > 0:07:42California dictated our terms to Congress and we demanded that we be
0:07:42 > 0:07:44a non-slave state.
0:07:44 > 0:07:47They wanted us in there badly because they wanted that gold.
0:07:47 > 0:07:50What were the political consequences of California's becoming a state?
0:07:50 > 0:07:55The main significance was it broke the back of the status quo in the
0:07:55 > 0:07:58United States government, because up until that time,
0:07:58 > 0:08:01when the South added a state, the North added a state,
0:08:01 > 0:08:04so this was one of those key factors that started the Civil War
0:08:04 > 0:08:06just a few years later.
0:08:09 > 0:08:13People still come to the river in search of gold.
0:08:13 > 0:08:16Spencer Tregilgas pans regularly
0:08:16 > 0:08:19and he's offered to show me how it's done.
0:08:19 > 0:08:22- Hello there.- Oh, hi. - My name's Michael.- Nice to meet you.
0:08:22 > 0:08:25- I'm Spencer.- Spencer. What luck are you having today?
0:08:25 > 0:08:28Pretty good luck, actually. Look, there's a piece of gold right there.
0:08:28 > 0:08:30- That tiny speck?- That tiny speck right there is one.
0:08:30 > 0:08:34- Wow, so there is gold here still? - There is still gold in the river, yeah.
0:08:34 > 0:08:37- So what are you going to do with that?- We'll just poke it, sticks on my finger, upside down,
0:08:37 > 0:08:40right side up and that's securely captured it in there.
0:08:40 > 0:08:42- Very good.- You can see what I've got today.
0:08:42 > 0:08:45You've done well. But Spencer, look, there's stuff shining here as well.
0:08:45 > 0:08:48- Ah, that's fool's gold.- Fool's gold. - That's mica right there.
0:08:48 > 0:08:50- How do you know? - By the way it moves.
0:08:50 > 0:08:53So gold is 19.4 times heavier than water.
0:08:53 > 0:08:55That's its specific gravity.
0:08:55 > 0:08:59Fool's gold is only about four to six times heavier and so it's going
0:08:59 > 0:09:01to move with the water before the gold does.
0:09:01 > 0:09:05- Real gold is going to stick right down there on the bottom. - Can you take me through what you do?
0:09:05 > 0:09:09Sure. Let's get a nice handful of sand here.
0:09:09 > 0:09:11Go ahead and scoop it out of the bucket.
0:09:11 > 0:09:13Our first step is to shake it in the water.
0:09:13 > 0:09:16This shake is going to allow those denser gold particles to settle to
0:09:16 > 0:09:20the bottom and then we're going to tip over our riffles on a 45 degrees
0:09:20 > 0:09:22angle and dunk it in the water, it's called tip and dip,
0:09:22 > 0:09:25and now we shake again and we keep repeating this until we have only
0:09:25 > 0:09:28a little bit of sand left. Then we'll rinse and then let's inspect for the gold.
0:09:28 > 0:09:31Let's see if you've got any in there. Oh, fool's gold again.
0:09:31 > 0:09:33- Oh, dear.- Looks like you came up dry.
0:09:33 > 0:09:36Nothing in that one. But that's the excitement of it, right?
0:09:36 > 0:09:39The next pan could hold that quarter ounce nugget that I'm looking for.
0:09:39 > 0:09:43- Well, I wish you luck.- Thank you. - Thanks for showing me the ropes.
0:09:47 > 0:09:50After a hard day's panning or digging for gold,
0:09:50 > 0:09:53miners would head to downtown Sacramento
0:09:53 > 0:09:55to spend their money on fun.
0:09:57 > 0:10:02The gold mining community was 97% male and had very little by way of
0:10:02 > 0:10:05entertainment, unless you include gambling and drinking and there was
0:10:05 > 0:10:10little to titillate the male imagination, but the Eagle Theatre
0:10:10 > 0:10:14offered spectacles featuring real live women.
0:10:17 > 0:10:20We have, all the way from Paris, Texas...
0:10:21 > 0:10:23..Can can de la Mer.
0:10:30 > 0:10:34Reconstructed on its original Front Street site,
0:10:34 > 0:10:38this was the first public theatre in California.
0:10:39 > 0:10:44It opened its doors in 1849, with tickets on sale at the saloon.
0:10:47 > 0:10:53# La la la la la, la la la la! #
0:10:57 > 0:10:58Bravo!
0:11:08 > 0:11:12The state's capital city became a thriving trading centre
0:11:12 > 0:11:16at the confluence of the American and Sacramento Rivers.
0:11:16 > 0:11:20But its advantageous location had its downside.
0:11:20 > 0:11:25In the 1850s, it was hit by a series of floods.
0:11:25 > 0:11:30In the winter of 1862, the Great Flood swept across California,
0:11:30 > 0:11:36leaving Sacramento under ten feet of water for six months.
0:11:36 > 0:11:37Many died.
0:11:37 > 0:11:39Property was destroyed.
0:11:39 > 0:11:45The state government relocated temporarily to San Francisco.
0:11:45 > 0:11:47Drastic measures were needed,
0:11:47 > 0:11:50as I discover at the foundation level of the city.
0:11:53 > 0:11:57Sacramento had a three-part strategy to divert the rivers,
0:11:57 > 0:12:01to build flood defences or levies and in the city centre,
0:12:01 > 0:12:05to raise the level of the streets by up to 14 feet.
0:12:05 > 0:12:09And citizens had the choice either to jack up their houses,
0:12:09 > 0:12:11using a device like this,
0:12:11 > 0:12:17or to abandon the ground floor and to build another storey on top.
0:12:17 > 0:12:19So the old street level would have been down there.
0:12:19 > 0:12:21The new street level is up there.
0:12:21 > 0:12:26And then, people had to pay for a new sidewalk to connect their houses
0:12:26 > 0:12:27to the new street level.
0:12:27 > 0:12:31But a lot of them had found gold or made money out of the miners
0:12:31 > 0:12:33and the new security that they had
0:12:33 > 0:12:36against flood raised the value of their homes.
0:12:42 > 0:12:45Despite successive measures over the years,
0:12:45 > 0:12:47floods continued to cause damage.
0:12:47 > 0:12:51In the 1950s, the 350 foot Folsom Dam
0:12:51 > 0:12:55and reservoir were opened above Sacramento
0:12:55 > 0:12:57to regulate the flow of the rivers.
0:13:00 > 0:13:04And this new 900 million dam spillway,
0:13:04 > 0:13:08nearing completion, will offer even greater protection for the city.
0:13:09 > 0:13:12Alicia Kirschner is in charge of planning.
0:13:13 > 0:13:16- Alicia, I'm Michael. - Hello, nice to meet you.
0:13:16 > 0:13:17- Welcome.- Thank you very much.
0:13:17 > 0:13:20It looks like you have a project here on a tremendous scale.
0:13:20 > 0:13:23And all in the interests of saving Sacramento from flooding.
0:13:23 > 0:13:28Yes, Sacramento is just about 30 miles downstream of this location
0:13:28 > 0:13:31and this is a key flood protection measure.
0:13:31 > 0:13:35Built by the Army Corps of Engineers,
0:13:35 > 0:13:40the spillway's six gates can release the equivalent of four Olympic size
0:13:40 > 0:13:44swimming pools of water per second from Folsom Lake.
0:13:47 > 0:13:50The dam looks a whole lot bigger down here than it did from the top.
0:13:50 > 0:13:52It is extraordinary.
0:13:52 > 0:13:55After the famous flood of 1862, what sort of things were done?
0:13:55 > 0:13:58Well, the early community started with building levies,
0:13:58 > 0:14:01which are urban embankments placed between them and the river.
0:14:01 > 0:14:02In the 1950s,
0:14:02 > 0:14:06reservoirs were constructed along major streams to help keep water up
0:14:06 > 0:14:09in the foothills away from the valley floor where the people were.
0:14:09 > 0:14:13Also, a series of flood bypass channels were constructed,
0:14:13 > 0:14:15sort of parallel to the river system.
0:14:15 > 0:14:18The original Folsom Dam, which is off to our right, has outlets,
0:14:18 > 0:14:21but they are about 50 feet higher than those in this facility.
0:14:21 > 0:14:25So this new facility has outlets that'll be able to release the flow
0:14:25 > 0:14:29earlier in a storm event and then we're able to keep capacity behind
0:14:29 > 0:14:32the dam where you want it for the next wave of run-off that's coming
0:14:32 > 0:14:35- downstream from the foothills. - So you are pre-empting the storm.
0:14:35 > 0:14:39- You're getting one step ahead of the storm.- That is the goal, absolutely.
0:14:39 > 0:14:41There's always a bigger storm that is potentially out there.
0:14:41 > 0:14:44Our job is to try to anticipate that and adjust for it as we go.
0:14:44 > 0:14:46- I wish you good luck. - Thank you very much.
0:14:53 > 0:14:57My Californian journey will continue in the morning.
0:15:12 > 0:15:15I'm up early to take a train heading west.
0:15:15 > 0:15:19- Hello, Michael. - An Englishman.- An Englishman.
0:15:19 > 0:15:21Very nice to see you. What's your name?
0:15:21 > 0:15:23- I'm Tony.- And what brings you to California?
0:15:23 > 0:15:25I'm working on the California high-speed rail.
0:15:25 > 0:15:29- Really?- Doing a high-speed rail from San Francisco to Los Angeles.
0:15:29 > 0:15:34- Wow!- Taking the journey to 220mph in two hours and 40 minutes.
0:15:34 > 0:15:36And that's a distance, what, of about 400 miles?
0:15:36 > 0:15:40- About 400 miles, correct.- So how come an Englishman is doing this?
0:15:40 > 0:15:44Well, they looked at Network Rail, how we do the railway in the UK,
0:15:44 > 0:15:47and they decided that they wanted to take some of our expertise.
0:15:47 > 0:15:50When will there be any part of it open?
0:15:50 > 0:15:53The target is 2025, to get 180 miles open.
0:15:53 > 0:15:55We're already building bridges,
0:15:55 > 0:15:59we're already building viaducts and we will be going out to buy
0:15:59 > 0:16:01the trains and the signalling systems very soon.
0:16:01 > 0:16:05- Tony, good luck to you. - Michael, nice to meet you. - How exciting. Bye-bye.
0:16:16 > 0:16:20My journey will take me to California's renowned wine-growing
0:16:20 > 0:16:26region, but I'll divert to investigate a sweet treat that today
0:16:26 > 0:16:28is more American than apple pie.
0:16:34 > 0:16:37Fairfield is home to Jelly Belly.
0:16:37 > 0:16:41The business traces its roots to German immigrant Gustaf Goelitz,
0:16:41 > 0:16:48who started his candy company making handmade sweets in Illinois in 1869.
0:16:48 > 0:16:53It moved here 31 years ago and counts a former United States
0:16:53 > 0:16:55president among its biggest fans.
0:16:55 > 0:17:00This company will produce 42 million jellybeans today.
0:17:00 > 0:17:03I'm here to see just a few hundred thousand of them.
0:17:06 > 0:17:09Vice President of operations and distribution is Jeff Brown.
0:17:09 > 0:17:12Well, Jeff, you've probably never met anyone like me.
0:17:12 > 0:17:14I've never eaten a jellybean.
0:17:14 > 0:17:18- What is a jellybean?- A jellybean is a piece of candy that we make here
0:17:18 > 0:17:20made with sugar, starch,
0:17:20 > 0:17:25corn syrup and water, along with natural ingredients like coconut
0:17:25 > 0:17:29flakes or orange juice puree. It's a piece of candy with a shell around the outside.
0:17:29 > 0:17:34We make 15 billion jellybeans every year with over 100 different flavours.
0:17:34 > 0:17:37How far back does the great jellybean go in United States history?
0:17:37 > 0:17:42The jellybean goes back to 1861, when a Boston confectioner sent some
0:17:42 > 0:17:45to the Union soldiers during the American Civil War.
0:17:45 > 0:17:48And do you think it played an important part in the victory
0:17:48 > 0:17:52- over the Confederacy? - We believe it did, without a doubt.
0:17:52 > 0:17:56This company launched its first jellybeans in the 1960s and later
0:17:56 > 0:17:58introduced the Jelly Belly brand.
0:18:00 > 0:18:05It boasts a presidential seal of approval for its gourmet jellybeans.
0:18:05 > 0:18:08President Reagan liked the jellybean, didn't he?
0:18:08 > 0:18:11Yes, he did. We're very fortunate that President Reagan brought
0:18:11 > 0:18:14the jellybean to the White House when he was inaugurated in 1981.
0:18:14 > 0:18:17In fact, when he was governor here in California,
0:18:17 > 0:18:20he said an important decision couldn't be made without tossing
0:18:20 > 0:18:22the jellybeans around the table.
0:18:25 > 0:18:28Jeff, for someone who's lead a jellybean-free life,
0:18:28 > 0:18:30this is quite a crash course.
0:18:30 > 0:18:32- What have we got here then? - We have our 49 flavour mix.
0:18:32 > 0:18:34Here's watermelon.
0:18:35 > 0:18:38- OK.- We have toasted marshmallow.
0:18:38 > 0:18:41- Toasted marshmallow.- It's like sitting around the campfire.
0:18:41 > 0:18:45Yes, just like sitting around the campfire.
0:18:45 > 0:18:50- And we have blueberry. - Now, blueberry I might like.
0:18:52 > 0:18:55Mm, well, I'm certainly getting the blueberry.
0:18:56 > 0:18:58But quite a bit of sugar, Jeff.
0:18:58 > 0:19:01Oh, yes. We have a strawberry cheesecake.
0:19:01 > 0:19:03Strawberry cheesecake is one of my weaknesses in life.
0:19:07 > 0:19:09Well, I'll be darned,
0:19:09 > 0:19:11it does taste of strawberry cheesecake!
0:19:16 > 0:19:20The city of Napa is the departure point for a vintage journey
0:19:20 > 0:19:23that I've been particularly looking forward to.
0:19:23 > 0:19:27Appleton's tells me that it's surrounded by a highly productive
0:19:27 > 0:19:31agricultural region, rich in fruits of all kinds.
0:19:31 > 0:19:35But, of course, now the Napa Valley is famous for one in particular,
0:19:35 > 0:19:41which is the grape and this train is going to chug gently along the vale,
0:19:41 > 0:19:45and on board people are going to enjoy a leisurely lunch.
0:19:45 > 0:19:47- Hi, there.- Hello, how are you?
0:19:47 > 0:19:50Thank you. Thank you very much.
0:19:50 > 0:19:54This line was built in 1864 by California's first millionaire,
0:19:54 > 0:19:59Samuel Branham, to serve his spa resort of Calistoga.
0:19:59 > 0:20:03Now it hosts the Napa Valley Wine Trail,
0:20:03 > 0:20:08offering a three-hour round trip through superb vineyard scenery,
0:20:08 > 0:20:10as passengers wine and dine.
0:20:10 > 0:20:13So we'd like to start you off with a complimentary glass of wine here.
0:20:13 > 0:20:17It's going to be our Domaine Chandon, so this is a Brut classic for you.
0:20:17 > 0:20:20- Perfect.- And our soup today is going to be a chilled
0:20:20 > 0:20:24tomato gazpacho and that's going to be served with a lemon basil pesto,
0:20:24 > 0:20:26croutons and sea salt as well.
0:20:26 > 0:20:30Gazpacho. I'm of Spanish origin myself, so that will be delightful.
0:20:36 > 0:20:40Evoking a bygone era of luxury rail travel,
0:20:40 > 0:20:42most of the train's rolling stock,
0:20:42 > 0:20:45including the Cabernet Sauvignon lounge,
0:20:45 > 0:20:50are restored Pullman cars dating back to 1915.
0:20:50 > 0:20:54The gourmet cuisine is created in three cramped on-board galleys.
0:20:54 > 0:20:57For your first course, we're going to be doing
0:20:57 > 0:21:00- a lemon and ricotta ravioli. - That looks delicious.
0:21:07 > 0:21:11That is good! And when you think it's prepared on the train,
0:21:11 > 0:21:12that is impressive.
0:21:27 > 0:21:31- Hello, Michael.- Chef. Bravo, sir, bravo!
0:21:31 > 0:21:33- Enjoy.- That looks really great.
0:21:33 > 0:21:37- Thank you, thank you.- I'd be happy to pay top dollar for this meal
0:21:37 > 0:21:41in a restaurant. How on earth do you produce the quality of food
0:21:41 > 0:21:44and that amount of choice from your tiny kitchen?
0:21:44 > 0:21:48Basically, what we do here is we transfer what we would do in any
0:21:48 > 0:21:51fine hotel, restaurant or establishment to the rails.
0:21:51 > 0:21:57But you have to have items that are train-friendly and that will hold when you're going back and forth.
0:21:57 > 0:22:02- What's your competition?- I would say that we were kind of a unique niche.
0:22:02 > 0:22:03But we try to stay right up there
0:22:03 > 0:22:06with some of the finer establishments
0:22:06 > 0:22:09- here in the valley.- My Sauvignon blanc, I dedicate to you, Sir.
0:22:09 > 0:22:12- Thank you so much. Enjoy.- Cheers.
0:22:15 > 0:22:19The Napa Valley is perhaps the best-known wine growing region of
0:22:19 > 0:22:24the United States. At just 30 miles long and five miles wide,
0:22:24 > 0:22:27it's also one of the world's smallest.
0:22:27 > 0:22:31I'd expected the vineyards to be on slopes but it's a wide,
0:22:31 > 0:22:35flat valley and they grow in the horizontal plain.
0:22:35 > 0:22:40I can see right now, they are all absolutely heavy with grapes.
0:22:42 > 0:22:44May I talk to you for a second?
0:22:44 > 0:22:47- Absolutely.- You look like you're enjoying your glass of wine.
0:22:47 > 0:22:50- Am I right?- It is incredible. Yes. - What made you take the train today?
0:22:50 > 0:22:53- I'm a huge lover of trains. - Are you?- So I was the one looking
0:22:53 > 0:22:56at that, being like, could we maybe sneak this in there?
0:22:56 > 0:22:59- I mean, it has not disappointed in any way.- Oh, I'm so pleased.
0:22:59 > 0:23:02- I rather like trains too. - Oh, perfect.- I've had a good day.
0:23:11 > 0:23:16I'm leaving the train about halfway along the route at St Helena.
0:23:20 > 0:23:25Inglenook Vineyard, one of over 400 wineries here in the valley,
0:23:25 > 0:23:30is owned by the film director Francis Ford Coppola and his wife, Eleanor.
0:23:30 > 0:23:34I've been invited to pick some grapes with Chris Phelps,
0:23:34 > 0:23:36who's in charge of production.
0:23:36 > 0:23:39- Hey, Chris.- Hey, Michael.
0:23:39 > 0:23:41- How goes it?- Very good to see you.
0:23:41 > 0:23:43- Here you go. Careful.- Very good.
0:23:43 > 0:23:46Very good. I was travelling up the Napa Valley today and just asking
0:23:46 > 0:23:50myself why it was that this place was chosen to grow vines.
0:23:50 > 0:23:52Well, it was Europeans who came.
0:23:52 > 0:23:56French and Italian, some Swiss, who came in the mid-19th century.
0:23:56 > 0:23:59You know, having been familiar with European wine regions,
0:23:59 > 0:24:03they saw that the Mediterranean climate here in the Napa Valley
0:24:03 > 0:24:05was very similar to what they have at home.
0:24:05 > 0:24:07We have cooling breezes coming in off the San Francisco Bay,
0:24:07 > 0:24:11bringing in fog and cool temperatures at night.
0:24:11 > 0:24:13Very important to preserve acidity and colour.
0:24:13 > 0:24:16This land here was planted in 1879 by Gustave Niebaum.
0:24:16 > 0:24:19the first wine had been made in Napa in 1860,
0:24:19 > 0:24:21he was right behind that first wave.
0:24:21 > 0:24:27Sea captain and wine connoisseur Niebaum was born in Finland in 1842.
0:24:27 > 0:24:28Settling in the United States,
0:24:28 > 0:24:32he owned a successful fur trading company
0:24:32 > 0:24:34before buying the estate in 1879.
0:24:34 > 0:24:40Three years later, he produced his first wines and huge sales
0:24:40 > 0:24:44and prizes followed. So Chris, what varietal are we chopping here?
0:24:44 > 0:24:45This is Zinfandel.
0:24:45 > 0:24:4820 years ago, it was the leading grape variety in California.
0:24:48 > 0:24:51Today in Napa Valley Cabernet is king.
0:24:51 > 0:24:53But historically Zinfandel was the most important?
0:24:53 > 0:24:57Yes, in the 1860s, a lot of Zinfandel was planted in
0:24:57 > 0:25:00Napa Valley. Inglenook continues to make a wine called Pennino,
0:25:00 > 0:25:03which is Zinfandel, made in the style that Gustave Niebaum would
0:25:03 > 0:25:05have made it in in the 19th century.
0:25:05 > 0:25:08But take a whole berry and pop it into your mouth.
0:25:10 > 0:25:12To me, that is surprisingly sweet.
0:25:12 > 0:25:17About 25% sugar will make a wine about 14-plus percent alcohol.
0:25:17 > 0:25:20I would say this would be picked within a week.
0:25:20 > 0:25:24So, actually, what we've done today is take a really good sample.
0:25:24 > 0:25:27Now, I don't know how long your working day is,
0:25:27 > 0:25:30but I am sweating under this terrible sun.
0:25:30 > 0:25:33- Let's go and have a barrel tasting in the cave.- A barrel tasting!- Yeah.
0:25:33 > 0:25:35Excellent!
0:25:37 > 0:25:40The vineyard remained in the Niebaum family until it was sold to
0:25:40 > 0:25:43a drinks company in the 1960s.
0:25:43 > 0:25:48The Coppolas bought part of the property in 1975 and now own
0:25:48 > 0:25:51all of the original estate, along with the trademark.
0:25:51 > 0:25:56They've restored its heritage and returned winemaking to the chateaux.
0:25:56 > 0:25:59Chris, I must say, everything about the vineyards,
0:25:59 > 0:26:03the estate and now the cave is absolutely stunning.
0:26:03 > 0:26:05It takes a big team to do all this work.
0:26:05 > 0:26:09I'm going to treat you to a taste out of a Zinfandel barrel here and
0:26:09 > 0:26:11since we were just harvesting Zinfandel, now is an appropriate
0:26:11 > 0:26:15- time to enjoy it.- I'm ready for you. There we go.
0:26:15 > 0:26:18- That's very kind of you.- There's a whole barrel, if we need it.
0:26:18 > 0:26:22So that blueish grape that we were picking has produced, what,
0:26:22 > 0:26:25really quite a deep ruby red kind of wine.
0:26:25 > 0:26:26Yep.
0:26:26 > 0:26:28Indeed. Do you smell the spice?
0:26:28 > 0:26:31- Very spicy. - And the blackberry essence.
0:26:31 > 0:26:33That's classic for a Zinfandel.
0:26:38 > 0:26:42That is gorgeous. Well, I'm nuts about 19th-century history,
0:26:42 > 0:26:44so Zinfandel is the one for me.
0:26:44 > 0:26:45- Cheers.- Cheers.
0:26:57 > 0:26:58In 1850,
0:26:58 > 0:27:04California was hurriedly admitted to the United States because America
0:27:04 > 0:27:08needed its gold and silver and because the Gold Rush had brought
0:27:08 > 0:27:10about a population explosion.
0:27:10 > 0:27:15Adding California to the union put the states that banned slavery in
0:27:15 > 0:27:20the majority, and the South grew deeply suspicious that they would
0:27:20 > 0:27:25conspire to bring down its economy that depended on human bondage.
0:27:25 > 0:27:30After the election in 1860 of Abraham Lincoln pledged to prevent
0:27:30 > 0:27:32any expansion of slavery,
0:27:32 > 0:27:37Southern states quit the Union and 600,000 Americans would die
0:27:37 > 0:27:42in the Civil War. In history, one thing leads to another.
0:27:50 > 0:27:54Next time, I'll enjoy the 19th-century transport
0:27:54 > 0:27:56that's still in use today...
0:27:56 > 0:28:00Top ten things for a tourist to do in San Francisco, number one,
0:28:00 > 0:28:02ride the cable car.
0:28:02 > 0:28:05..learn of a 19th-century shipbuilder
0:28:05 > 0:28:07whose innovations made waves...
0:28:07 > 0:28:10He built 228 ships in a 40 year period.
0:28:10 > 0:28:14He built more ships in that period than anybody in the United States.
0:28:14 > 0:28:18..and lift the veil on some unexpected early legislation.
0:28:18 > 0:28:24You had anti-crossdressing law passed in San Francisco in 1863.
0:28:24 > 0:28:28Anti-crossdressing legislation in 1863! I had no idea.