First printed in 1919 under the name California Grape Grower (shown at right), Wines & Vines celebrates its 90^th birthday in 2009. Its longevity makes Wines & Vines the longest running success story in North American wine publishing.

According to William F. Heintz' written history of the magazine, published in the December 1976 issue, Wines & Vines can trace its lineage back even further, to 1879, the year the San Francisco Merchant first rolled off the presses. Heintz wrote that the Merchant could be considered the great-grandfather of Wines & Vines. The magazine, which published for 40 years, changed its name twice and dutifully covered news of the impending Prohibition before printing its last issue in July 1919.

In December of that year, H.F. Stoll, who had been a contributor to the magazine last called the Pacific Wine and Spirit Review, resurrected the publication under the title California Grape Grower. Prohibition began the following year in the United States, and Stoll surprised everyone by continuing to publish his magazine. A one-year subscription in 1920 cost $1, paid in advance. Readers likely included many growers who began shipping their grapes across the country to take advantage of the Volstead Act, which allowed households to make 200 gallons of grape "juice" per year without paying tax. When the 21^st Amendment repealed Prohibition in 1933, California Grower published taxation rates for wine and ran articles on securing winery permits. Stoll changed the name of his publication to Wines & Vines in January 1935, and the same year the magazine covered recipes for a new phenomenon--wine coolers.

Another tradition began in 1940, when Wines & Vines first published its now massive Directory/Buyer's Guide, at that time called the "Yearbook." The following year marked another first, when new managing editor Donald Gilbert published the magazine's first "Champagne Issue," a tradition that continued--off and on--until December 2003.

During World War II, Wines & Vines reported on manufacturers being prohibited from making winery equipment, since the U.S. government declared that all factories needed to produce items critical to the war effort. After U.S. soldiers returned home, winery equipment again could be manufactured, and W&V noted that the rate of imports was twice as high as it was before the war.

In 1947 Wines & Vines ran an editorial titled, "Wine Is a Food and Belongs in the Food Store." Stoll, the magazine's first publisher, died the same year.

Irv Marcus became publisher in 1956, succeeding E.B. Wienand, who'd served as publisher since 1939. The following year, Wines & Vines co-sponsored a trip to Europe with the Wine Institute. A subscription cost $3--which proved to be quite a deal, since six years later a year-long subscription jumped to $5.

In 1964, farm advisors for the first time wrote annual harvest reports for Wines & Vines. (Their thoughts about the 2008 growing season are featured here).

A father-son duo took over the masthead of Wines & Vines for 33 years starting in 1969, when the July issue announced that Philip Hiaring, previously the associate editor, now owned the magazine--his first editorial appeared in 1972. In October 1973 Hiaring's son, Philip E. Hiaring, was listed as assistant to the editor and publisher. Years later he would hold the most prominent editorial position, while longtime employee Dottie Kubota-Cordery eventually took on the position of president and CEO.

Wines & Vines published its first equipment and supplies issue in November 1980; the theme later was expanded to include services, and it still publishes annually in the same month, reporting on what's new in equipment, supplies and services. The following year Wines & Vines moved from its longtime home of San Francisco to Marin County, Calif.

The Wines & Vines trophy for Excellence in Wine Writing was first awarded in 1979, with Leon D. Adams winning the honor. In the award's final year, Philip Hiaring Sr. won the trophy, which resides at the Wines & Vines editorial office in San Rafael, Calif. In November 1994 Philip E. Hiaring officially took the title of editor and publisher, a position he held until his death in June 2002. The elder Hiaring died Nov. 1, 2000.

In June 2004, Wine Business Communications Inc., the owner of Wine Business Monthly, took ownership of Wines & Vines, with Chet Klingensmith serving as publisher. Current editor Jim Gordon joined the magazine in mid-2006.

Wines & Vines unveiled a new graphic design in September 2007, and re-launched winesandvines.com with greatly expanded content and original daily news headlines in June 2007. The magazine's long-running Directory/Buyers Guide was put online in January 2008, while the 2009 print issue was released this month.

In September 2008 Wines & Vines joined forces with Wine East, a 27-year-old trade publication covering the wine and grape industry in Eastern North America. Wine East now runs as a special section in Wines & Vines (see article), with editorial content published every month as opposed to bi-monthly.