King Lear thought the only thing “Sharper than a serpent’s tooth” was a thankless child.

Lucky for him he didn’t live in the Napa Valley. We’re currently re-writing the book on ungratefulness. Only it's not kids. This time it's the adults.

Fortunately, most of the folks who sacrificed to give us the Ag Preserve are dead. They don’t have to suffer the slings and arrows of today’s ungrateful recipients of their largesse.

Recently, the Napa Register featured two op-ed pieces (a coordinated attack?) slamming new vineyards. The first writer wrote about the little itty-bitty critters which would be harmed if 1,000 (out of 485,000) acres of rocky, rattlesnake country are turned into vineyards in the barren eastern hills.

The second played the water gambit—-He clumsily tried to associate the new vineyard with the MST water area—a deceptive stretch, to say the least. But accurate, scientific data has never been the anti-grape crowd’s long suit.

Had these pundits been here “back in the day,” they might view vineyards differently. At least they might ask themselves, “Were it not for the grape, what would this Valley be like?”

Picture Napa Valley in the early 60’s. There was a recession going on. Few families of Hispanic descent lived here. Workers, called braceros, were transient. They were bussed up in broken down school buses just for the harvest. When it was over, they left to work fields, elsewhere. Their kids were in school only a couple of months before moving on.
A bracero got 25 cents per box. A hard worker could earn eight to ten dollars per day.
Today, a good worker makes over $150 to $200 per day.

In the 60’s cattle was the Valley’s biggest crop. The odor from the Slaughter House on the Trail could be detected for miles. There were two tanneries on the river down in Napa. Dairy farms like the Rock 'N R and Bettinelli's dotted the Highway.

Where did all the cattle manure, blood, bones, hides, entrails and toxics wind up? In the river—the Valley’s communal sewer. We get a kick when someone suggests hillside vineyards have depleted steelhead. The river was completely polluted in our day. Yet, there were more steelhead. Should we bring back pollution?

Smudge pots turned the Valley’s air Pittsburg-black during the frost season. Today, income from grapes allow farmers to frost protect, economically, with whirlybird sprinklers.

Anyone remember how walnuts were regularly spayed with DDT? Thanks to the grape, we don't use one hundredth the chemicals that we used back then.

Before the Ag Preserve there were one acre minimums on the Valley floor—one house per each acre. Now it's2040 acre minimums and 160 acres in the hills. Vineyards, and their viability are all that stand between us and suburban sprawl.

Back then the State wanted to put a 4 lane freeway up the middle of the Valley. Schramsburg’s Jack Davies joined winery owners and UNVA, a coalition of concerned farmers led by Bob Phillips, to stop it.

Ranching was hard work. Many farmers struggled. Unpainted, dilapidated barns stored hay, their tin roofs, rusting. Old pipes and rotting posts supported rickety barbed wire fences, everywhere. Rust was the dominant color of the day.

In 1960 with less than 20 wineries, job options were few. Today, college grads compete for high paying jobs in hundreds of wineries and supporting businesses. A professional class has emerged where virtually none existed before.

Want to compare the old "San" to the current St. Helena Hospital and the high tech facilities at Queen of the Valley? Who paid for them?

Thanks to the grape, a Latino middle class has grown up here. Forty percent of St. Helena's schools are Latino. Latinos own business and homes. The un-air conditioned school bus has gone the way of the “cattle crossing” signs.

Despite the fact that we are the most environmentally strict farming county in the country, some still criticize the wine industry and talk about, alcohol farming, hillside ordinances, setbacks, and restricting vineyards.

The life style you reap today comes from one source: The grape. From white collar jobs to entry level jobs for immigrants, it is the engine that drives our economy. Equally important, the grape has preserved open space and prevented subdivisions from polluting our Valley.

Unlike Lear, farmers need no false flattery. However, if you can’t love the grape, at least you can be respectful and grateful “according to your bond, no more no less.” A thankless child ain’t a pretty sight.