A free documentary about the Chinese immigrants who built Napa Valley's wine industry will screen at the Orinda Library on Saturday, Aug. 15, with Lafayette resident John McCormick, the author behind the source book, leading a Q&A afterward.
McCormick, who co-owns Lamorinda Music in Lafayette and is listed as the city's vice mayor on his website, wrote Chinese in Napa Valley: The Forgotten Community That Built Wine Country after stumbling onto the subject during a master's program in history at Harvard. He grew up in Napa and says the story of Chinese laborers was never part of the local history taught in school.
The history is striking. By the 1880s, Chinese workers made up as much as 80% of the vineyard labor force in Napa Valley, according to the Napa County Historical Society. They also worked quicksilver mines, hop farms, leather tanneries, and the Napa Valley Railroad. Despite building the backbone of the region's economy from 1870 to 1900, they faced severe discrimination, including the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act, and were eventually driven out. Their homes and businesses were razed.
"My goal is to have this book be a very belated acknowledgment and 'thank you' to all the Chinese workers who lived, worked, and — in some cases — died, making the Napa Valley a world-class destination," McCormick wrote on his book's website.
The documentary, produced by the Napa County Historical Society with filmmaker Jeff Hamilton of EH LearnMedia, uses archival photographs, historical records, and on-camera interviews with historians and descendants including Connie Young Yu, Jack Jue, and Jack Ding. It has been selected as an Official Selection of the 2026 California Capital International Documentary Film Festival.
The film is currently restricted to group showings through 2026, making the Orinda screening one of the few chances to see it before a wider release.
Doors open at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 15, with the screening starting at 2 p.m. at the Orinda Library, 26 Orinda Way. No tickets are needed. Seating is first come, first served. A Q&A with McCormick and Hamilton follows the film.
Upcoming community events
- Saturday, Aug. 15, 2 p.m. — Chinese in Napa Valley documentary screening and Q&A, Orinda Library, 26 Orinda Way. Free, no tickets required.
