When young Italian immigrant, Amerigo Pugliesi, arrives in New York in 1916, he tells the immigration officer on Ellis Island his full name and declares his wealth: "I gotta seventeen dollar and a fifty-four cents."

With some training in the French and Italian vineyards, he's determined to become a winemaker. Moving West by working on the railroad, he finally arrives in Napa Valley. He finds, however, that he cannot even find a job as a barrel washer.

After being drafted and wounded in WWI, he returns and finally secures employment with a small struggling winery. With his determination and the help of a multitude of diverse minorities, he develops the winery into a decent operation. But then Prohibition hits, knocking out many grape growers and wineries. In addition, prejudice and bad weather send forces against him.

Against this backdrop, Amerigo's generational family continues to grow amidst personal tragedies, as well as pleasures.