Trefethen Eshcol white, a generic Napa Valley bottling that sells for about $6.50 a bottle, won out over 22 other wines in a competition here to select the American wine that goes best with oysters.

The historic old Eshcol Winery building had buckled badly and was close to collapse, becoming an enduring symbol of nature’s wrath. Most of the Napa Valley wine industry rebounded fairly quickly ...