USA The United States is the worlds 4th largest wine producing nation after France, Italy and Spain, with double the quantity of 5th placed Argentina. California is far and away the countrys most important wine region, accounting for 90% of production. Wine is actually produced in every single one of Americas 50 states, even if Utah, Wyoming and North Dakota have only 12 wineries and just over 35ha of vines between them. The history of the US wine industry is a thorny one. Try as they might, the early East Coast settlers had little success making wine and had to wait until the mid-19th century for their first commercially successful example: Nicholas Longworths famous Sparkling Catawba from Cincinatti, Ohio. The west coast had a climate far more conducive to vine-growing and from its first vineyard (probably Mission) planted in 1769 at San Diego, the wine industry swiftly flourished, boosted by the influx caused by the Gold Rush. However, the twin blights of mildew and phylloxera at end of the 19th century, followed by Prohibition from 1920 to 1933, set the wine industry back 100 years. Ever since, wine has endured a somewhat uneasy existence, flourishing despite an obstructive distribution system and often tacit government disapproval. The US boasts every type of producer, from the tiny `garagiste producing a couple of barrels of incredibly rare and expensive wine to the monumental producers of cheap brands like Ernst & Julio Gallo who sell 75m cases of wine a year (25% of the total production of the US!). Such progress has largely taken place in the last 40 years through an unquenchable desire for quality, the insistence on the finest expertise and technology, enormous investment and astute marketing. California produces some of the worlds greatest Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Zinfandel, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from famous regions like Napa and Sonoma. Recognition of this really dates back to the 1976 Judgment of Paris where the regions finest trounced the cream of French wine in a blind tasting held in Paris. After California, New York is actually the second biggest wine-producing state; most are made from Concord (often described as `foxy- and not in a good way) although increasingly Chardonnay too. From a qualitative point of view, however, Californias closest rivals are Washington which specialises in Bordeaux blends, and Oregon which yields some very fine Pinot Noir. Of the rest, Virginias reds from Cabernet and Merlot show potential, while Georgia, Missouri, Texas, Idaho, South Carolina, Pennsylvania and Michigan all have significant plantings, mostly of American hybrid varieties. Although it doesnt yet have an Appellation Contrôlée system per se, the concept of American Viticultural Areas (AVAs) was introduced here in 1980. The first was Augusta in Missouri, and they now number 188. They have none of the restrictive rules of the AC system and are all the better for it. 85% of any wine labeled with a given AVA must come from that region. In addition, every state and county is classified as its own appellation.
Posted on: Tue, 29 Oct 2013 05:10:00 +0000
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