In the United States wine is produced commercially in all fifty states, although the majority of wine is produced in California. If California, which accounts for about 90% of American wine production, were a country, it would be the fourth largest producer of wine in the world. Major production also occurs in New York state (5%), Washington state (4%), and Oregon (0.6%). A glass of red wine This article is about the alcoholic beverage. ... A glass of red wine This article is about the alcoholic beverage. ... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Area  Ranked 3rd  - Total 158,302 sq mi (410,000 km²)  - Width 250 miles (400 km)  - Length 770 miles (1,240 km)  - % water 4. ... NY redirects here. ... Official language(s) English Capital Olympia Largest city Seattle Area  Ranked 18th  - Total 71,342 sq mi (184,827 km²)  - Width 240 miles (385 km)  - Length 360 miles (580 km)  - % water 6. ... Official language(s) (none)[1] Capital Salem Largest city Portland Area  Ranked 9th  - Total 98,466 sq mi (255,026 km²)  - Width 260 miles (420 km)  - Length 360 miles (580 km)  - % water 2. ...

History

The first Europeans to explore North America called it Vinland because of the profusion of grape vines they found. However, settlers would later discover that the wine made from the various native grapes had flavors which were unfamiliar and which they did not like. This led to repeated efforts to grow familiar Vitis vinifera varieties. The first vines of Vitis vinifera origin planted in what is now the United States were planted in Senecu in 1629, which is near the present day town of San Antonio, New Mexico. Binomial name Vitis vinifera L. For thousands of years, the fruit and plant of Vitis vinifera, the European grapevine, have been harvested for both medicinal and nutritional value; its history is intimately entwined with the history of wine. ... The village of San Antonio is in Socorro County, New Mexico which is roughly in the center of the state. ...

However, the discovery in 1802 of the native Catawba grape led to very successful wine-making in Ohio. By 1842 Nicholas Longworth was growing 1,200 acres (almost two square miles) of Catawba grapes and making the country's first Sparkling wine. In 1858, The Illustrated London News described Catawba as "a finer wine of the hock species and flavour than any hock that comes from the Rhine" and wrote that sparkling Catawba "transcends the Champagne of France." But the successful operations in Ohio ceased when fungus disease destroyed the vineyards. Some growers responded by moving north to the shores of Lake Erie and its islands, where mildew was not a problem. Catawba grapes, a variety of the grape species Vitis labrusca, was introduced to wine-growers in the 1850s by Major John Adlum of Georgetown. ... Official language(s) None Capital Columbus Largest city Columbus Largest metro area Cleveland Area  Ranked 34th  - Total 44,825 sq mi (116,096 km²)  - Width 220 miles (355 km)  - Length 220 miles (355 km)  - % water 8. ... Cover of Time Magazine (March 9, 1925) Nicholas Longworth (November 5, 1869-April 9, 1931) was a prominent American politician in the Republican Party during the first third of the 20th century. ... A glass of sparkling wine A Sparkling wine cork It has been suggested that Spumante, Frizzante, Sekt and Cremant be merged into this article or section. ... Champagne is often consumed as part of a celebration Champagne is a sparkling wine produced by inducing the in-bottle secondary fermentation of wine to effect carbonation. ... Lake Erie (pronounced ) is the eleventh largest lake on Earth[2] and, of the five Great Lakes of North America, it is the fourth largest by surface area, the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume. ... Mildew is a grey, mold-like growth caused by one of two different types of micro-organisms. ...

The Finger Lakes region of New York State developed a successful wine-making industry beginning in the early 1860s when the Pleasant Valley Wine Company began using carefully-selected derivatives of native grapes to produce wine. In 1865 the Urbana Wine Company (which marketed its wine under the Gold Seal label) was established. 1880 saw the establishment of the Taylor Wine Company. By the late 1800s, wines from the Finger Lakes were winning prizes at wine tastings in Europe. The Finger Lakes, a major tourist destination in the west-central section of Upstate New York, are actually eleven in number, but only seven of the largest are commonly identified as such. ... NY redirects here. ...

In California, the first vineyard and winery was established by Spanish missionaries in 1769. California has two native grape varieties, but they make very poor quality wine. Therefore, the missionaries used the Mission grape, which is called Criolla or "colonialized European" in South America. Although a Vitis vinifera, it is a grape of "very modest" quality. Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Area  Ranked 3rd  - Total 158,302 sq mi (410,000 km²)  - Width 250 miles (400 km)  - Length 770 miles (1,240 km)  - % water 4. ... Mission grapes are a variety of Vitis vinifera introduced from Spain to the western coasts of North and South America in the 1500s by Roman Catholic missionaries for use in making sacramental wine. ... South America South America is a continent crossed by the equator, with most of its area in the Southern Hemisphere. ...

The first secular vineyard was established in Los Angeles by an immigrant from Bordeaux, Jean-Louis Vignes. Dissatisfied with the Mission grape, he imported vines from France. By 1851 he had 40,000 vines under cultivation and was producing 1,000 barrels of wine per year. This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Major wine production shifted to the Sonoma Valley in northern California largely because of its excellent climate for growing grapes. General Mariano Vallejo, former commander of the presidio of Sonoma, became the first large-scale winegrower in the valley. In 1857, Agoston Haraszthy bought 560 acres near Vallejo's vineyards. In contrast to Vallejo and most others, Haraszthy planted his vines on dry slopes and did not irrigate them. Today, the value of dry farming to creating superior wine is generally recognized. Vineyards of Sonoma Valley Sonoma Valley is the birthplace of the California wine industry. ... Don Mariano Guadeloupe Vallejo (4 July 1807 - 18 January 1890) was a Californian military commander, politician, and rancher. ... Agoston Haraszthy (1812-1869), the “Father of Modern Viticulture in California,” was born in Hungary. ...

Haraszthy has been called the "Father of Modern Viticulture in California." He wrote Report on Grapes and Wines in California, a manual on vineyard management and wine making procedures in which he urged experimentation with different grape varieties in different soils and different parts of the state. He also urged the government to collect cuttings from Europe and distribute them to growers in California. In 1861, the State Legislature commissioned Haraszthy to travel to Europe and purchase a diversity of grapevines. He did so, and obtained 100,000 vines of 300 different varieties. A common vineyard. ...

In 1857, Charles LeFranc established what became the very successful Almaden Vineyards, where he planted Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Semillon, and many others. LeFranc produced good wine as did his son-in-law, Paul Masson. In 1861 Charles Krug founded his namesake winery and began making wine, founding the first winery in the Napa Valley. Originally a Prussian political dissident, Krug learned the trade of the vintner as an apprentice to Haraszthy in the Sonoma Valley. Krug expanded on what he learned from Haraszthy and began a winemaking tradition in the Napa Valley. The land on which Krug founded his winery was part of his wife's (Carolina Bale's) dowry. Krug became an important leader of winemaking in the Napa Valley. He was also a mentor for Karl Wente, Charles Wetmore and Jacob Beringer, all of whom became important vintners. Old vine Cabernet Sauvignon at Chateau Montelena in Napa Valley. ... Pinot noir is a red wine grape variety of the species Vitis vinifera. ... Sémillon is a golden-skinned grape used to make white wines, most notably in Bordeaux and Australia. ... For the Olympic competitor, see Paul Masson (cycling). ... Napa County is in north-central California Napa Valley is most famous for its wine. ...

Early on, the Napa Valley demonstrated leadership in producing quality wine. At the Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1889, Napa Valley wines won 20 of the 34 medals or awards (including four gold medals) won by California entries. This was the high point that was followed by 40 years of natural and human-caused disasters. Severe frosts, the outbreak of the phylloxera louse which destroyed Vitis vinifera vines, an economic depression, the San Francisco earthquake that destroyed an estimated 30 million gallons of wine in storage, and the disaster of national Prohibition from 1920 through 1933. Napa County is in north-central California Napa Valley is most famous for its wine. ... Grape Phylloxera (Daktulosphaira vitifoliae, family Phylloxeridae, superfamily Aphidoidea) is a serious pest of commercial grapevines worldwide, originally native to eastern North America. ... The San Francisco earthquake of 1906 was a major earthquake at San Francisco, California on the early morning of Wednesday, April 18, 1906. ... The term Prohibition, also known as A Dry Law, refers to a law in a certain country by which the manufacture, transportation, import, export, and sale of alcoholic beverages is restricted or illegal. ...

Some wineries managed to survive by making wine for religious services. However, grape growers prospered. Because making up to 200 gallons of wine at home per year was legal, such production increased from an estimated four million gallons before Prohibition to 90 million five years after the imposition of the law. Unfortunately, quality grapes do not ship well, so producers ripped out their vines and replaced them with tough but poor quality grapes such as Alicante Bouschet and Alicante Ganzin. Alicante Bouschet is a wine grape variety that has been widely cultivated since 1886. ...

Following Prohibition, American wine making reemerged in very poor condition. Many talented winemakers had died, vineyards had been neglected or replanted in poor quality grapes, and Prohibition had changed Americans' taste in wines. Consumers now demanded cheap "jug wine" (so-called dago red) and sweet, fortified (high alcohol) wine. Before Prohibition dry table wines outsold sweet wines by three to one, but after the ratio was more than reversed. In 1935, 81% of California's production was sweet wines. The reputation of the state's wines suffered accordingly.

During the 1970s a system was established to identify appellations of origins, using the term American Viticultural Areas (AVA). An AVA guarantees that a minimum of 85% of the wine in the bottle comes from grapes grown in that AVA. The use of individual vineyard names guarantees that 95% of any wine using a vineyard name must be made from grapes grown in that vineyard, and from within a recognized AVA. There are 165 AVAs, of which 93 are in California. An American Viticultural Area (AVA) is a delimited grape-growing region distinguishable by geographic features, with boundaries defined by the United States governments Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB). ... A common vineyard. ...

Leading the way out of the abyss was research conducted at the University of California, Davis. Faculty published reports on which varieties of grapes grew best in which regions of the state, held seminars on winemaking techniques, consulted with grape growers and winemakers, offered academic degrees in viticulture, and promoted the production of quality wines. The results of their success would be demonstrated decades later at the Paris wine tasting in 1976, the nation's 200th anniversary. The University of California, Davis, commonly known as UC Davis, is one of the ten campuses of the University of California, and was established as the University Farm in 1905. ... Until 1976, France was generally regarded as having an unchallenged reputation as the foremost producer of the worlds best wines. ...

See also

By state

• California wine
• Michigan wine
• Missouri wine
• New Jersey wine
• New York State wine
• Oregon wine
• Washington wine
• Texas wine

California wine has a long and continuing history, and in recent decades has become recognized producing some of the worlds finest wine, matching the produce of the classic winemaking regions of France and, in some wine competitions, such as the historic Paris Wine Tasting of 1976, surpassing it. ... Michigan wine refers to any wine that is made from grapes grown in the U.S. state of Michigan. ... Hermannhoff White Lady of Starkenburg wine Stone Hill Norton wine of 2003 St. ... New Jersy Wine production in the U.S. state of New Jersey dates back to the regions colonial era when, in the mid-18th century, wines were made by local vitners on a small scale. ... New York State wine volume ranks third in grape production after California and Washington. ... The state of Oregon has established an international reputation for its production of wine. ... Washington wine has a long and continuing history. ... Texas has a long history of wine production. ...

American wine personalities

• Robert Lawrence Balzer
• Mike Grgich
• Agoston Haraszthy
• Robert Mondavi
• Andre Tchelistcheff
• Warren Winiarski
• Lloyd Benedict

Robert Lawrence Balzer (b. ... Mike Grgich (born Miljenko Grgich on April 1, 1923) is a Croatian-American winemaker. ... Agoston Haraszthy (1812-1869), the “Father of Modern Viticulture in California,” was born in Hungary. ... Robert Gerald Mondavi (born June 18, 1913 in Virginia, Minnesota, United States) is a leading vineyard operator whose technical improvements and marketing strategies brought worldwide recognition for the wines of the Napa Valley in California. ... André Tchelistcheff (December 7, 1901 - April 5, 1994) was Americas most influential post-Prohibition winemaker. ... Warren Winiarski (born 1928) is California winemaker. ...

Other

• Globalization of wine
• COPIA
• Fighting varietal
• Jug wine
• Semi-generic
• Wine Competitions
• Three-tier (alcohol distribution)

The globalization of wine is largely a post-1976 phenomenon. ... copia may refer to: The ancient city also called Thurii Copia (latin) COPIA: The American Center for Wine, Food and the Arts Copia (album) by the artist Eluvium (musician) Category: ... Fighting varietal is a term that originated in California during the mid 1980s to refer to any inexpensive cork-finished varietal wine in a 1. ... Jug wine is an American term for inexpensive Californian wine bottled in a glass jug. ... Semi-generic is a legal term used in Canada and by the United States Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau to refer to wine designations that have essentially no meaning. ... The most common form of wine competition is one in which awards are given to groups of wines in various winning categories on the basis of the blind tasting of wine. ... The Three-tier system of alcohol distribution is the system for distributing alcoholic beverages set up in the United States after the repeal of Prohibition. ...

Sources

• Clarke, Oz. Oz Clarke's New Encyclopedia of Wine. NY: Harcourt Brace , 1999.
• Johnson, Hugh. Vintage: The Story of Wine. NY: Simon & Schuster, 1989.
• Taber, George M. Judgment of Paris: California vs. France and the Historic 1976 Paris Tasting that Revolutionized Wine. NY: Scribner, 2005.