American wine
Encyclopedia
American wine has been produced for over 300 years. Today, wine
production is undertaken in all fifty states, with California
producing 89 percent of all US wine. The United States
is the fourth largest wine producing country in the world after France
, Italy
, and Spain
.
The North America
n continent is home to several native species of grape
, including Vitis labrusca
, Vitis riparia
, Vitis rotundifolia, Vitis vulpina
, and Vitis amurensis
, but it was the introduction of the European Vitis vinifera
by European settlers that led to the growth of the wine making industry. With more than 1100000 acres (4,451.5 km²) under vine
, the United States is the fifth most planted country in the world after France
, Italy
, Spain
and Turkey
.
grapes by French Huguenot settlers at a settlement near Jacksonville, Florida
between 1562 and 1564. In the early American colonies of Virginia and the Carolina
s, wine making was an official goal laid out in their founding charter
s. 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 beginning with the Virginia Company
exporting of French vinifera vines with French vignerons to Virginia
in 1619. These early plantings were met with failure as native pest and vine disease ravaged the vineyards. In 1683, William Penn
planted a vineyard of French vinifera in Pennsylvania
that may have interbred with a native Vitis labrusca vine to create the hybrid grape Alexander
. One of the first commercial wineries in the United States was founded in Indiana
in 1806 with production of wine made from the Alexander grape. Today French-American hybrid grapes are the staples of wine production on the East Coast of the United States
.
The first commercial vineyard and winery in the United States was established by an act of the Kentucky Legislature on November 21, 1799. The vinedresser for the vineyard was John James Dufour formerly of Vevey, Switzerland (same authority as above). The vineyard was located overlooking the Kentucky River in Jessamine County, Kentucky
and was named First Vineyard by Dufour on November 5, 1798. The vineyard's current address in 5800 Sugar Creek Pike, Nicholasville, Kentucky
. The first wine from the First Vineyard was consumed by the subscribers at John Postelthwaite's house on March 21, 1803. Two 5 gallon oak casks of wine were taken to President Thomas Jefferson in Washington, D.C. in February 1805. The vineyard continued until 1809 when a killing freeze in May destroyed the crop and many vines at the First Vineyard. The Dufour family then relocated to Vevay, Indiana
after the abandonment of the First Vineyard.
In California, the first vineyard and winery was established by the Franciscan
missionary Junípero Serra
near San Diego in 1769. Later missionaries would carry the vines northward, with Sonoma
's first vineyard being planted around 1805. 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 variety, it is a grape of "very modest" quality. Jean-Louis Vignes
was one of the early settlers to use higher quality vinifera in his vineyard near Los Angeles
.
The first commercially successful winery in the United States was founded in Cincinnati, Ohio in the mid-1830s by Nicholas Longworth
, who made a sparkling wine
from Catawba grapes. In the 1860s, vineyards in the Ohio River Valley
were attacked by Black rot
. This prompted several winemakers to move north to the Finger Lakes
region of New York. During this time, the Missouri wine
industry, centered around the German
colony in Hermann, Missouri
, took off and was soon second to California in wine production. In the late 19th century, the phylloxera
epidemic in the West and Pierce's disease in the East ravaged the growing American wine industry.
Prohibition in the United States
began when the state of Maine
became the first state to go completely dry in 1846; it culminated in the passing of the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
in 1920 which forbade the manufacturing, sale and transport of alcohol
. Exceptions were made for sacramental wine
used for religious purposes and some wineries were able to maintain their facilities under those auspices. Others resorted to bootlegging
. Home winemaking
also became common, allowed through exemptions for sacramental wine
s and production for home use.
Following the repeal of Prohibition
, American wine making reemerged in very poor condition. Many talented winemakers had died, vineyards had been neglected or replanted with table grape
s, 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.
Leading the way to new methods was research conducted at the University of California, Davis
and some of the state universities
in New York. Faculty at the universities published reports on which varieties of grapes grew best in which regions, held seminars on winemaking techniques, consulted with grape growers and winemakers, offered academic degrees in viticulture, and promoted the production of quality wines. In the 1970s and 1980s, success by Californian winemakers help to secure foreign investment dollars from other winemaking regions, most notably the Champenois. Changing taste in the American palate
has also helped to foster this growth, with 668 million gallons (25.3 million hectoliters) of wine being consumed in the United States in 2004. Today the American wine industry faces the growing challenges of expanding international exports and dealing with domestic regulations on interstate sales and shipment of wine.
system was based on the political boundaries of states
and counties. In September 1978 the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (now Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau
) developed regulations to establish American Viticultural Area
s (AVA) based on distinct climate and geographical features. In June 1980, the Augusta AVA
in Missouri
was established as the first American Viticultural Area under the new appellation system. For the sake of wine labeling purposes, all the states and county appellations were grandfathered
in as appellations. There were 187 distinct AVAs designated under U.S. law as of April 2007.
, at least 85% of the grapes used to produce the wine must be grown in the AVA.
With the larger state and county appellations the laws vary depending on the area. For a County Appellation, 75% of the grapes used must be from that county. If grapes are from two or three contiguous counties, a label can have a multi-county designation so long as the percentages used from each county are clearly on the label. For the majority of U.S. States the State Appellation requires 75% of the grapes in the wine to be grown in the state. Texas
requires 85% and California
requires 100%. If grapes are from two to three contiguous states a wine can be made under a multi-state designations following the same requirements as the multi-county appellation.
American wine or United States is a rarely used appellation that classifies a wine made from anywhere in the United States, including Puerto Rico
and Washington, D.C.
. Wines with this designation are similar to the French wine
vin de table and can not include a vintage
year. By law this is the only appellation allowed for bulk wines export
ed to other counties.
Current U.S. laws allow American made wines to be labeled as "American Burgundy
" or "California champagne", even though these names are restricted
in Europe. U.S. laws only restrict usage to include the qualifying area of origin to go with these semi-generic names. Other semi-generic names in the United States include Claret
, Chablis, Chianti
, Madeira
, Malaga
, Marsala
, Moselle, Port, Rhine wine
, Sauternes
(commonly spelled on U.S. wine labels as Sauterne or Haut Sauterne), Sherry
and Tokay. European Union
officials have been working with their U.S. counterparts through World Trade Organization
negotiations to eliminate the use of these semi-generic names.
s that were often labeled with semi-generic
names. Consumer demand for varietals has essentially dried up the market for semi-generic wines. The exception is very inexpensive sparkling wine
s that are sometimes labeled "California champagne."
for that year to appear on the label. Prior to the early 1970s, all grapes had to be from the vintage year. All labels must list the alcohol
content based on percentage by volume. For bottles labeled by varietal
at least 75% of the grape must be of the varietal. In Oregon
, the requirement is 90%. American wine label
s are also required to list if they contain sulfites and carry the Surgeon General
's warning about alcohol consumption
.
distribution system between the producer, wholesaler and consumer. Depending on the state there are some exceptions, with wineries allowed to sell directly to consumers on site at the winery.
Some states allow interstate sales through e-commerce. In the 2005 case of Granholm v. Heald
, the Supreme Court of the United States
struck down state laws banning interstate shipments but allowing in-state sales. The outcome of the Supreme Court decision was that states could decide to allow out of states wine sales along with in state sales or ban both altogether.
The largest producers of American wine.
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
production is undertaken in all fifty states, with California
California wine
California wine has a long and continuing history, and in the late twentieth century became recognized as producing some of the world's finest wine. While wine is made in all fifty U.S. states, up to 90% of American wine is produced in the state...
producing 89 percent of all US wine. The United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
is the fourth largest wine producing country in the world after France
French wine
French wine is produced in several regions throughout France, in quantities between 50 and 60 million hectolitres per year, or 7–8 billion bottles. France has the world's second-largest total vineyard area, behind Spain, and is in the position of being the world's largest wine producer...
, Italy
Italian wine
Italian wine is wine produced in Italy, a country which is home to some of the oldest wine-producing regions in the world. Italy is the world's largest wine producer, responsible for approximately one-fifth of world wine production in 2005. Italian wine is exported largely around the world and has...
, and Spain
Spanish wine
Spanish wines are wines produced in the southwestern European country of Spain. Located on the Iberian Peninsula, Spain has over 2.9 million acres planted—making it the most widely planted wine producing nation but it is the third largest producer of wine in the world, the largest...
.
The North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
n continent is home to several native species of grape
Grape
A grape is a non-climacteric fruit, specifically a berry, that grows on the perennial and deciduous woody vines of the genus Vitis. Grapes can be eaten raw or they can be used for making jam, juice, jelly, vinegar, wine, grape seed extracts, raisins, molasses and grape seed oil. Grapes are also...
, including Vitis labrusca
Vitis labrusca
Vitis labrusca is a species of grapevines belonging to the Vitis genus in the flowering plant family Vitaceae. The vines are native to the eastern United States and are the source of many grape cultivars, including Catawba and Concord grapes, and many hybrid grape varieties such as Agawam,...
, Vitis riparia
Vitis riparia
Vitis riparia Michx, also commonly known as River Bank Grape or Frost Grape, is a native American climbing or trailing vine, widely distributed from Quebec to Texas, and Montana to New England. It is long-lived and capable of reaching into the upper canopy of the tallest trees...
, Vitis rotundifolia, Vitis vulpina
Vitis vulpina
Vitis vulpina is a herbaceous perennial vine of the family Vitaceae . The genus name Vitis comes from the Latin word for "vine" and the species name vulpina comes from the Latin word for "fox-like" or belonging to a fox...
, and Vitis amurensis
Vitis amurensis
Vitis amurensis, the Amur grape, is a species of grape native to the Asian continent. Its name comes from the Amur Valley in Russia and China.It is very resistant to frost, but is not tolerant to drought...
, but it was the introduction of the European Vitis vinifera
Vitis vinifera
Vitis vinifera is a species of Vitis, native to the Mediterranean region, central Europe, and southwestern Asia, from Morocco and Portugal north to southern Germany and east to northern Iran....
by European settlers that led to the growth of the wine making industry. With more than 1100000 acres (4,451.5 km²) under vine
Vine
A vine in the narrowest sense is the grapevine , but more generally it can refer to any plant with a growth habit of trailing or scandent, that is to say climbing, stems or runners...
, the United States is the fifth most planted country in the world after France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
.
History
The first Europeans to explore North America called it Vinland because of the profusion of grape vines they found. The earliest wine made in what is now the United States was from the ScuppernongScuppernong
The scuppernong is a large variety of muscadine , a species of grape native to the southeastern United States. It is usually a greenish or bronze color and is similar in appearance and texture to a white grape, but rounder and larger and first known as the 'big white grape'...
grapes by French Huguenot settlers at a settlement near Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...
between 1562 and 1564. In the early American colonies of Virginia and the Carolina
Province of Carolina
The Province of Carolina, originally chartered in 1629, was an English and later British colony of North America. Because the original Heath charter was unrealized and was ruled invalid, a new charter was issued to a group of eight English noblemen, the Lords Proprietors, in 1663...
s, wine making was an official goal laid out in their founding charter
Charter
A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified...
s. 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
Vitis vinifera
Vitis vinifera is a species of Vitis, native to the Mediterranean region, central Europe, and southwestern Asia, from Morocco and Portugal north to southern Germany and east to northern Iran....
varieties beginning with the Virginia Company
Virginia Company
The Virginia Company refers collectively to a pair of English joint stock companies chartered by James I on 10 April1606 with the purposes of establishing settlements on the coast of North America...
exporting of French vinifera vines with French vignerons to Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
in 1619. These early plantings were met with failure as native pest and vine disease ravaged the vineyards. In 1683, William Penn
William Penn
William Penn was an English real estate entrepreneur, philosopher, and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, the English North American colony and the future Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He was an early champion of democracy and religious freedom, notable for his good relations and successful...
planted a vineyard of French vinifera in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
that may have interbred with a native Vitis labrusca vine to create the hybrid grape Alexander
Alexander (grape)
Alexander is a sponteneous cross of vines from which the first commercial wines in America were made. It was discovered in 1740 in the neighborhood of Springgettsbury, Philadelphia, in a vineyard where James Alexander , William Penn's gardener, had originally planted cuttings of vinifera in 1683...
. One of the first commercial wineries in the United States was founded in Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
in 1806 with production of wine made from the Alexander grape. Today French-American hybrid grapes are the staples of wine production on the East Coast of the United States
East Coast of the United States
The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, refers to the easternmost coastal states in the United States, which touch the Atlantic Ocean and stretch up to Canada. The term includes the U.S...
.
The first commercial vineyard and winery in the United States was established by an act of the Kentucky Legislature on November 21, 1799. The vinedresser for the vineyard was John James Dufour formerly of Vevey, Switzerland (same authority as above). The vineyard was located overlooking the Kentucky River in Jessamine County, Kentucky
Jessamine County, Kentucky
Jessamine County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It is within the Inner Blue Grass region, which was the center of farming and blooded stock raising, including thoroughbred horses. It was formed in 1799. The population was 48,586 in the 2010 Census...
and was named First Vineyard by Dufour on November 5, 1798. The vineyard's current address in 5800 Sugar Creek Pike, Nicholasville, Kentucky
Nicholasville, Kentucky
Nicholasville is the 11th largest city in state of Kentucky and the county seat of Jessamine County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 19,680 at the 2000 census...
. The first wine from the First Vineyard was consumed by the subscribers at John Postelthwaite's house on March 21, 1803. Two 5 gallon oak casks of wine were taken to President Thomas Jefferson in Washington, D.C. in February 1805. The vineyard continued until 1809 when a killing freeze in May destroyed the crop and many vines at the First Vineyard. The Dufour family then relocated to Vevay, Indiana
Vevay, Indiana
Vevay is a town in and the county seat of Jefferson Township, Switzerland County, Indiana, United States, along the Ohio River. The population was 1,683 at the 2010 census.-History:...
after the abandonment of the First Vineyard.
In California, the first vineyard and winery was established by the Franciscan
Franciscan
Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....
missionary Junípero Serra
Junípero Serra
Blessed Junípero Serra, O.F.M., , known as Fra Juníper Serra in Catalan, his mother tongue was a Majorcan Franciscan friar who founded the mission chain in Alta California of the Las Californias Province in New Spain—present day California, United States. Fr...
near San Diego in 1769. Later missionaries would carry the vines northward, with Sonoma
Sonoma County, California
Sonoma County, located on the northern coast of the U.S. state of California, is the largest and northernmost of the nine San Francisco Bay Area counties. Its population at the 2010 census was 483,878. Its largest city and county seat is Santa Rosa....
's first vineyard being planted around 1805. California has two native grape varieties, but they make very poor quality wine. Therefore, the missionaries used the Mission grape
Mission (grape)
Mission grapes are a variety of Vitis vinifera introduced from Spain to the western coasts of North and South America in the 16th century by Catholic New World missionaries for use in making sacramental, table, and fortified wines.-History:...
, which is called criolla or "colonialized European" in South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
. Although a Vitis vinifera variety, it is a grape of "very modest" quality. Jean-Louis Vignes
Jean-Louis Vignes
Jean-Louis Vignes , or as he was known to his Mexican neighbors, "Don Luis del Aliso", was a French settler to the Los Angeles area during the Mexican era. He was the first commercial wine maker in California and one of the first men to import and plant European Vitis vinifera grapes in the state...
was one of the early settlers to use higher quality vinifera in his vineyard near Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
.
The first commercially successful winery in the United States was founded in Cincinnati, Ohio in the mid-1830s by Nicholas Longworth
Nicholas Longworth
Nicholas Longworth IV was a prominent American politician in the Republican Party during the first few decades of the 20th century...
, who made a sparkling wine
Sparkling wine
Sparkling wine is a wine with significant levels of carbon dioxide in it making it fizzy. The carbon dioxide may result from natural fermentation, either in a bottle, as with the méthode champenoise, in a large tank designed to withstand the pressures involved , or as a result of carbon dioxide...
from Catawba grapes. In the 1860s, vineyards in the Ohio River Valley
Ohio River Valley AVA
The Ohio River Valley AVA is an American Viticultural Area centered around the Ohio River and surrounding areas. It is the second largest wine appellation of origin in the United States with in portions of the states of Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio and West Virginia...
were attacked by Black rot
Black rot
Black rot is a name used for various diseases of cultivated plants caused by fungi or bacteria, producing dark brown discoloration and decay in the leaves of fruit and vegetables:...
. This prompted several winemakers to move north to the Finger Lakes
Finger Lakes
The Finger Lakes are a pattern of lakes in the west-central section of Upstate New York in the United States. They are a popular tourist destination. The lakes are long and thin , each oriented roughly on a north-south axis. The two longest, Cayuga Lake and Seneca Lake, are among the deepest in...
region of New York. During this time, the Missouri wine
Missouri wine
Missouri Wine refers to wine made from grapes grown in the U.S. state of Missouri. German immigrants in the early-to-mid-19th century, founded the wine industry in Missouri, resulting in its wine corridor being called the Missouri "Rhineland". Later Italian immigrants also entered wine production....
industry, centered around the German
Germans
The Germans are a Germanic ethnic group native to Central Europe. The English term Germans has referred to the German-speaking population of the Holy Roman Empire since the Late Middle Ages....
colony in Hermann, Missouri
Hermann, Missouri
Hermann is a city designated in 1842 as the county seat of Gasconade County, Missouri, United States. It is near the center of the Missouri Rhineland and south of the Missouri River. The population was 2,674 at the 2000 census....
, took off and was soon second to California in wine production. In the late 19th century, the phylloxera
Phylloxera
Grape phylloxera ; originally described in France as Phylloxera vastatrix; equated to the previously described Daktulosphaira vitifoliae, Phylloxera vitifoliae; commonly just called phylloxera is a pest of commercial grapevines worldwide, originally native to eastern North America...
epidemic in the West and Pierce's disease in the East ravaged the growing American wine industry.
Prohibition in the United States
Prohibition in the United States
Prohibition in the United States was a national ban on the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol, in place from 1920 to 1933. The ban was mandated by the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution, and the Volstead Act set down the rules for enforcing the ban, as well as defining which...
began when the state of Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
became the first state to go completely dry in 1846; it culminated in the passing of the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Eighteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution established Prohibition in the United States. The separate Volstead Act set down methods of enforcing the Eighteenth Amendment, and defined which "intoxicating liquors" were prohibited, and which were excluded from prohibition...
in 1920 which forbade the manufacturing, sale and transport of alcohol
Alcoholic beverage
An alcoholic beverage is a drink containing ethanol, commonly known as alcohol. Alcoholic beverages are divided into three general classes: beers, wines, and spirits. They are legally consumed in most countries, and over 100 countries have laws regulating their production, sale, and consumption...
. Exceptions were made for sacramental wine
Sacramental wine
Sacramental wine, Communion wine or altar wine is wine obtained from grapes and intended for use in celebration of the Eucharist...
used for religious purposes and some wineries were able to maintain their facilities under those auspices. Others resorted to bootlegging
Rum-running
Rum-running, also known as bootlegging, is the illegal business of transporting alcoholic beverages where such transportation is forbidden by law...
. Home winemaking
Winemaking
Winemaking, or vinification, is the production of wine, starting with selection of the grapes or other produce and ending with bottling the finished wine. Although most wine is made from grapes, it may also be made from other fruit or non-toxic plant material...
also became common, allowed through exemptions for sacramental wine
Sacramental wine
Sacramental wine, Communion wine or altar wine is wine obtained from grapes and intended for use in celebration of the Eucharist...
s and production for home use.
Following the repeal of Prohibition
Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution repealed the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which had mandated nationwide Prohibition...
, American wine making reemerged in very poor condition. Many talented winemakers had died, vineyards had been neglected or replanted with table grape
Table grape
Table grapes are grapes intended for consumption while they are fresh, as opposed to grapes grown for wine production, juice production, or for drying into raisins....
s, 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.
Leading the way to new methods was research conducted at the University of California, Davis
University of California, Davis
The University of California, Davis is a public teaching and research university established in 1905 and located in Davis, California, USA. Spanning over , the campus is the largest within the University of California system and third largest by enrollment...
and some of the state universities
State University of New York
The State University of New York, abbreviated SUNY , is a system of public institutions of higher education in New York, United States. It is the largest comprehensive system of universities, colleges, and community colleges in the United States, with a total enrollment of 465,000 students, plus...
in New York. Faculty at the universities published reports on which varieties of grapes grew best in which regions, held seminars on winemaking techniques, consulted with grape growers and winemakers, offered academic degrees in viticulture, and promoted the production of quality wines. In the 1970s and 1980s, success by Californian winemakers help to secure foreign investment dollars from other winemaking regions, most notably the Champenois. Changing taste in the American palate
Palate
The palate is the roof of the mouth in humans and other mammals. It separates the oral cavity from the nasal cavity. A similar structure is found in crocodilians, but, in most other tetrapods, the oral and nasal cavities are not truly separate. The palate is divided into two parts, the anterior...
has also helped to foster this growth, with 668 million gallons (25.3 million hectoliters) of wine being consumed in the United States in 2004. Today the American wine industry faces the growing challenges of expanding international exports and dealing with domestic regulations on interstate sales and shipment of wine.
Wine regions
There are nearly 3,000 commercial vineyards in the United States, and at least one winery in each of the 50 states.- West CoastWest Coast of the United StatesWest Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...
– The majority of American wine production occurs in the states of CaliforniaCalifornia wineCalifornia wine has a long and continuing history, and in the late twentieth century became recognized as producing some of the world's finest wine. While wine is made in all fifty U.S. states, up to 90% of American wine is produced in the state...
, WashingtonWashington WineWashington wine is wine produced from grape varieties grown in the U.S. state of Washington. Washington ranks second in the United States in the production of wine, behind only California. By 2006, the state had over of vineyards, a harvest of of grapes, and exports going to over 40 countries...
and OregonOregon wineThe state of Oregon in the United States has established an international reputation for its production of wine. Oregon has several different growing regions within the state's borders which are well-suited to the cultivation of grapes; additional regions straddle the border between Oregon and the...
. - Rocky Mountain RegionGeography of the United States Rocky Mountain Systemimage:US west coast physiographic regions map.jpgPhysiographic regions of the U.S. InteriorSee:legendFor purposes of description, the physical geography of the United States is split into several major physiographic divisions, one being the Rocky Mountain System...
– Notably IdahoIdaho wineIdaho wine refers to wine made from the U.S. state of Idaho. Idaho has a long history of wine production with the first vineyards in the Pacific Northwest being planted here in the 1860s...
and ColoradoColorado wineColorado wine refers to wine made from grapes grown in the U.S. state of Colorado. Most the Colorado's vineyards are located on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains, though an increasing number of wineries are located along the Front Range.... - Southwestern United StatesSouthwestern United StatesThe Southwestern United States is a region defined in different ways by different sources. Broad definitions include nearly a quarter of the United States, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah...
– Notably TexasTexas wineTexas has a long history of wine production. The sunny and dry climate of the major wine making regions in the state have drawn comparison to Portuguese wines. Some of the earliest recorded Texas wines were produced by Spanish missionaries in the 1650s near El Paso...
and New MexicoNew Mexico wineNew Mexico has the longest history of wine production in the United States. In 1629, Franciscan friar García de Zúñiga and a Capuchín monk named Antonio de Arteaga planted the first wine grapes in the Río Grande valley of southern New Mexico. Viticulture took hold in the valley, and by the year... - Midwestern United StatesMidwestern United StatesThe Midwestern United States is one of the four U.S. geographic regions defined by the United States Census Bureau, providing an official definition of the American Midwest....
– Notably MissouriMissouri wineMissouri Wine refers to wine made from grapes grown in the U.S. state of Missouri. German immigrants in the early-to-mid-19th century, founded the wine industry in Missouri, resulting in its wine corridor being called the Missouri "Rhineland". Later Italian immigrants also entered wine production....
, IllinoisIllinois wineIllinois wine refers to any wine that is made from grapes grown in the U.S. state of Illinois. In 2006, Shawnee Hills, in southern Illinois, was named the state's first American Viticultural Area. As of 2008, there were 79 wineries in Illinois, utilizing approximately of vines.-History:Grapes...
and MinnesotaMinnesota wineMinnesota wine refers to wine made from grapes grown in the U.S. state of Minnesota. Minnesota is a very cold climate for viticulture and many grape varieties require protection from the winter weather by being buried under soil for the season. Minnesota is home to extensive research on... - Great Lakes regionGreat Lakes region (North America)The Great Lakes region of North America, occasionally known as the Third Coast or the Fresh Coast , includes the eight U.S. states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin as well as the Canadian province of Ontario...
– Notably MichiganMichigan wineMichigan wine refers to any wine that is made in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of 2007, there were under wine-grape cultivation and 64 commercial wineries in Michigan, producing 425,000 cases of wine . According to another count there were 112 operating wineries in Michigan in 2007.Wine and...
, northern New YorkNew York wineNew York wine refers to wine made from grapes grown in the U.S. state of New York. New York ranks third in grape production by volume after California and Washington. Eighty-three percent of New York's grape area is Vitis labrusca varieties...
and OhioOhio wineOhio wine refers to wine made from grapes grown in the U.S. state of Ohio. Historically, this has been wine grown from native American species of grapes, not European wine grapes, although hybrid and vinifera grapes are now common in Ohio... - East Coast of the United StatesEast Coast of the United StatesThe East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, refers to the easternmost coastal states in the United States, which touch the Atlantic Ocean and stretch up to Canada. The term includes the U.S...
– Most Notably VirginiaVirginia wineVirginia wine refers to wine made from grapes grown in the U.S. state of Virginia. Wine has been produced in the area since the early days of European colonization in the 17th century. Virginia has hot humid summers that can be challenging to viticulture. Since 2000, Chardonnay has been the most...
and notables such as New JerseyNew Jersey wineWine production in the U.S. state of New Jersey dates back to the region's colonial era when, in the mid-18th century, wines were made by local vintners on a small scale. The state's first commercial operation, Renault Winery, was opened in 1864 in southern Atlantic County and remains one of the...
, New York StateNew York wineNew York wine refers to wine made from grapes grown in the U.S. state of New York. New York ranks third in grape production by volume after California and Washington. Eighty-three percent of New York's grape area is Vitis labrusca varieties...
, PennsylvaniaPennsylvania winePennsylvania wine refers to wine made from grapes grown in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The climate in Pennsylvania is mild compared to surrounding states, with the moderating effects of Lake Erie to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. More than 100 wineries are located in all parts...
, and North CarolinaNorth Carolina wineNorth Carolina wine refers to wine made from grapes grown in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Wine has been produced in the area since the early days of European colonization in the 17th century. wine growers in North Carolina were the first to cultivate a native American grape variety, the...
.
Production by state
Production of still wine per state in 2009 was as follows:| State | Production (gal) | Production (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Arizona Arizona wine Arizona wine refers to wine made from grapes grown in the U.S. state of Arizona.Viticulture in Arizona has a history that begins in the 16th century when missionary Spanish Jesuit priests began to plant grapevines and make wine for use in Christian religious ceremonies... |
79,295 | 0.011% |
| California California wine California wine has a long and continuing history, and in the late twentieth century became recognized as producing some of the world's finest wine. While wine is made in all fifty U.S. states, up to 90% of American wine is produced in the state... |
634,384,072 | 89.196% |
| Colorado Colorado wine Colorado wine refers to wine made from grapes grown in the U.S. state of Colorado. Most the Colorado's vineyards are located on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains, though an increasing number of wineries are located along the Front Range.... |
325,195 | 0.046% |
| Connecticut Connecticut wine Connecticut wine refers to wine made from grapes and other fruit grown in the U.S. state of Connecticut. The modern wine industry in Connecticut began with the passage of the Connecticut Winery Act in 1978. The wineries in Connecticut are located throughout the state, including in the two... |
114,797 | 0.016% |
| Florida Florida wine Florida wine refers to wine made from grapes grown in the U.S. state of Florida. Wine grapes were grown in Florida earlier than anywhere else in the United States. The first wine grapes were planted in the 16th century by Spanish missionaries for the production of sacramental wine for Christian... |
1,871,429 | 0.263% |
| Georgia | 125,874 | 0.018% |
| Idaho Idaho wine Idaho wine refers to wine made from the U.S. state of Idaho. Idaho has a long history of wine production with the first vineyards in the Pacific Northwest being planted here in the 1860s... |
604,702 | 0.085% |
| Illinois Illinois wine Illinois wine refers to any wine that is made from grapes grown in the U.S. state of Illinois. In 2006, Shawnee Hills, in southern Illinois, was named the state's first American Viticultural Area. As of 2008, there were 79 wineries in Illinois, utilizing approximately of vines.-History:Grapes... |
317,041 | 0.045% |
| Indiana Indiana wine Indiana wine refers to wine made from grapes grown in the U.S. state of Indiana. Wine has been produced in the area since the early days of European colonization in the 18th century. In the mid-19th century, Indiana was the tenth-largest winegrape producing state in the country.There is one... |
813,511 | 0.114% |
| Iowa Iowa wine Iowa wine refers to wine made from grapes grown in the U.S. state of Iowa. Iowa presents many challenges to viticulture including very warm summer days that can promote fungal vine diseases, and extremely cold winter nights that can kill many varieties of grapevines... |
222,864 | 0.031% |
| Kansas Kansas wine Kansas wine refers to wine made from grapes grown in the U.S. state of Kansas. In the nineteenth century Kansas was a significant grape-growing state... |
69,309 | 0.010% |
| Kentucky Kentucky wine Kentucky wine refers to wine made from grapes grown in the U.S. state of Kentucky.One of the first attempts at large-scale commercial viticulture in the United States started in Kentucky in 1799, with plantings by the Kentucky Vineyard Society. The relatively mild climate of Kentucky, especially... |
1,992,767 | 0.280% |
| Maine Maine wine Maine wine refers to wine made from grapes grown in the U.S. state of Maine. Most wine produced in Maine is made from fruit other than grapes, including apple, cranberry, and blueberry wines. A small number of wineries in Maine are producing limited quantities of wine made from locally-grown... |
43,038 | 0.006% |
| Maryland Maryland wine Maryland wine is wine made in the U.S. state of Maryland. The industry has grown rapidly since the first winery in Maryland, Boordy Vineyards, opened in 1945. It is estimated that the industry contributes $50 million annually to the Maryland economy.... |
307,566 | 0.043% |
| Massachusetts Massachusetts wine Massachusetts wine refers to wine made from grapes grown in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. Most of the wine grape vineyards and wineries in Massachusetts are located in the southern half of the state, within the boundaries of the Southeastern New England AVA... |
162,311 | 0.023% |
| Michigan Michigan wine Michigan wine refers to any wine that is made in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of 2007, there were under wine-grape cultivation and 64 commercial wineries in Michigan, producing 425,000 cases of wine . According to another count there were 112 operating wineries in Michigan in 2007.Wine and... |
1,269,514 | 0.178% |
| Minnesota Minnesota wine Minnesota wine refers to wine made from grapes grown in the U.S. state of Minnesota. Minnesota is a very cold climate for viticulture and many grape varieties require protection from the winter weather by being buried under soil for the season. Minnesota is home to extensive research on... |
114,112 | 0.016% |
| Missouri Missouri wine Missouri Wine refers to wine made from grapes grown in the U.S. state of Missouri. German immigrants in the early-to-mid-19th century, founded the wine industry in Missouri, resulting in its wine corridor being called the Missouri "Rhineland". Later Italian immigrants also entered wine production.... |
1,034,272 | 0.145% |
| Montana Montana wine Montana wine refers to wine made from grapes grown in the U.S. state of Montana. There are eight wineries in Montana, with most producing wine from fruits other than grapes or from grapes grown in other states, such as California, Oregon, or Washington. There are no American Viticultural Areas in... |
17,574 | 0.002% |
| Nebraska Nebraska wine Nebraska wine is wine made from grapes grown in the U.S. state of Nebraska. Nebraska's oldest winery was founded in 1994, and about twenty commercial wineries operate across the state. The vast majority of these wineries are small and sell most of their wine to tourists who visit the winery in... |
124,288 | 0.017% |
| New Jersey New Jersey wine Wine production in the U.S. state of New Jersey dates back to the region's colonial era when, in the mid-18th century, wines were made by local vintners on a small scale. The state's first commercial operation, Renault Winery, was opened in 1864 in southern Atlantic County and remains one of the... |
1,711,915 | 0.241% |
| New Mexico New Mexico wine New Mexico has the longest history of wine production in the United States. In 1629, Franciscan friar García de Zúñiga and a Capuchín monk named Antonio de Arteaga planted the first wine grapes in the Río Grande valley of southern New Mexico. Viticulture took hold in the valley, and by the year... |
516,614 | 0.073% |
| New York New York wine New York wine refers to wine made from grapes grown in the U.S. state of New York. New York ranks third in grape production by volume after California and Washington. Eighty-three percent of New York's grape area is Vitis labrusca varieties... |
26,257,964 | 3.692% |
| North Carolina North Carolina wine North Carolina wine refers to wine made from grapes grown in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Wine has been produced in the area since the early days of European colonization in the 17th century. wine growers in North Carolina were the first to cultivate a native American grape variety, the... |
1,231,746 | 0.173% |
| Ohio Ohio wine Ohio wine refers to wine made from grapes grown in the U.S. state of Ohio. Historically, this has been wine grown from native American species of grapes, not European wine grapes, although hybrid and vinifera grapes are now common in Ohio... |
1,102,958 | 0.155% |
| Oklahoma Oklahoma wine Oklahoma wine refers to wine made from grapes grown in the U.S. state of Oklahoma.Wine production was a significant component of the Oklahoma agricultural economy in the 1920s. The industry was destroyed by the Dust Bowl of the 1930s and the introduction of Prohibition in the United States. ... |
44,747 | 0.006% |
| Oregon Oregon wine The state of Oregon in the United States has established an international reputation for its production of wine. Oregon has several different growing regions within the state's borders which are well-suited to the cultivation of grapes; additional regions straddle the border between Oregon and the... |
6,417,558 | 0.902% |
| Pennsylvania Pennsylvania wine Pennsylvania wine refers to wine made from grapes grown in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The climate in Pennsylvania is mild compared to surrounding states, with the moderating effects of Lake Erie to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. More than 100 wineries are located in all parts... |
816,054 | 0.115% |
| South Dakota South Dakota wine South Dakota wine refers to wine made from grapes grown in the U.S. state of South Dakota. South Dakota has a small wine industry, which must contend with extremes of heat in the summer and cold in the winter. The only grape species that naturally performs well in South Dakota is vitis riparia, a... |
88,861 | 0.012% |
| Tennessee Tennessee wine Tennessee wine refers to wine made from grapes grown in the U.S. state of Tennessee. The state was home to a wine industry in the 19th century that was crushed when Prohibition was introduced in the early 20th century. The modern Tennessee wine industry focuses on French hybrid grapes, which are... |
287,305 | 0.040% |
| Texas Texas wine Texas has a long history of wine production. The sunny and dry climate of the major wine making regions in the state have drawn comparison to Portuguese wines. Some of the earliest recorded Texas wines were produced by Spanish missionaries in the 1650s near El Paso... |
675,530 | 0.095% |
| Virginia Virginia wine Virginia wine refers to wine made from grapes grown in the U.S. state of Virginia. Wine has been produced in the area since the early days of European colonization in the 17th century. Virginia has hot humid summers that can be challenging to viticulture. Since 2000, Chardonnay has been the most... |
1,162,497 | 0.163% |
| Washington Washington Wine Washington wine is wine produced from grape varieties grown in the U.S. state of Washington. Washington ranks second in the United States in the production of wine, behind only California. By 2006, the state had over of vineyards, a harvest of of grapes, and exports going to over 40 countries... |
23,757,121 | 3.340% |
| West Virginia West Virginia wine West Virginia wine refers to wine made from grapes grown in the U.S. state of West Virginia. West Virginia has 11 wineries located throughout the state, including three designated American Viticultural Areas. Because of the state's cold winter climate, most producers focus on French hybrid grape... |
47,648 | 0.007% |
| Wisconsin Wisconsin wine Wisconsin wine refers to wine made from grapes grown in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The first wine grapes were planted in Wisconsin by Agoston Haraszthy in the mid-nineteenth century, before he emigrated to California and helped to found wine industry there. As have others since, Haraszthy found... |
482,962 | 0.068% |
| Others | 2,632,104 | 0.370% |
| Sum | 711,227,115 | 100 % |
Appellation system
The early American appellationAppellation
An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication used to identify where the grapes for a wine were grown; other types of food often have appellations as well...
system was based on the political boundaries of states
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
and counties. In September 1978 the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (now Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau
Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau
The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, statutorily named the Tax and Trade Bureau and frequently shortened to TTB, is a bureau of the United States Department of the Treasury....
) developed regulations to establish American Viticultural Area
American Viticultural Area
An American Viticultural Area is a designated wine grape-growing region in the United States distinguishable by geographic features, with boundaries defined by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau , United States Department of the Treasury....
s (AVA) based on distinct climate and geographical features. In June 1980, the Augusta AVA
Augusta AVA
The Augusta AVA was the first federally approved American Viticultural Area gaining the status on June 20, 1980, eight months before the Napa Valley AVA in northern California. Located entirely within the state of Missouri, the boundaries of this wine region encompass around the city of Augusta...
in Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
was established as the first American Viticultural Area under the new appellation system. For the sake of wine labeling purposes, all the states and county appellations were grandfathered
Grandfather clause
Grandfather clause is a legal term used to describe a situation in which an old rule continues to apply to some existing situations, while a new rule will apply to all future situations. It is often used as a verb: to grandfather means to grant such an exemption...
in as appellations. There were 187 distinct AVAs designated under U.S. law as of April 2007.
Appellation labeling laws
In order to have an AVA appear on a wine labelWine label
Wine labels are important sources of information for consumers since they tell the type and origin of the wine. The label is often the only resource a buyer has for evaluating the wine before purchasing it...
, at least 85% of the grapes used to produce the wine must be grown in the AVA.
With the larger state and county appellations the laws vary depending on the area. For a County Appellation, 75% of the grapes used must be from that county. If grapes are from two or three contiguous counties, a label can have a multi-county designation so long as the percentages used from each county are clearly on the label. For the majority of U.S. States the State Appellation requires 75% of the grapes in the wine to be grown in the state. Texas
Texas wine
Texas has a long history of wine production. The sunny and dry climate of the major wine making regions in the state have drawn comparison to Portuguese wines. Some of the earliest recorded Texas wines were produced by Spanish missionaries in the 1650s near El Paso...
requires 85% and California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
requires 100%. If grapes are from two to three contiguous states a wine can be made under a multi-state designations following the same requirements as the multi-county appellation.
American wine or United States is a rarely used appellation that classifies a wine made from anywhere in the United States, including Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
and Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
. Wines with this designation are similar to the French wine
French wine
French wine is produced in several regions throughout France, in quantities between 50 and 60 million hectolitres per year, or 7–8 billion bottles. France has the world's second-largest total vineyard area, behind Spain, and is in the position of being the world's largest wine producer...
vin de table and can not include a vintage
Vintage
Vintage, in wine-making, is the process of picking grapes and creating the finished product . A vintage wine is one made from grapes that were all, or primarily, grown and harvested in a single specified year. In certain wines, it can denote quality, as in Port wine, where Port houses make and...
year. By law this is the only appellation allowed for bulk wines export
Export
The term export is derived from the conceptual meaning as to ship the goods and services out of the port of a country. The seller of such goods and services is referred to as an "exporter" who is based in the country of export whereas the overseas based buyer is referred to as an "importer"...
ed to other counties.
Semi-generic wines
Burgundy wine
Burgundy wine is wine made in the Burgundy region in eastern France, in the valleys and slopes west of the Saône River, a tributary of the Rhône. The most famous wines produced here - those commonly referred to as "Burgundies" - are red wines made from Pinot Noir grapes or white wines made from...
" or "California champagne", even though these names are restricted
Protected designation of origin
Protected Geographical Status is a legal framework defined in European Union law to protect the names of regional foods. Protected Designation of Origin , Protected Geographical Indication and Traditional Speciality Guaranteed are distinct regimes of geographical indications within the framework...
in Europe. U.S. laws only restrict usage to include the qualifying area of origin to go with these semi-generic names. Other semi-generic names in the United States include Claret
Claret
Claret is a name primarily used in British English for red wine from the Bordeaux region of France.-Usage:Claret derives from the French clairet, a now uncommon dark rosé and the most common wine exported from Bordeaux until the 18th century...
, Chablis, Chianti
Chianti
Chianti is a red Italian wine produced in Tuscany. It was historically associated with a squat bottle enclosed in a straw basket, called a fiasco ; however, the fiasco is only used by a few makers of the wine now; most Chianti is now bottled in more standard shaped wine bottles...
, Madeira
Madeira wine
Madeira is a fortified Portuguese wine made in the Madeira Islands. Some wines produced in small quantities in California and Texas are also referred to as "Madeira", or "Madera", although those wines do not conform to the EU PDO regulations...
, Malaga
Malaga (wine)
Malaga is a sweet fortified wine originating in the Spanish city of Málaga made from Pedro Ximénez and Moscatel grapes. The center of Malaga production is Sierra de Almijara, along with Antequera, Archidona, San Pedro Alcantara, Velez Malaga and Competa. The winemaking history in Malaga and the...
, Marsala
Marsala wine
Marsala is a wine produced in the region surrounding the Italian city of Marsala in Sicily. Marsala wine first received Denominazione di Origine Controllata status in 1969....
, Moselle, Port, Rhine wine
German wine
German wine is primarily produced in the west of Germany, along the river Rhine and its tributaries, with the oldest plantations going back to the Roman era. Approximately 60 percent of the German wine production is situated in the federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate, where 6 of the 13 regions ...
, Sauternes
Sauternes (wine)
Sauternes is a French sweet wine from the Sauternais region of the Graves section in Bordeaux. Sauternes is made from Sémillon, Sauvignon Blanc, and Muscadelle grapes that have been affected by Botrytis cinerea, also known as noble rot. This causes the grapes to become partially raisined,...
(commonly spelled on U.S. wine labels as Sauterne or Haut Sauterne), Sherry
Sherry
Sherry is a fortified wine made from white grapes that are grown near the town of Jerez , Spain. In Spanish, it is called vino de Jerez....
and Tokay. European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
officials have been working with their U.S. counterparts through World Trade Organization
World Trade Organization
The World Trade Organization is an organization that intends to supervise and liberalize international trade. The organization officially commenced on January 1, 1995 under the Marrakech Agreement, replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade , which commenced in 1948...
negotiations to eliminate the use of these semi-generic names.
Fighting varietals
Fighting varietal is a term that originated in California during the mid 1980s to refer to any inexpensive cork-finished varietal wine in a 1.5 liter bottle. Fighting varietals have largely replaced the jug wineJug wine
Jug wine is a term in the United States for inexpensive table wine typically bottled in a glass jug.Historically, jug wines were labeled semi-generically, often sold to third parties to be relabeled, or sold directly from the winery's tasting room to customers who would often bring their own bottles...
s that were often labeled with semi-generic
Semi-generic
Semi-generic is a legal term used in by the United States Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau to refer to a specific type of wine designation. The majority of these were originally based on the names of well-known European wine-producing regions...
names. Consumer demand for varietals has essentially dried up the market for semi-generic wines. The exception is very inexpensive sparkling wine
Sparkling wine
Sparkling wine is a wine with significant levels of carbon dioxide in it making it fizzy. The carbon dioxide may result from natural fermentation, either in a bottle, as with the méthode champenoise, in a large tank designed to withstand the pressures involved , or as a result of carbon dioxide...
s that are sometimes labeled "California champagne."
Other U.S. labeling laws
In the United States, at least 95% of grapes must be from a particular vintageVintage
Vintage, in wine-making, is the process of picking grapes and creating the finished product . A vintage wine is one made from grapes that were all, or primarily, grown and harvested in a single specified year. In certain wines, it can denote quality, as in Port wine, where Port houses make and...
for that year to appear on the label. Prior to the early 1970s, all grapes had to be from the vintage year. All labels must list the alcohol
Alcohol
In chemistry, an alcohol is an organic compound in which the hydroxy functional group is bound to a carbon atom. In particular, this carbon center should be saturated, having single bonds to three other atoms....
content based on percentage by volume. For bottles labeled by varietal
Varietal
"Varietal" describes wines made primarily from a single named grape variety, and which typically displays the name of that variety on the wine label. Examples of grape varieties commonly used in varietal wines are Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Merlot...
at least 75% of the grape must be of the varietal. In Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
, the requirement is 90%. American wine label
Wine label
Wine labels are important sources of information for consumers since they tell the type and origin of the wine. The label is often the only resource a buyer has for evaluating the wine before purchasing it...
s are also required to list if they contain sulfites and carry the Surgeon General
Surgeon General of the United States
The Surgeon General of the United States is the operational head of the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps and thus the leading spokesperson on matters of public health in the federal government...
's warning about alcohol consumption
Alcoholic Beverage Labeling Act
The Alcoholic Beverage Labeling Act of the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988, , , is a United States federal law requiring that the labels of alcoholic beverages carry a government warning.The warning reads:...
.
Three-tier distribution
Following the repeal of Prohibition, the federal government allowed each state to regulate the production and sale of alcohol in their own state. For the majority of states this led to the development of a three-tierThree-tier (alcohol distribution)
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. The three tiers are producers, distributors, and retailers. The basic premise of the system is that producers must sell only to...
distribution system between the producer, wholesaler and consumer. Depending on the state there are some exceptions, with wineries allowed to sell directly to consumers on site at the winery.
Some states allow interstate sales through e-commerce. In the 2005 case of Granholm v. Heald
Granholm v. Heald
Granholm v. Heald, 544 U.S. 460 , was a court case decided by the Supreme Court of the United States in a 5-4 decision that ruled that laws in New York and Michigan that permitted in-state wineries to ship wine directly to consumers, but prohibited out-of-state wineries from doing the same, were...
, the Supreme Court of the United States
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
struck down state laws banning interstate shipments but allowing in-state sales. The outcome of the Supreme Court decision was that states could decide to allow out of states wine sales along with in state sales or ban both altogether.
Largest producers
As of 2005The largest producers of American wine.
- E & J Gallo WineryE & J Gallo WineryE & J Gallo Winery was founded in 1933 by Ernest Gallo and Julio Gallo in Modesto, California. E & J Gallo Winery is the largest exporter of California wines and is a large promoter of wines from Sonoma County.-History:...
- Accounts for more than a quarter of all U.S. wine sales and is the second largest producer in the world. - Constellation BrandsConstellation BrandsConstellation Brands, Inc., headquartered in Victor, New York, is the world’s leading wine company with a broad portfolio of widely admired premium brands across the wine, beer and spirits categories.-History and description:...
- With foreign wine holdings Constellation is the largest producer in the world and includes Robert Mondavi Winery and Columbia WineryColumbia WineryColumbia Winery is a Washington State winery located in Woodinville, Washington. The tasting room, main administrative offices and event facilities are located at 14030 NE 145th Street P.O. Box 1248 Woodinville, WA 98072. The winery production facility is located at 2310 Holmason Rd Sunnyside, WA...
in its portfolio - The Wine GroupThe Wine GroupThe Wine Group, known for its Franzia "wine in a box," is the United State's third-largest wine company, by volume, behind Constellation Brands and the E&J Gallo Winery. The company was founded in 1981 with a management buyout of the wine assets of Coca-Cola Bottling Co. of New York...
- San Francisco-based business which owns the FranziaFranziaFranzia is a brand of wine produced by The Wine Group, known for its box wines sold in 3 and 5-liter cartons. Franzia wines are quite inexpensive, making it well known and popular among college students in the United States. Flavors include White Wine Chardonnay and Red Sangria...
box wineBox wineA box wine is a wine packaged as a Bag-In-Box. Such packages contain a plastic bladder protected by a box, usually made of corrugated fiberboard.- History :...
label, Concannon VineyardConcannon VineyardConcannon Vineyard is the second-largest winery in the Livermore Valley of California, producing around 30,000 cases annually. It is well known for its Petite Sirah and Concannon was the first winery to bottle this grape as a varietal wine in 1961. It also produces several other varieties of wine,...
and Mogen DavidMogen DavidMogen David is a company based in Westfield, New York, which makes wines, including the fortified wine MD 20/20. Mogen David is the Yiddish pronunciation of the Hebrew Magen David which directly means the shield of David, but in English it is more commonly referred to as the six-pointed Star of...
kosher wine. - Bronco Wine CompanyBronco Wine CompanyThe Bronco Wine Company is a vintner that produces wines under many brands and is based in Ceres, California. It is the fourth largest producer of wine in the United States....
- Owners of the Charles Shaw wineCharles Shaw wineCharles Shaw is a brand of "extreme value" wine . Largely made from California grapes, Charles Shaw wines currently include Cabernet Sauvignon, White Zinfandel, Merlot, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Shiraz, Valdiguie in the style of Beaujolais nouveau, and limited quantities of Pinot Grigio...
"Two Buck Chuck" line which accounts for nearly 5 million of Bronco's annual average 9 million cases per year. - DiageoDiageoDiageo plc is a global alcoholic beverages company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world's largest producer of spirits and a major producer of beer and wine....
- UKUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
based company with American holdings in Sterling VineyardsSterling VineyardsSterling Vineyards, is a winery near Calistoga, California, owned by international alcohol conglomerate Diageo. The winery achieved international recognition when its wine won first place in the Ottawa Wine Tasting of 1981.-Description:...
, Beaulieu VineyardBeaulieu VineyardBeaulieu Vineyard is a vineyard near Rutherford, California, belonging to the appellation Rutherford AVA. It was established by Georges de Latour and his wife Fernande in 1900.-History:...
and Chalone VineyardChalone VineyardChalone Vineyard is located in the Chalone AVA south of San Francisco, California, United States, on an unusual geological formation called the Gavilan benchland. The soil is rich in limestone and calcium carbonate and also contains a significant amount of decomposed granite. Chalone is situated in... - Brown-Forman CorporationBrown-Forman CorporationThe Brown-Forman Corporation is one of the largest American-owned companies in the spirits and wine business.Some well-known brands of the corporation include Jack Daniel's, Southern Comfort, Finlandia Vodka, Woodford Reserve Bourbon, Canadian Mist, Early Times, Old Forester, and Korbel champagne.-...
- Owners of the Korbel Champagne CellarsKorbel Champagne CellarsKorbel Champagne Cellars is a winery based in Guerneville, California. Korbel primarily manufactures sparkling wine and sells the largest volume of premium traditional Méthode Champenoise sparkling wine in the United States. The company is a division of F...
brand - Beringer Blass - Australian based wine division of Foster's GroupFoster's GroupFoster's Group is a beer group with interests in brewing and soft drinks. Foster's Group is the brewer of the Foster's Lager. Foster's Group Limited is a publicly-listed company on the Australian Securities Exchange and is based in Melbourne, Victoria...
and owner of the Beringer wine and Stags' Leap WineryStags' Leap WineryStags' Leap Winery is a winery located near Yountville, California, in the Stags Leap District of Napa Valley. The winery's estate vineyard was first planted in 1893. In 1997, Stags' Leap was purchased by Beringer Wine Estates, which in 2000 was in turn purchased by the Australian company Foster's...
brands - Jackson Wine Estates - Owners of the Kendall-JacksonKendall-JacksonKendall-Jackson Vineyard Estates is a vineyard and winery, under the Kendall-Jackson brand, located in Santa Rosa, California in the Sonoma Valley wine country...
brand
See also
- American Viticultural AreaAmerican Viticultural AreaAn American Viticultural Area is a designated wine grape-growing region in the United States distinguishable by geographic features, with boundaries defined by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau , United States Department of the Treasury....
- Globalization of wineGlobalization of wine"Globalization is the expansion of brands across nations and into other continents. In food and wine it refers to the whole problem of making the product global. The primary issue is scaling production while reducing the costs of goods with processes. In marketing it refers to wearing the mantle of...
- Judgment of Paris
Further reading
- 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.
External links
- Appellation America.com U.S. wine region and AVA portal
- All American Wineries U.S. winery and vineyard guide
- Free the Grapes: State wine shipment laws