The United States

The history of wine making in the US starts as far back as the 16th century when missionaries planted grapes and made wine in what is now New Mexico. By the early 19th century commercial wine making ventures had begun in the eastern states, propelled by the interest of Thomas Jefferson and others. The eastern states proved to be too cool for quality wine making, and growers started to look further west for ideal climates. As the population moved west, so did the wine. The discovery of gold in California brought thousands of settlers. Some hoped to strike it rich by pulling wealth out of the ground, and others hoped that the way to riches lay in planting in the ground. Spain controlled California then, and it was the Spanish governor that commissioned Agoston Haraszthy to travel to Europe with the express intent of bringing back vine cuttings to jump start the wine industry. Spain and the gold are gone, but the vines remain. Throughout the state, anywhere the climate is cool enough to accommodate grapes, you will find vines planted.

California is not the only place that wine is made in the US. The Pacific Northwest states of Oregon and Washington, as well as the eastern state of New York all have thriving wine industries. In fact, it may surprise many people to learn that most states have wineries, and vineyards. The US is far behind Europe in both production and consumption of wine, but thanks to research and modern techniques, many of which originated in the US, the quality of American wines rival that of the rest of the world.

Wine and label terms in the US

American Viticultural Area Often abbreviated AVA. This is the set of US laws which regulate the use of place names on wine labels. Unlike similar laws in Europe, there are no restrictions on grape variety, yield or wine making practices. AVAs seem to be created more as a response to politics, then as a form of consumer protection. There are over 140 AVAs at this time.

Estate Bottled - Estate Bottling Wine that was bottled by the vineyard owner. Many wines are still bottled and produced from grapes that are purchased on the open market, often for the lowest price. This designation assures that the winery had control over the grapes from beginning to end so that they could produce a high quality wine. In the US the vineyard need not belong to the winery, if there is a long term exclusive contract for the grapes of the vineyard (which also must be in the same geographic location as the winery). See also Domaine for the French equivalent of this designation.

Ice Wine This is an intense dessert wine that has been made from very ripe grapes (without Botrytis) that were frozen on the vine. The frozen water is removed during pressing, leaving a very sweet must. In German it is known as "eiswein." A modern technique called cryroextraction utilizes a freezer in place of mother nature.

Jug Wine A term used for low quality wines that are sold in large bottles, or jugs. While this type of wine is rarely written about, it is important to remember that most of the wine made in the world is in fact, of jug wine quality.

Late Harvest By harvesting later, the grapes are riper, and sweeter. This is appropriate for making sweet, dessert style wines. Some Late Harvest wines are almost dry, opting for increased alcohol and intensity rather than sweetness, as in the Alsatian "vendange tardive" (French for late harvest). In the US the term usually refers to a lightly sweet wine. Select Late Harvest refers to a sweeter wine, and Special Select Late Harvest to a very sweet wine. This is consistent with the German terms Aulese, Beerenauslese, and Trokenbeerenauslese.

Reserve In the US, the term reserve has no legal meaning. It implies that the wine is from the better part of the production; however, it is often used on the label of very cheap wines that have not been reserved from anything. Since this term has meaning in Spain and Italy, it is confusing for the consumer.

Rhine Wine It would seem obvious that this phrase relates to those wines made in the Rhine Valley of Germany; however, in a never ending attempt to confuse consumers and to belittle the place names of Europe, under US law a Rhine Wine can be any white wine with less than 14% alcohol.

Table Wine A US legal term that encompasses all wines that are between 7% and 14% alcohol. The term is used in Europe to mean a wine that was not made under the rules of any specific controlled area. Winemakers who are interested in pushing the boundaries of wine production in their area often can only bottle their wines as the local equivalent of table wine. Some of these wines are of very high quality, and can command higher prices than the usual wines from the region. As such, it can be a very confusing term.

Table Wine can be either:

• most wines (as in the US),
• a wine of lower quality or distinction,
• or a wine of distinction that does not conform to a standard.

Varietal Wine Any wine that takes its name from the predominant grape variety. This is very common in the US and the rest of the New World, but in Europe, wines are usually labeled with the place name. In the US there must be 75% of the named grape. Elsewhere the percentage varies, but is rarely, if ever, lower.

See also:

• California
• Oregon/Washington
• New York

Map