The United States of America is the world’s fourth largest producer of wine and claims the world’s sixth highest acreage of land under vine.
California produces approximately 85% of all American wine, followed by Washington, New York, and Oregon. Compared with traditional wine-producing countries, the US has a large population, surpassing France in early 2011 to become the world’s largest wine consumer. Despite this, the US ranked only 62nd in per capita consumption by 2016, with just 30% of the population identifying as wine drinkers. In 2019, the US experienced its first decline in wine consumption in 25 years, as the industry lost market share to fast-growing categories such as canned hard seltzers, spirits, and craft beer. Still, the US continues to provide the world’s most substantial market for fine wines. Further, over the past 20 years, powerful American critics have had a significant influence on winemakers and markets worldwide.
In the early ninth century, the Viking Leif Eriksson brought his boat aground at L’Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland, Canada, becoming the first European to definitively set foot on the North American continent. He christened his discovery Vinland—possibly a reference to the meadows before him or, as recounted in the 13th-century poem “Saga of the Greenlanders,” a tribute to the wealth of native grapevines. Unlike in South America, several species of wild grapevines awaited the first colonists of North America, including Vitis labrusca, Vitis rotundifolia, and Vitis aestivalis. Vitis vinifera, the source of fine wine
The section on Canada includes the following text: ‘Like the US, Canada suffered through Prohibition in the early 20th century, albeit it on a provincial rather than national scale’. Minor typo: ‘albeit it on’ should read ‘albeit on’.
The section on other winemaking regions in the US includes the following text: ‘The Upper Mississippi River Valley AVA, spanning nearly 30,000 square miles in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Illinois, became America’s—and the world’s—largest demarcated appellation with its formal approval in 2009.’ There must be something that I don’t understand. Why would the South Eastern Australia GI, which predated the multi-state Upper Mississippi River Valley AVA by 13 years, not qualify? The Australian GI would appear to dwarf the American AVA in size–with the size of New South Wales alone being 10 times the size of the AVA, and NSW being only one of the geographic areas included in the GI.
The section on the history of wine in America includes the following text: ‘Unlike South America, several species of wild grapevine awaited the first colonists of North America, including Vitis labrusca (the Concord grape), Vitis rotundifolia (the Scuppernong grape), and Vitis aestivalis (the Norton grape)’. Later, the section on New York includes the following text: ‘French-American hybrid varieties such as Concord have dominated New York grape plantings since the industry’s modern inception in the early 19th century’. Later again, the section in Canada includes the following text: ‘In the 1950s and 1960s, growers began moving away from native Vitis labrusca varieties and American crosses like Concord and Niagara to French hybrids.’ So Concord is variously referred to as a wild Vitis labrusca, a French-American hybrid, and either labrusca or an American crossing (phrasing is ambiguous there)–these categorizations are not consistent with each other. Including Norton and Concord as examples of varieties of wild grape vines awaiting the first European colonists appears dubious as both of those grape varieties include Vitis vinifera as part of their genetic heritage and Vitis vinifera is not native to the Americas, so those varieties would not have been present prior to the arrival of European grape vines. So while Concord is a hybrid, I have my doubts as to whether it would be accurate to describe it as a ‘French-American hybrid’. As indicated in the GuildSomm Expert Guide to Viticulture, that term more typically refers to a set of grapes intentionally bred later in the 19th century, whereas grapes such as Norton and Concord likely picked up the Vitis vinifera part of their heritage in less controlled conditions–such that the actual vinifera contributor remains unknown and can’t be asserted to be necessarily French.
The section on Rattlesnake Hills AVA includes the following text: ‘Here, Riesling is the most planted variety, followed by Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.’ The Washington Vineyard Acreage Report 2017 published by the USDA reported 473 acres planted with Merlot, 352 acres planted with Riesling, and 310 acres planted with Cabernet Sauvignon. I am not aware if more recent data are available.
The section on the Central Coast includes the following text: ‘Chalone AVA, an appellation dominated by the producer of the same name in Monterey, lies to the south in the same range.’ As Monterey is the name of a city, a county, and an AVA in California, the paths to confusion are many here. Though the producer Chalone is located in Monterey County, they are not located in the Monterey AVA. There’s enough confusion with the appellation and the producer sharing the same name, and then a different appellation and the county sharing the same name, that I’m thinking that including the fact that the producer of Chalone is located in the county of Monterey adds little while yielding much opportunity for confusion–even if it were worded more precisely.