US Wine Consumption Grows in 2012
In 2012, the US maintained its position as the world’s top wine consumer as table wine consumption grew for the 19th consecutive year, according to the Beverage Information Group. An estimated 295 million cases of table wine were consumed, up 2.8% from the prior year. According to the Wine Market Council’s 2012 Consumer Tracking Study,…
The Canadian Wine Industry
Although early European settlers, and possibly even the Vikings, attempted to make wine using wild native grapes, Canada’s commercial wine industry has been slow to develop. Canada’s production of wine is small by world standards as its climate, characterized by severe winters, spring frosts, and a short growing season, are not conducive to large-scale winemaking….
The Mexican Wine Industry
Although most think of Mexico as the land of tequila, Mexico’s wine industry is actually the oldest in the New World. It got its start in 1521, one year after the Spanish invasion, when conquistadors started planting vines. Then, in 1524, Hernán Cortés, the governor of New Spain (Mexico), decreed that each Spanish settler who had…
Phylloxera: Tiny Pest, Huge Impact
In the late 19th century, an insect commonly referred to as phylloxera, spread throughout Europe destroying every vineyard in its path, and then made its way to South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, continuing its rampage. At the time it was thought to be the biggest disaster in the history of wine,…
US Wine Fun Facts
Here are some fun and interesting facts we thought you’d enjoy about US wine consumption and production. Did you know…..? Consumption Fun Facts •US wine consumption has been growing steadily for years and in 2010, we passed France to become the world’s #1 consumer of wine by volume, according to wine industry consultants Gomberg, Fredrikson…
The Colonial Roots of the US Wine Industry
“We could in the United States make as great a variety of wines as are made in Europe, not exactly of the same kinds, but doubtless as good…” Thomas Jefferson, 1776 In 1562, Jean Ribault arrived in North America, leading an expedition to establish a haven for Protestants from France. They founded Fort Caroline, the…
Sonoma Coast Chardonnay
Sonoma Coast is an AVA that encompasses vineyards that run along the coastline of the Pacific Ocean within the larger region of Sonoma County. Because the vineyards that grow in this area are closest to the ocean, they’re also the coolest and get the most moisture from the fog that rolls in off the ocean….
Red Zinfandel, White Zinfandel
White Zinfandel is one of California’s all-time most-successful accidents. Zinfandel, the grape from which both red and white wine is made, is almost black in color. Although the vine is infamous for its unevenly-ripening berries (often, ripe black berries will hang next to a tart, green, small berry on the same bunch), White and Red…
High Altitude Vineyards
Few factors affect the taste and quality of a wine more than climate. This broader term encompasses everything from altitude to weather. Given this season one of our episodes focuses on Malbecs from Mendoza, Argentina, we thought looking at how altitude affects wine was worthy of further examination. Malbecs grown in Mendoza, Argentina’s largest wine…
Paso Robles Zinfandel
Zinfandel has a colorful past. Even though it was long thought to be an indigenous American grape, sometimes dubbed “California’s own,” its origins are Croatian. Zinfandel’s origins were not known for certain until as late as the 1990s, when researchers at UC Davis and in Croatia worked closely to determine that Zinfandel is the same…