“The discovery of a wine is of greater moment than the discovery of a constellation. The universe is too full of stars.” – Benjamin Franklin
Was Wine First Discovered and Produced in North America?There are such things as stupid questions, and this one is a perfect example. Of course, wine was not first produced in the U.S., but this country does have a longer and more extensive wine history than many realize. Some erroneously believe that U.S. wine production began in the late 1970s with the Paul Masson Mountain Winery in the Santa Cruz Mountains of Saratoga, California. This wine was made famous through its T.V. ads of the ’70s and ’80s, where a rotund and self-important Orson Welles snootily proclaimed that “Paul Masson will sell no wine before its time.” (See ad here: https://youtu.be/xqSmnrlgiHQ.) These same people believe that Bartle’s and Jayme’s is a high-end wine cooler. It isn’t, but their ads from the ’80s were fun. Much better and less pretentious than, say, Paul Masson’s. (Click here for proof: https://youtu.be/PIrQFcnWWeM.) The History of Wine Production in the United States. When the Vikings, traveling full speed ahead and looking for danger, crashed into the North American east coast in 1000 A.D., they were surprised – ecstatic – to find the land practically buried under wild grapevines. There were so many vines that the Vikings named their new discovery Vinland. I don’t remember being taught that in school. Time passed, and the vines remained untouched until around 1562, when a group of French Protestants arrived in Florida. Because of their strict religious standards, these French were not allowed to wear swimsuits and relax in the ocean. Being in the ocean wasn’t necessarily the problem; it was the relaxing in swimming suits that created issues and often led to punishment. We all know that a group of French people in skimpy clothing at a beach will eventually end up in an orgy. That’s why it was prohibited. So, to entertain themselves, they did what the French have been doing for centuries, they drank wine. All-day, every day. Fully clothed and far from the beach, they imbibed. Partially they drank to cool down, and partially they drank to forget they were stuck in the humid wilds of an uncharted Florida. To make their wine, the French used a native variety of the Muscadine grape called Scuppernong. Sounds poisonous, but apparently, it provided the needed relief. Then came the English, who rowed their boats to the islands of North Carolina. They, too, found grapes and made their wine. Even though these early wines weren’t good, Virginia and the Carolinas laid out winemaking as an official goal in their founding charters. Since most people don’t like history, I’ll summarize the critical dates in United States wine history below. The Wine Timeline (this section adapted from a 2011 article by T. Baiocchi for Eater): 1000 – Vikings arrive and name North America “Vinland” for the density of vine cover. 1562 – French Huguenots barge onto Jacksonville, Florida, and make America’s first known wines. 1585 – Englishmen wash up on the East Coast, and Roanoke Island’s “Mother Vineyard” is established. Sir Walter Raleigh describes the vines as “covering every shrub and climbing the tops of high cedars.” 1619 – Made from the native Vitis Labrusca, the wines weren’t great. They were described as too “foxy” or reminiscent of farm animals. Lord Delaware then brings the first Vitis Vinifera vines in from Europe through the Virginia Company. No one will know if these made a better wine because they failed to strive in almost every case. 1650 – Franciscan missionaries plant Mission – a grape brought up from Baja California – in Texas hill country, Arizona, and New Mexico, and by the late 1600s, California. These made a better wine. 1740 – The Alexander grape (named for Alexander the Great) – an accidental hybrid of the Vinifera and Labrusca species – is discovered by John Alexander (no relation) in the woods near William Penn’s Pennsylvania home. The grape is planted throughout the United States in the first part of the 19th Century with modest success. 1769 – Franciscan missionary Junipero Serra establishes California’s first vineyard and winery near present-day San Diego. 1798 – John Dufour establishes America’s first commercial winery, aptly named “First Vineyard,” on the banks of the Kentucky River in what is now Nicholasville. The Frost killed the vineyard, and it was abandoned by 1809. 1830 – Nicholas Longworth founds America’s first successful winery near Cincinnati, Ohio. He’ll become famous for sparkling wines made from the native Catawba grape. 1846 – Maine is the first state to go completely dry. The rumblings of Prohibition begin as religion is reconsidering its dependence on wine and other alcohol. 1860 – Pleasant Valley Wine Company, America’s first bonded winery, is founded in New York’s Finger Lakes region. 1861 – Charles Krug establishes California’s first commercial winery in St. Helena. 1879 – Gustav Niebaum founds Inglenook Winery. His are the first Bordeaux-style wines to be produced in the U.S. They win international acclaim. 1920 – Prohibition begins. The following 13 years hurls American wine into obscurity for almost a half-century. 1933 – Prohibition is repealed. Of the nearly 2,500 wineries in the U.S. before Prohibition, fewer than 100 remain. 1965 – Robert Mondavi breaks away from the Charles Krug estate and founds his own winery. This ushers in the modern era of American winemaking. 1976 – The famous Judgement of Paris turns the world’s attention to California when a French wine expert panel scores several of the state’s wines higher than top Bordeaux and white Burgundy. The French, offended by this decision, skulk off and get drunk on their now second-class wines. BottleRover, America’s Online Wine Delivery Tool. Which makes it the best discovery since wine and sliced bread. Combined. The brains behind Bottlecapps and BottleRover realized that about the only thing that could make wine any better was to create a system for online wine purchase and home delivery – just like the milkman used to deliver milk, only different. A system that could be used to order wine online whether you’re located in Austin, Texas, or Denver, Colorado, or Mayberry, or anywhere in between. It started when these wine aficionados – aka winos – were walking down the aisle of their local liquor store. With the speed at which diarrhea can strike, the idea attacked each of them nearly at the same time. They stopped, looked at each other, and asked, “Isn’t it about time that we should be able to buy our wine online anywhere in the country but especially here in Texas and especially here in Austin, Texas?” And that’s how it all began. Now, thanks to these folks, we can all buy our wine online from almost any state in the United States and have it delivered to almost any state in the United States (and India). And if we order our wine online using BottleRover, it will be delivered, too. Fast. And maybe even with no delivery fees. Free Wine Delivery with Your Online Order. Order more than $35 of your favorite wines or other alcoholic beverages, and you will not be charged a delivery fee if you place your order with BottleRover. You’re welcome. Happy trails and happy drinking.
