The Wines of the United States 

Europe has had two thousand years practice in making wine, the United States only three hundred years, yet, if you have had one of their great bottles of Cabernet, or Chardonnay you too will be singing with the Mammas and the Pappas "California Dreaming". At first glance the U.S. wine industry looks like a ant hill with a huge amount of activity that doesn't

make any sense. However, there is a plan with each ant as it strives to better the commune. Proffessor M. Armerine of the university of California has said "The best french wine is made in france and the best California wine are made in California...and we intend to make them better" In California there are few traditions to hold growers back, so they are

constantly experimenting with new technology and have the freedom to create new products, the freedom that is forbidden to the french winemakers. This explains why 25% of the wine industry in California is owned by foreigners. Rothschild of the Pauillac region of Bordeaux owns Opus One. The Moueix familly of Chateau Petrus, the Pomerol chateau, owns the California vineyard Dominus. Moet and Chandon from Champagne owns Domaine Chandon in the Napa valley. Many

of the old established winemakers of Europe are trying their hand with their new found freedom, side by side with Lillian Disney (Walt's widow), Smothers Brothers, and Francis Ford Coppola. The U.S. wine industry is a "ant hill" of activity all trying to appease the queen of the hill, our taste buds.

Wine has never been Americas most chosen beverage. The statistics are that 30% of Americans don't drink alcolhol and

another 30% don't drink wine. The net result of th.e study was only 5% drink 75% of all of the wine. look at the following

worlds top ten wine drinking countries that was published by the California Wine Institute.

Compare this to the estimated less than one gallon per person or 4.73 bottles in the U.S., and this is even less in Canada. Remember this is per person each year not per family. It is my feeling that we are going to go through a massive wine revolution in the next 20 years. There will be some catch up when we start to understand what wine is.