American wine has been produced for over 300 years. Today, wine production is undertaken in all fifty states, with California producing 89 percent of all US wine.^[1] The United States is the fourth largest wine producing country in the world after France, Italy, and Spain.^[2]

The North American continent is home to several native species of grape, including Vitis labrusca, Vitis riparia, Vitis rotundifolia, Vitis vulpina, and Vitis amurensis, but it was the introduction of the European Vitis vinifera by European settlers that led to the growth of the wine making industry.^[3] With more than 1,100,000 acres (4,500 km²) under vine, the United States is the sixth most planted country in the world after France, Italy, Spain, China and Turkey.^[4]

History[link]

The first Europeans to explore North America called it Vinland because of the profusion of grape vines they found. The earliest wine made in what is now the United States was from the Scuppernong grapes by French Huguenot settlers at a settlement near Jacksonville, Florida between 1562 and 1564.^[2] In the early American colonies of Virginia and the Carolinas, wine making was an official goal laid out in their founding charters. However, settlers would later discover that the wine made from the various native grapes had flavors which were unfamiliar and which they did not like. This led to repeated efforts to grow familiar Vitis vinifera varieties beginning with the Virginia Company exporting of French vinifera vines with French vignerons to Virginia in 1619. These early plantings were met with failure as native pest and vine disease ravaged the vineyards. In 1683, William Penn planted a vineyard of French vinifera in Pennsylvania that may have interbred with a native Vitis labrusca vine to create the hybrid grape Alexander. One of the first commercial wineries in the United States was founded in Indiana in 1806 with production of wine made from the Alexander grape. Today French-American hybrid grapes are the staples of wine production on the East Coast of the United States.^[4]

The first commercial vineyard and winery in the United States was established by an act of the Kentucky Legislature on November 21, 1799.^[5] The vinedresser for the vineyard was John James Dufour formerly of Vevey, Switzerland (same authority as above). The vineyard was located overlooking the Kentucky River in Jessamine County, Kentucky and was named First Vineyard by Dufour on November 5, 1798.^[6] The vineyard's current address in 5800 Sugar Creek Pike, Nicholasville, Kentucky. The first wine from the First Vineyard was consumed by the subscribers at John Postelthwaite's house on March 21, 1803.^[7] Two 5 gallon oak casks of wine were taken to President Thomas Jefferson in Washington, D.C. in February 1805.^[8] The vineyard continued until 1809 when a killing freeze in May destroyed the crop and many vines at the First Vineyard. The Dufour family then relocated to Vevay, Indiana after the abandonment of the First Vineyard.^[9]

In California, the first vineyard and winery was established by the Franciscan missionary Junípero Serra near San Diego in 1769. Later missionaries would carry the vines northward, with Sonoma's first vineyard being planted around 1805.^[3] California has two native grape varieties, but they make very poor quality wine. Therefore, the missionaries used the Mission grape, which is called criolla or "colonialized European" in South America. Although a Vitis vinifera variety, it is a grape of "very modest" quality. Jean-Louis Vignes was one of the early settlers to use higher quality vinifera in his vineyard near Los Angeles.^[3]

The first commercially successful winery in the United States was founded in Cincinnati, Ohio in the mid-1830s by Nicholas Longworth, who made a sparkling wine from Catawba grapes. In the 1860s, vineyards in the Ohio River Valley were attacked by Black rot. This prompted several winemakers to move north to the Finger Lakes region of New York. During this time, the Missouri wine industry, centered around the German colony in Hermann, Missouri, took off and was soon second to California in wine production.^[4] In the late 19th century, the phylloxera epidemic in the West and Pierce's disease in the East ravaged the growing American wine industry.^[3]

Prohibition in the United States began when the state of Maine became the first state to go completely dry in 1846; it culminated in the passing of the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution in 1920 which forbade the manufacturing, sale and transport of alcohol. Exceptions were made for sacramental wine used for religious purposes and some wineries were able to maintain their facilities under those auspices. Others resorted to bootlegging. Home winemaking also became common, allowed through exemptions for sacramental wines and production for home use.^[10]

Following the repeal of Prohibition, American wine making reemerged in very poor condition. Many talented winemakers had died, vineyards had been neglected or replanted with table grapes, and Prohibition had changed Americans' taste in wines. Consumers now demanded cheap "jug wine" (so-called dago red) and sweet, fortified (high alcohol) wine. Before Prohibition dry table wines outsold sweet wines by three to one, but after the ratio was more than reversed. In 1935, 81% of California's production was sweet wines.

Leading the way to new methods was research conducted at the University of California, Davis and some of the state universities in New York. Faculty at the universities published reports on which varieties of grapes grew best in which regions, held seminars on winemaking techniques, consulted with grape growers and winemakers, offered academic degrees in viticulture, and promoted the production of quality wines. In the 1970s and 1980s, success by Californian winemakers help to secure foreign investment dollars from other winemaking regions, most notably the Champenois. Changing taste in the American palate has also helped to foster this growth, with 668 million gallons (25.3 million hectoliters) of wine being consumed in the United States in 2004. Today the American wine industry faces the growing challenges of expanding international exports and dealing with domestic regulations on interstate sales and shipment of wine.^[11]

Wine regions[link]

There are nearly 3,000 commercial vineyards in the United States, and at least one winery in each of the 50 states.^[12]

• West Coast – The majority of American wine production occurs in the states of California, Washington and Oregon.
• Rocky Mountain Region – Notably Idaho and Colorado
• Southwestern United States – Notably Texas and New Mexico
• Midwestern United States – Notably Missouri, Illinois and Minnesota
• Great Lakes region – Notably Michigan, northern New York and Ohio
• East Coast of the United States – Notably New York State, New Jersey, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Florida and North Carolina.

Production by state[link]

Production of still wine per state in 2009 was as follows:^[13]

Appellation system[link]

The early American appellation system was based on the political boundaries of states and counties. In September 1978 the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (now Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau) developed regulations to establish American Viticultural Areas (AVA) based on distinct climate and geographical features. In June 1980, the Augusta AVA in Missouri was established as the first American Viticultural Area under the new appellation system.^[14] For the sake of wine labeling purposes, all the states and county appellations were grandfathered in as appellations. There were 187 distinct AVAs designated under U.S. law as of April 2007.^[15]

Appellation labeling laws[link]

In order to have an AVA appear on a wine label, at least 85% of the grapes used to produce the wine must be grown in the AVA.

With the larger state and county appellations the laws vary depending on the area. For a County Appellation, 75% of the grapes used must be from that county. If grapes are from two or three contiguous counties, a label can have a multi-county designation so long as the percentages used from each county are clearly on the label. For the majority of U.S. States the State Appellation requires 75% of the grapes in the wine to be grown in the state. Texas requires 85% and California requires 100%. If grapes are from two to three contiguous states a wine can be made under a multi-state designations following the same requirements as the multi-county appellation.

American wine or United States is a rarely used appellation that classifies a wine made from anywhere in the United States, including Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C.. Wines with this designation are similar to the French wine vin de table and can not include a vintage year. By law this is the only appellation allowed for bulk wines exported to other counties.^[16]

Semi-generic wines[link]

An example of American wines using semi-generic labels of burgundy, chablis, etc.

Current U.S. laws allow American made wines to be labeled as "American Burgundy" or "California champagne", even though these names are restricted in Europe. U.S. laws only restrict usage to include the qualifying area of origin to go with these semi-generic names. Other semi-generic names in the United States include Claret, Chablis, Chianti, Madeira, Malaga, Marsala, Moselle, Port, Rhine wine, Sauternes (commonly spelled on U.S. wine labels as Sauterne or Haut Sauterne), Sherry and Tokay. European Union officials have been working with their U.S. counterparts through World Trade Organization negotiations to eliminate the use of these semi-generic names.^[16]

Fighting varietals[link]

Fighting varietal is a term that originated in California during the mid 1980s to refer to any inexpensive cork-finished varietal wine in a 1.5 liter bottle. Fighting varietals have largely replaced the jug wines that were often labeled with semi-generic names. Consumer demand for varietals has essentially dried up the market for semi-generic wines. The exception is very inexpensive sparkling wines that are sometimes labeled "California champagne."

Other U.S. labeling laws[link]

In the United States, at least 95% of grapes must be from a particular vintage for that year to appear on the label. Prior to the early 1970s, all grapes had to be from the vintage year. All labels must list the alcohol content based on percentage by volume. For bottles labeled by varietal at least 75% of the grape must be of the varietal. In Oregon, the requirement is 90%. American wine labels are also required to list if they contain sulfites and carry the Surgeon General's warning about alcohol consumption.^[17]

Three-tier distribution[link]

Following the repeal of Prohibition, the federal government allowed each state to regulate the production and sale of alcohol in their own state. For the majority of states this led to the development of a three-tier distribution system between the producer, wholesaler and consumer. Depending on the state there are some exceptions, with wineries allowed to sell directly to consumers on site at the winery.

Some states allow interstate sales through e-commerce. In the 2005 case of Granholm v. Heald, the Supreme Court of the United States struck down state laws banning interstate shipments but allowing in-state sales. The outcome of the Supreme Court decision was that states could decide to allow out of states wine sales along with in state sales or ban both altogether.^[18]

Convenience stores are a large distributor of wine in the United States. In 2010, the aver­age monthly per-store sales of wine jumped to nearly $12,000 from $9,084 in 2009. The average gross margin dollars from wine increased to $3,324 from $2,616 in the year prior, with gross margin percentages up to an average 28.2 percent in 2010, versus 27 percent in 2009.^[19]

Largest producers[link]

As of 2005 The largest producers of American wine.^[20]

1. E & J Gallo Winery - Accounts for more than a quarter of all U.S. wine sales and is the second largest producer in the world.
2. Constellation Brands - With foreign wine holdings Constellation is the largest producer in the world and includes Robert Mondavi Winery and Columbia Winery in its portfolio
3. The Wine Group - San Francisco-based business which owns the Franzia box wine label, Concannon Vineyard and Mogen David kosher wine.
4. Bronco Wine Company - Owners of the Charles Shaw wine "Two Buck Chuck" line which accounts for nearly 5 million of Bronco's annual average 9 million cases per year.
5. Diageo - UK based company with American holdings in Sterling Vineyards, Beaulieu Vineyard and Chalone Vineyard
6. Brown-Forman Corporation - Owners of the Korbel Champagne Cellars brand
7. Beringer Blass - Australian based wine division of Foster's Group and owner of the Beringer wine and Stags' Leap Winery brands
8. Jackson Wine Estates - Owners of the Kendall-Jackson brand

See also[link]

Wine portal

• American Viticultural Area
• Globalization of wine
• Judgment of Paris

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Clarke, Oz. Oz Clarke's New Encyclopedia of Wine. NY: Harcourt Brace , 1999.
• Johnson, Hugh. Vintage: The Story of Wine. NY: Simon & Schuster, 1989.
• Taber, George M. Judgment of Paris: California vs. France and the Historic 1976 Paris Tasting that Revolutionized Wine. NY: Scribner, 2005.

External links[link]

• Appellation America.com U.S. wine region and AVA portal
• All American Wineries U.S. winery and vineyard guide
• Free the Grapes: State wine shipment laws
• Doubtless as Good: Thomas Jefferson's Dream for American Wine Fulfilled An online exhibition from the National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution

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Iron & Wine
Beam at a 2006 concert at Brooklyn's McCarren Park Pool
Background information
Birth name	Samuel Beam
Born	(1974-07-26) July 26, 1974 (age 37) Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, U.S.
Genres	Folk Folk rock
Instruments	Vocals, Guitar, Banjo
Labels	Sub Pop Warner Bros./4AD
Associated acts	Calexico, Rosie Thomas
Website	www.ironandwine.com

Iron & Wine's performance at the Swedish American Hall in San Francisco

Samuel Beam (born July 26, 1974), better known by his stage and recording name Iron & Wine, is an American singer-songwriter. He has released four studio albums, several EPs and singles, as well as a few download-only releases, which include a live album (a recording of his 2005 Bonnaroo performance). He occasionally tours with a full band.^[1]

Beam was raised in South Carolina before moving to Virginia and then Florida to attend school. He now resides in Dripping Springs, near Austin, Texas.^[2] The name Iron & Wine is taken from a dietary supplement named "Beef Iron & Wine" that he found in a general store while shooting a film.^[3][4]

Early life[link]

Beam was raised in Chapin, South Carolina, where his father worked in land management and his mother was a schoolteacher. When he was a child, his family took regular trips to the country, where his grandfather ran a farm. He attended Seven Oaks Elementary School, Irmo Middle School, and Chapin High School. While home from college, he was a waiter at California Dreaming restaurant in Columbia. Beam earned a bachelor's degree in art from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia.^[5] He specialized in painting. He graduated from the Florida State University Film School with an MFA degree. Before the release of the first Iron & Wine album, Beam's main source of income was as a professor of film and cinematography at the University of Miami and Miami International University of Art & Design.^[6] He had been writing songs for over seven years before a friend lent him a four-track recorder. He began making demos and gave one to his friend Michael Bridwell, brother of Band of Horses lead singer, Ben Bridwell. Michael handed it to Mike McGonigal, editor of Yeti magazine, who chose "Dead Man's Will", later released on In the Reins, for inclusion on one of his magazine's compilation CDs. Beam later came to the attention of Sub Pop Records co-owner, Jonathan Poneman, who contacted Beam to propose a deal.^{[7][8][9][10]}

Musical career[link]

Beam released his first Iron & Wine album, The Creek Drank the Cradle, on the Sub Pop label in 2002. Beam wrote, performed, recorded and produced the album in his home studio. Featuring acoustic guitars, banjo, and slide guitar, the album's music has been compared to that of Nick Drake,^[11] Simon and Garfunkel,^[12] Elliott Smith, Neil Young and John Fahey.

Also in 2002, Beam recorded a cover of The Postal Service's then-unreleased song "Such Great Heights". Rather than being included on an Iron & Wine release, the track was initially included as a b-side of the original version by The Postal Service. It was later included on the B-sides and rarities album, Around the Well. He then followed up on his debut album in 2003 with The Sea & The Rhythm, an EP containing other home-recorded tracks with a similar style to the songs on the debut.

Beam's second full-length album, Our Endless Numbered Days (2004), was recorded in a professional studio with a significant increase in fidelity. Produced in Chicago by Brian Deck, the focus was still on acoustic material, but the inclusion of other band members gave rise to a slightly different sound. That same year, he recorded the song "The Trapeze Swinger" for the film In Good Company, and had his version of "Such Great Heights" featured in an advertisement for M&M's and in the film and soundtrack for Garden State. This version was later used in a 2006 Ask.com advertisement, and eventually released as a single in 2006 backed with recordings of "The Trapeze Swinger" and "Naked as We Came" made for Radio Vienna.

In February 2005, he released an EP entitled Woman King, which expanded on the sounds of his previous LP with the addition of electric guitars. Each track features a spiritual female figure, and had subtle Biblical undertones.

The EP In the Reins, a collaboration with the Arizona-based rock band Calexico, was released in September 2005. Beam wrote all of the EP's songs years earlier, but Calexico added their trademark fusion of southwestern rock, traditional Mexican music and jazz to the songs' arrangements. Several tracks, most notably, "Burn That Broken Bed", feature brass instruments, a first for Beam's music.^[13]

The third full-length Iron & Wine album, entitled The Shepherd's Dog, was released September 25, 2007.^[14] This album was voted one of the ten best of 2007 by Paste magazine.^[15] Contributors included Joey Burns and Paul Niehaus of Calexico, as well as jazz musicians Matt Lux and Rob Burger.^[16] When asked to describe the album to The Independent, Beam remarked that "it's not a political propaganda record, but it's definitely inspired by political confusion, because I was really taken aback when Bush got reelected."^[17]

Beam has released most of his music on iTunes, including several exclusive EPs. The Iron & Wine iTunes Exclusive EP features unreleased studio recordings, including a Stereolab cover and two tracks which had previously only appeared on vinyl. The Live Session (iTunes Exclusive) features Beam and his sister, Sarah Beam, performing a number of tracks from his albums, as well as a cover of New Order's "Love Vigilantes". Sarah Beam has contributed backing vocals on many of Beam's studio recordings.

Beam's music has appeared in television series such as Grey's Anatomy, The L Word and House M.D. "Flightless Bird, American Mouth" was used in the film Twilight. The song was specifically chosen for the film's prom scene by Kristen Stewart, the female lead, and appears on the film's soundtrack.

The B-sides and rarities album Around the Well was released in 2009. Iron & Wine also contributed the song "Stolen Houses (Die)" to the AIDS benefit album Dark Was the Night produced by the Red Hot Organization.

On November 26, 2010 Iron & Wine released a special edition Record Store Day Black Friday 12" vinyl and CD single called, Walking Far From Home for independent record stores.

Kiss Each Other Clean, Iron & Wine's fourth full-length album, was released on January 25, 2011 on Warner Bros. Records in North America and 4AD for the rest of the world.^[18] With this album, Beam blends his earlier styles with a stronger pop influence.^[19]

Personal life[link]

Beam, his wife Kim and their five daughters live in Dripping Springs near Austin, Texas.^[5][8][20]

Discography[link]

Studio, compilations, live albums and EPs[link]

Singles[link]

• "Call Your Boys" b/w "Dearest Forsaken" via Sub Pop Singles Club (CD + Clear 7" Vinyl) (2002)
• "No Moon" b/w "Sinning Hands" (Limited 7" Vinyl Bonus with first Pressing of Our Endless Numbered Days) (2004)
• "Passing Afternoon" (CD only) (2004)
• "The Trapeze Swinger" (iTunes only) (2005)
• "Such Great Heights" (UK only CD) (2006)
• "Boy with a Coin" (CD + UK only 10" Vinyl) (2007)
• "Dark Eyes" (Bob Dylan cover w/ Calexico) (2007)
• "Lovesong of the Buzzard" (CD + UK only 10" Vinyl) (2008)
• "Flightless Bird, American Mouth" (iTunes only) (2008)
• "Walking Far from Home" (2010)

Other contributions[link]

• The O.C. Soundtrack (2004) – "The Sea & the Rhythm"
• Garden State Soundtrack (2004) – "Such Great Heights"
• Sweetheart: Love Songs (2004) – "Ab's Song" (The Marshall Tucker Band cover)
• L Word: Season Two soundtrack (2004) – "Naked as We Came"
• Grey's Anatomy: Season Two soundtrack (2004) – "Naked as We Came"
• In Good Company (2004) – "Naked as We Came," "Sunset Soon Forgotten," "The Trapeze Swinger"
• Fighting in a Sack (2004) – "New Slang (Featuring Iron & Wine)[Live]"
• KCRW Sounds Eclectic Volume 3 (2005) – "Waitin' for a Superman" (Flaming Lips cover)
• I Am a Cold Rock. I Am Dull Grass. (2006) – "We All, Us Three, Will Ride"
• I'm Not There soundtrack (2007) – "Dark Eyes" (with Calexico)
• The Road Mix Volume 3, music from One Tree Hill (2007) – "He Lays in the Reins" (with Calexico)
• Acoustic 07 (2007) – "Naked as We Came"
• Numb3rs Season 3, Episode 19, "Pandora's Box" (2007) – "Naked as We Came"
• Friday Night Lights Season 1, Episode 12 (2007) – "Upward Over the Mountain"
• Friday Night Lights: Original Television Soundtrack (2007) – "Dead Man's Will" (with Calexico)
• Twilight soundtrack (2008) – "Flightless Bird, American Mouth"
• Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn soundtrack (2011) - "Flightless Bird, American Mouth (wedding version)"
• 90210 Season 1, Episode 18, "Off the Rails" (2008) – "Cinder & Smoke"
• House M.D.
  • Season 4, Episode 16 (Season Finale, Part 2) Wilson's Heart (2008) – "Passing Afternoon"
  • Season 6, Episode 1 (Season Premiere, Part 1) Broken (2009) – "Love Vigilantes" (New Order cover)
• Dark Was the Night (2009) – "Stolen Houses (Die)"
• Ugly Betty Season 3, Episode 16 (2009) – "Naked as We Came"
• The Mysteries of Pittsburgh (2009) – "Naked as We Came"
• Misfits Season 1, Episode 6 (2009) – "Such Great Heights"
• TiMER (2009) – "The Trapeze Swinger"
• The Last Song soundtrack (2010) – "Each Coming Night"
• Degrassi (season 10) Episode 31, Halo Part. 2 (2010) - "Passing Afternoon"

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Iron & Wine

• Official site