Decantified: We're Going to Vineland
By Jim Ginley
Saturday, January 16, 2010 – One of the earliest names for North America has its roots in wine country.
When it comes to wine production in the United States, the state of California is the undisputed king: 95 percent of U.S. wines originate there, and two of every three bottles sold in the U.S. are Californian. After France, Italy and Spain, California is the fourth-largest producer of wine, thanks to its more than 2,600 wineries. Around 1000 A.D, Norse explorer Leif Ericson landed on what is now known as Newfoundland, and he made amazing discoveries. He saw berries growing everywhere he ventured and, believing correctly they were wine grapes, he named the continent Vineland.
Where Ericson landed was between the 50 degree north latitude in Canada and the 20 degree north latitude in Mexico, later to be determined the greatest natural grape-growing areas on Earth. More species of the genus Vitis grapevine grow wild here than in all the rest of the world combined.
There are hundreds of growing regions within these boundaries, and they are superior to European wine producing regions simply because there is less rain and the growing season temperatures are much warmer. In addition, the land mass would allow all the wine producing areas of Germany and France to be accommodated many times over. European grapes, known as vitis vinifera, were first grown successfully in California in the early part of the 19th century by a Frenchman with the fortuitous name of Jean-Louis Vignes (vigne is French for vine). He was a cooper, or barrel maker, and familiar with wine growing and wine making. He brought over vine cuttings from Europe in the early 1830s.
Most wine made in the United States came from the indigenous vitus labrusca, which we know best as Concord and Catawba, or vitis rotundifolia, the species that gives us the Muscadine and its best-known variety, the Scuppernong. Although these grapes were plentiful, Vignes wanted to plant the grapes he was familiar with: vitis vinifera.
Today vitis vinifera accounts for 99 percent of all wine grapes grown throughout the world. There are thousands of varieties of this species, and we enjoy the most popular every day: Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Syrah and Zinfandel.
Since Vignes was a cooper, he made his own casks from native oak trees and became the first commercial winegrower in the state.
Before gold was discovered in 1848, there were vineyards as far north as Napa and Sonoma counties. However, the Gold Rush brought a wine boom which was enhanced by the state of California in 1859 when it exempted new vineyards from taxation. Even France acknowledged California had a climate that made it capable of someday “becoming a serious competitor” to France in fine wine production.
During these early years there were periods of boom and bust when overproduction created a wine glut, much of the wine was poorly made, and some of it was sold under counterfeit European labels.
However, Vignes was successful and his wine was sold under his own name in New York, and shipped to England, Germany, Russia, Japan, China and South America.
Next week: “Count” Agoston Haraszthy, Father of California Viticulture.
Jim Ginley is a 30-year veteran of the local hospitality industry and serves as the wine consultant at Green's Discount Beverages in Myrtle Beach. He can be contacted at
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