American wine: a coming-of-age story

356 Pages·2015·9.678 MB·English

by  Acitelli, Tom

From the author of The Audacity of
Hops: The History ofA merica's Craft Beer
Revolution comes the triumphant tale of
how America belted France from atop its
centuries-old pedestal as the world's top
wine-producing and wine-drinking nation.
Until the mid-1970s, most American
wine was far from fine. Instead, it was
fortified and sweet, and came from grape
varieties prized less for their taste than for
their ability to ferment fast. Even in big cities,
a bottle of domestically made Chardonnay
or Merlot was hard to come by-and most
Americans thought wine like that was for
the wealthy anyway, not for them.
Then a series of game-changing events
and a group of plucky entrepreneurs
transformed everything forever. Within a
generation, America would stand unques
tionably at the world vanguard of wine,
reversing centuries of Eurocentrism and
dominating the field. This change spawned
hundreds of thousands of jobs and billions
of dollars in sales. European vintners found
themselves altering centuries-old recipes
and techniques to cater to these newly
ascendant, free-spending tastes. The most
popular fine wines worldwide became
big, powerful, and loud-American, in
other words.
American Wine tells that story.
All the big players and milestones are
here, with never-before-told details and
analyses based on fresh interviews. Written
in a fast-moving, engaging style free of
wine jargon, American Wine is the first of
its kind: a book focused solely on the rise
of fine wine in the United States since the
early 1960s, in California and elsewhere,
and how that rise altered the way the world
drinks-for better or worse.
A M E R IC A N W I NE
A C O M I N G - O F - A G E S T O R Y
Tom Acitelli
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A M E R I C A N W I N E
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Copyright © 2015 by Tom Acitelli
All rights reserved
First edition
Published by Chicago Review Press Incorporated
814 North Franklin Street
Chicago, Illinois 60610
ISBN 978‑1‑ 56976‑167‑0
Library of Congress Cataloguing-i n- Publication Data
Acitelli, Tom.
American wine : a coming‑o f‑ age story / Tom Acitelli. — First edition.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978‑1‑ 56976‑167‑0 (cloth)
1. Wine and wine making—United States—History. 2. Wine industry—
United States—History. 3. Vintners—United States—Biography. I. Title.
TP557.A235 2015
338.4’766320973—dc23
2015012582
Interior design: Jonathan Hahn
Interior layout: Nord Compo
Printed in the United States of America
5 4 3 2 1
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To my sister Nan
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CONTENTS
Prologue: The World’s Biggest Wine Market
2010|Brooklyn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiii
PART I
FRENCH CONNECTIONS
1948|Rouen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
THE MAN WHO DREW A LINE IN FRENCH WINE
1945–1960|Bordeaux . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5
“SO YOU’D LIKE TO KNOW WINES!”
1962|Chicago . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
PINK CHABLIS VS. PREMIER CRU
1965|Modesto, California . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
SERVE WITH FISH, POULTRY, AND VEAL
1961–1967|Boston—Washington, DC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19
FATHERS AND SONS AND BROTHERS
1906–1965|Sassoferrato, Italy—Virginia, Minnesota—Lodi, California—
St . Helena, California . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25
A HIGHER CALLING
1965|St . Helena, California . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30
OPTIMISM
1921–1966|The Crimea, Russia—Paris—Davis, California . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34
“IT’S BEAUTIFUL”
1966 |Oakville, California . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39
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ON ROUTE 66
1964–1966|Chicago . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43
ROBERT’S FOLLY
1966–1968 |Oakville, California . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44
GREYHOUND BUS TO PARADISE
1968|Desne, Croatia—Howell Mountain, California . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48
GOING FOR BROKE
1968–1969|Oakville, California . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52
$50,000 DOWN PAYMENT
1968–1970|Silverado Trail, California . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57
NATIONWIDE
1968–1971|Napa County, California—Sonoma County, California—
Roseburg, Oregon—Cutchogue, New York—Fauquier County, Virginia . . . . . .59
CHANGING HANDS
1959–1973|Napa—Hartford, Connecticut—Minneapolis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64
STILL ONLY FOR COOKING
1964–1974|Paris—Gainesville, Florida—New York City . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68
PART II
AN ENGLISHMAN ABROAD
1970–1971|London—Paris . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75
CHEZ AMERICAN
1971–1972|Calistoga, California—Berkeley, California—San Diego . . . . . . . . . . .77
BACK TO SCHOOL
1972|Paris . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .81
THE YEAR OF THE WINE WRITER
1972|San Francisco—New York—Paris . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .83
IMPACT
1972–1973|San Diego—Los Angeles—San Francisco—New York . . . . . . . . . . . .87
THE BATTLE OF VERSAILLES
1973|Versailles, France . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .89
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