Whether it’s sparkling Riesling or full-bodied Cabernet that you are drinking, it’s pretty cool to know that you are a contributing factor to the breaking news in America’s wine industry. Recent reports show that the United States has passed France and become the largest wine-consuming nation in the world.
As I browsed through the latest “tweets” on my Twitter account (@kmack717), I came across one from PA Wine Association: “Reason to celebrate? U.S. Passes France as World’s Biggest Wine-Consuming Nation: http://cot.ag/eQ7kUw”. According to Gomberg, Fredrikson & Associates, a wine-industry consulting firm, wine shipments to the U.S. have increased over 2 percent to 329.7 million cases in 2010 (9.1 million more than France). Considering our population is more than five times the size of France’s we have the potential to continue growing and keep this #1 status. “With the U.S. being the biggest, it means we’re a target for everyone in America and around the world that produces wine,” Fredrikson said. “Everyone wants to be here.”
This new record for the U.S. shows that consumers are now drinking wine at more than just special occasions. This drink is becoming an accepted part of everyday life. This is partly due the growing interest from the younger generations of Americans. We are finding new ways to learn about wine through social media and marketers are taking advantage of it. So I tell them, keep it up. Wine is becoming the drink of choice and I, for one, will toast to that!
From the classic “I Love Lucy” grape stomping episode to modern movies like “Sideways” and “A Walk in the Clouds”, Hollywood has uncorked some of the mysteries behind the winemaking process. While technology has improved many of the processes shown in old movies and TV shows, I began to wonder how my favorite wines were made. I have two wines that must be kept in my house at all times – Concord and Niagara. While both are sweet wines, one is red and the other is white. For the most part, they are developed through the same process. Ever wonder how that is possible?
Well, here’s a light-hearted look into the winemaking process:
1.) Harvesting and De-stemming the grapes - This stage is pretty self-explanatory. This is where the grapes are removed from the vines, depending on the time of the season, and then removing the stems from each grape.
2.) Crushing- Once the grapes are cleaned, they are placed into pressers and crushed. Everyone remembers that “I Love Lucy” episode where Lucy crushes grapes by stomping on them in a large vat. While this stage is generally not done by manual labor anymore, that scene has become iconic in US popular viticulture. Now done with large machines, this stage does not require manual labor to extract the juices from the grapes. The liquids and paste from this stage are then placed in vats and the next stage begins. At this stage, it is determined what parts of the grape will be used to make either red wine or white wine. While the type of grape is a major factor, other parts of the grape such as the skin, seeds, and juices will determine the overall flavor and color of the wine.
For example, most white wines only use the juices generated from the crushing process for the rest of the stages. On the other hand, most red wines allow more time for the juices to have contact with the skin before extracting only the juices for the rest of the winemaking process. This creates a full-bodied red wine as opposed to the light body of a white wine.
3.) Fermentation - Undoubtedly, the most important component in the winemaking process is yeast. When it is added to the wine juices, it starts the fermentation process. Without getting into the science of this stage, fermentation is simply the conversion of the sugars in the grape juices to alcohol. The yeast is the agent that allows for this process to happen. It changes the grape sugars and produces the aroma and flavors of the wine. Winemakers use different types of yeast to produce a certain wine – dry, semi-sweet, or sweet (to name a few). The type of container used in this stage also helps create a specific flavoring to the wine. For example, if the wine ferments in oak barrels, it will have a “woody” or richer taste than a wine that fermented in a stainless steel vat.
4.) Clean Up, Lock Down, and Seal it - Once all the juice sugars have been converted into alcohol, the wine is then filtered to separate the liquid from any dead yeast cells, sediment, and other grape parts (known as racking). This is especially important for red wines since the skins are used to add flavor. After the wine is cleaned, it is then ready to be bottled and sealed. While some wines are bottled immediately after fermentation is complete, others must mature in barrels. This is why in some movies, like the classic Disney Movie “The Parent Trap”, you will see scenes with barns and large facilities filled with stacks of oak barrels. Once the wine is in the bottle and sealed with a cork and ready for consumption.
And that’s how it’s made! So the next time I open a bottle of Niagara, I know how much hard work went into making one bottle of wine. From the stomping of the grapes to sealing the bottles with corks, winemakers take pride in their business. It is not only a science, but an art to create such a wonderful drink that I can end my day with!
Enjoy A Clip!
Random:
“Wine is like people. The wine takes all the influences in life all around it, it absorbs them and it gets its personality." - French Kiss (1995)
Birthdays, Graduations, Anniversaries, Holidays. At any of these occasions, you can find several bottles of wine on my family’s dining room table. So,at brunch this past Sunday, my family shared a bottle of Sparkling Riesling for my mom’s birthday. Raising our glasses, we toasted to happiness and health. To continue the celebration after brunch, my mom and I decided to stop by my Aunt Janet’s to share another bottle of wine. As we sat around the kitchen table and split one of my favorites, Concord wine from Clover Hill Winery, my aunt asked if this little “get-together” would make it into a blog post. Well, I mention it now because as we sat there and chatted about life, school, and work, I began to wonder - when people decide to get together, why is wine a common beverage of choice?
This tradition dates back to the ancient times of the Greeks and Romans. Wine had not only been a beverage of choice at parties, but also a conversation piece among other topics such as art and literature. Knowledge of wine had proved to be a sign of sophistication to the upper class. And as years went by, this image remained throughout Europe. With such a wide variety of flavors and tastes, every individual could find a wine that suited his or her palate. The tradition and reputation of wine even crossed the Atlantic Ocean and settled in America with the early colonists. However, the wine industry did face hardship during the 1920’s and 1930’s with Prohibition. Wine’s image had disintegrated and nearly crippled the industry in America. However, once the 18th Amendment was overturned and vineyards could begin producing high-qualty beverages, wine consumption began to grow and gain a whole new reputation. As stated in an article by Field Maloney, wine “has cleaned itself up, with a freshly shaved face and a fashionable suit of casual clothes, and is headed uptown.” Shedding its elitist image, wine became a drink of the masses and the expansion of the middle class led to a social change. Men no longer went out to the local bar and left their wives home. Instead, couples started hosting dinner parties where wine is offered. The significance of wine has shifted through the centuries, while the overall culture surrounding this beverage has remained. It simply was a drink that could bring people together.
In today’s world, this culture and transformation can be seen with the growing number of wine clubs across the nation. These clubs are popping up all over, even on the internet. With the first wine club starting in 1976 in California, these groups form creative outlets for people to learn more about wine. From sampling various wines to learning about proper food and wine pairings, people are able to come together and share common interests with others in their communities. Some clubs even started to target certain demographics in the US. For example, since statistics show that the number of women who drink wine in the United States is increasing and we now account for around 60% of wine sales, groups like “The Women Who Wine” are growing in popularity. These wine clubs are ways for individuals to discover and attend upcoming events and parties such as wine trails and festivals.
So sitting around the kitchen table sharing a bottle of wine with my family is just another example of how wine can bring people together. As we sat and enjoyed that bottle of Concord wine, my mom, aunt, cousin, and I decided to make it a monthly occurrence, essentially forming our own wine and book club. So to answer my question, why choose wine, it’s simple. There’s a flavor out there for everyone and we can share it with friends. So after starting my own wine club, I encourage all of you to get together with your friends or family and share a bottle of your favorite wine. It’s a great way to stay updated on everyone’s lives and an even better excuse for a party!
Random:
“Wine cheers the sad, revives the old, inspires the young, makes weariness forget his toil." - Lord Byron
I took a few pictures from my first wine tasting! I thought I would post them for you all to see what a vineyard looks like in southeastern Pennsylvania, especially in winter. It is pretty cool how different a vineyard looks with tons of snow surrounding it.
~ Vines in Winter ~
I hope to have more images uploaded soon. My next post is also on its way.
Random: "The biggest jump in the whole world is jumping to conclusions."
One of my favorite classes back in high school was U.S. History. I had this teacher that would show us old movie reels, probably originally used in the 60’s and 70’s to teach lessons on World Wars, presidents, and even Prohibition. That may seem like a boring class to today’s students, but it was the old clips that kept my attention for the 90-minute class. Thinking about those history lessons made me realize that it actually related to my current project. What did Prohibition mean for the wine industry? How did they bounce back from a 13 year ban nationwide? So, I started doing some research.
The passing of the 18th Amendment and Volstead Act did not have the effect that government officials thought it would. Instead of stopping the purchase and consumption of alcohol including wine, it set the country up for bigger problems. From bootlegging to speakeasies and backroom deals, it actually made the nation more violent with open rebellions by its citizens. Statistics show after the passing of the Volstead Act there were anywhere from 30,000 to 100,000 speakeasy clubs throughout the nation. It just goes to show that taking away Americans’ freedom of choice may only cause them to fight back against the system.
Temperance and Prohibition caused many problems for the wine industry in the United States. While there were exceptions such as the use of wine for religious ceremonies, it did hinder the US economy and advancement of the wine industry tremendously. Instead of investing in new technologies for winemaking that many other countries such as France and Spain used, the United States wineries’ only option was to spend money on juice making technology. Improving their grape juice production is what kept the industry alive.
When Prohibition ended and the Amendment was repealed, other states began opening wineries again and added in retail stores. Pennsylvania wine businesses, on the other hand, had to wait till 1968 when the PA Limited Winery Act was passed and allowed for the production and sale of wine again. The state had to wait because while Prohibition ended back in the 1930’s, the regulating power was transferred from the federal to state level. These extra thirty years are the main reason that Pennsylvania is known more as a grape juice producer and not as much for its wine production. When the state’s vineyards began producing again, the grapes were sweet and produced a beverage that was often too fruity; therefore, it could not be deemed as a “serious” wine. To help the industry beat these current challenges in PA, vintners replanted grape seeds on their land to help produce a greater variety of flavors. This allowed for a greater selection of wine and therefore, PA was able to appeal to a larger audience of wine drinkers. In recent years, many wineries such as Crossings Vineyards in southeastern Pennsylvania have started achieving recognition and earning awards such as a gold medal from International Eastern Wine Competition in 2010 for its Chardonnay ’08.
I read in an article from an issue of Wine&Vines that Pennsylvania is “a wine region of the brink of discovery.” Considering that was an article from 2006, I can only imagine how much the state’s wine industry has grown in just five years. And I can’t wait to see where it is going in the future.
Random Addition:
February 20, 2011 – My first wine tasting at Buckingham Valley Vineyards. Amazing! We even bought a bottle of their Sparkling Reisling. I’m pretty excited to try it!
As I browsed through the latest “tweets” on my Twitter account (@kmack717), I came across one from PA Wine Association: “Reason to celebrate? U.S. Passes France as World’s Biggest Wine-Consuming Nation: http://cot.ag/eQ7kUw”. According to Gomberg, Fredrikson & Associates, a wine-industry consulting firm, wine shipments to the U.S. have increased over 2 percent to 329.7 million cases in 2010 (9.1 million more than France). Considering our population is more than five times the size of France’s we have the potential to continue growing and keep this #1 status. “With the U.S. being the biggest, it means we’re a target for everyone in America and around the world that produces wine,” Fredrikson said. “Everyone wants to be here.”
