Wine is produced commercially in all of the US States. The bulk of US wines are produced in California (approx. 90%) making it the largest wine producing state in the US by a long shot. Washington ranks second followed by New York in third and Oregon is the fourth largest wine producing state in the US.
For the purpose of this Directory, Mexico has been divided into four Regions: Baja, Northern, Central and Southern Regions.
It is said that as early as 1564 wine was made from the native grape in Florida. The first attempts to establish a regular vineyard were made in Virginia, in 1620 with European vines. All efforts to introduce the Old World vines proved futile in the regions to the east of the Rocky Mountains. Towards the end of the 18th century the Mission Fathers succeeded in planting vineyards in California. The vines used were mainly of two sorts, the one yielding a white grape with a musky flavor, and the other a dark blue fruit.
United States Wine RegionsFor the purpose of this directory individual states are grouped into five regions: | |
Midwest: | Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin |
Northeast | Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont |
Southeast | Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia, Virginia |
Southwest | Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas |
West | Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming |
The United States uses "American Viticultural Areas"
A viticulture area is a delimited grape-growing region distinguishable by geographical features, the boundaries of which have been recognized by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) and defined in 27 CFR Part 9. AVA's do not set standards or control the quality of the wine produced within a certain AVA. They identify an area the grapes are grown in.