American Wine History

According to historical sources, the first wine in the US was made by French Huguenot immigrants in Florida in 1565 using the native American grape, Muscadine (Bates et al, 1989). Though successive European immigrants brought cuttings of vitus vinifera winegrapes from their homeland to the East Coast of the US, the majority did not survive due to phylloxera and other native pests. Greystone Cellars in Napa Valley, CA (now the Culinary Institute of America) - Established 1889. Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons It wasn’t until the 1620’s that Spanish explorers successfully made wine from vitus vinifera grapes in what is now [...]