rblog

A History of Wine in America : From Prohibition to the Present
Author: Thomas Pinney
Amazon info

It seems that I only read books written by journalists or professors - and am never absolutely completely satisfied with either. The History of Wine in America is written by a professor, but not a professor of either history or enology. He is a professor of English. As you might expect, the book is clearly written, with great attention to detail, and does not reach for conclusions without evidence. It is also encyclopedic - covering pretty much any wine operation anywhere in the US - which is both the strength and weakness of the book.

Firstly, it is a great history of grape growing, wine making, and wine sales and distribution for the period. Even a wine connoisseur will learn a great deal - especially how the wine industry has changed over the past 80 years. I learned about the domination of the "fortified, sweet" wines up until the 1970s - which explains why my aunt will always stress that she likes "dry" wine - and I was puzzled since basically all wine is "dry". Little did I know about ports, sherries, and muscatels. Not to mention the kosher wines made from the Concord grape. I have a vague recollection of Manishewitz wine from my childhood, but I think I am repressing it. Secondly, this book covers wine making in every state - not just California and New York, although those are the dominant wine making states. Wine making in each state is impacted by the climates, history, and state laws (which vary widely) - and this book covers all those aspects. Finally, this book covers the business side - with histories of the well known firms (e.g. Gallo, Inglenook, and Canandaigua Wines - which turns out to be the #2 wine maker in the US). Overall, an excellent reference book.

The downside of this vast wealth of knowledge is that it is simply too much for the average reader, which is why this is a better reference book than something to read in its entirety. The barrage of statistics and interminable grower/winemaker associations that merge, change, re-form, etc. over the years is overwhelming. To the author's credit, the book is well organized and I could have skipped over the sections of less interest (but my reading patterns are a little obsessive).

Since the book is meant to describe the history of wine in America, not just in California, my only real suggestion for improvement is to include more maps. Each state discussed should be accompanied by a detailed map of the region. Having lived near the major wine growing areas in the US (California, Finger Lakes of NY) I could generally follow the discussion, but more maps would have helped.

Recommended for: Wine enthusiasts only. Don't bother reading this unless you are way into wine. If you are, it will be a very rewarding and worthwhile book.