California is the largest and most important wine region in the United States. It represents the southern two-thirds (850 miles or 1,370 kilometers) of the country's west coast. (Oregon and Washington make up the rest. ) The state also spans nearly 10 degrees of latitude.
With its mountains, valleys, plains and plateaus, California's topography is as Complex as its Climate, offering winemakers a bewildering array of terroirs. California wines have only gained worldwide recognition in recent decades (especially after the 1976 Paris ruling). However, the state's wine history goes back more than 200 years. European vines were first planted in the 18th century, when settlers and missionaries moved up and down the West Coast.
Fierce wildfires in Chile have led to at least 25 deaths and destroyed more than 2,000 homes, according to government figures. More than 400,000 hectares of land have been burned, with damage visible on NASA satellite images. Julio Alonso, executive director for Wines of Chile North America, said forest fires in El Maule, Ñuble, Bío Bío, and Araucanía were affecting thousands of people’s lives and sources of work, including in wine. Some small producers have lost wineries and houses, he said, al ...
Jackson Family Wines announced it would partner with The Urban Grape, a retail wine shop based in Boston, Massachusetts, on its Wine Studies Award for Students of Color. Created in 2020 by The Urban Grape’s owners, TJ and Hadley Douglas, to mark the store’s 10th anniversary, the programme aims to provide career opportunities for its students while increasing diversity in the wine industry. ‘As a Black man in wine, I’ve always been, for the most part, the only one in this space,’ said TJ Do ...
Bordeaux wine sales to the US reached a new record in 2021, jumping 67% to €349m ($390m), the Bordeaux wine council (CIVB) announced this week. A freeze on additional import tariffs and buyers’ thirst for highly-rated recent vintages helped Bordeaux to a ‘spectacular recovery’ in terms of shipments to the US, it said. Exports rose by 24% in volume last year to 247,000 hectolitres, equivalent to 33 million bottles. While reds dominate, the US has also become the biggest market for Bordeaux white ...
