History

Evidence of wine can be traced back to Egypt, to about 5000 BC. The use of wine is shown in tomb paintings, and wine jars have been found in Egyptian tombs. Northern climates and soil produce better wine – the wine industry can be raced from its emergence along the Nile in Egypt and Persia, northward to Europe and eventually to North America.

Because Ancient Greek wine was coarser and harder than Egyptian wine, it was mixed with water. Despite this, it was better than Egyptian wine, and was imported. Roman wines (from modern day Italy, Spain, and France) was of even higher quality. French and German wines were preferred, thus shifting the centre of wine production from the Mediterranean to Central Europe.

Some of the best wine continues to be made in Southern France, specifically the Bordeaux region, where wine has been made for more than 2,000 years.

In the mid-1600s, the colonists brought wine to the east coast of the New World. The first report of wine used in the New World is the Pilgrims at the first Thanksgiving in 1623. They attempted to grow grape cuttings brought from Europe, but European cuttings did not have immunity to North American plant diseases, and they died. By the mid-19th century (using the abundant native Vitis labrusca grape plants) wineries were established in Pennsylvania, Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Alabama, Mississippi, and North Carolina.

In the United States, the largest producers of wine are California and New York state. Many of its table wines are known for their quality, the large wineries of central and soutern California produce massive quantities of wine that they ship to make specific wines, such as dessert wines, or to blend with other wines.