Today there are wineries in almost every state (even Hawaii!), and burgeoning wine industries in Virginia, Washington State and Oregon. New York State, which boasted 19 wineries in 1976, now has more than 100. (California has more than 1,000.) So where is this swelling industry leading us? Is there serious competition in the U.S. for California wine?
The short answer is "not yet." The top American wines in every category but dessert wines are the products of California wineries, according to the Wine Spectator. Washington State has given California some competition in Riesling and Merlot, Oregon in Chenin Blanc and Pinot Noir; Virginia has offered a realistic challenge to California Viognier. But as far as the mainstream table wine varietals - Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Syrah, Zinfandel - the very best examples still come from California.
Why should California have such a commanding lead over all other states? Well, it's not because we've been at it for a longer period of time. The American wine industry began back in New York State around 1650. That's right...just a few years after the Pilgrims set foot on Plymouth Rock. (It was the Dutch who did it, of course.) Quick summary of events: 1) All European varietals failed to grow. 2) New York wineries developed offerings based on native (table) grapes, such as Concord and Catawba. 3) Hybrid French-American grapes were developed (Seyval, Vidal). 4) Microclimates semi-suitable for European varietals were found. All this took approximately 300 years!
To see just where things presently stand between East Coast wines and California, I recently conducted a tasting of premium wines from New York State, Rhode Island and Virginia. This was a tasting which put the California style into perspective. It provided a hands-on experience of opposite viticultural conditions, both attempting to achieve the golden mean.
While in California, we are plagued with overripeness, inadequate hang time, excessive tannins, and high sugars which lead to high alcohol levels, New England contends with short growing seasons, underripeness, low sugars, low alcohol levels, weak color and weak tannins. As a whole, the white wines of New England are crisp and uncomplicated, with many examples of clumsy vinification. The best Chardonnay examples from New York would suffer by comparison to many of California's inexpensive commercial bottlings such as Meridian Chardonnay Santa Barbara County ($8.50). Consequently, California Chardonnays are more popular than local products in New York City.
