The history of wine consumption in the United States has been spooked by starts, stops and inconsistencies. The American population has always had a love-hate relationship with alcohol. Historic prohibitionist attitudes among much of the American population have blurred the line between moderate wine consumption and harmful alcoholism. As a result, the regular and moderate consumption of wine by the American public continues to face ideological and legal impediments.

The history of wine consumption during the colonial years

From its origins, the history of wine consumption in America has been both encouraged and despised by different demographic groups. Spanish missionaries produced the oldest wine in the New World in the early 17th century. Soon after, French immigrants began growing grapes in the Hudson River Valley. They made wine, juice, and preserves.

The early history of wine consumption in the United States was dominated by immigrants who were primarily Catholic and of central or southern European descent. Most of the wine-drinking immigrants came from wine-loving nations such as France, Italy, Germany, and Spain. They descended from cultural traditions that valued the social consumption of wine with dinner.

The aforementioned wine drinkers were countered by immigrants from northern Europe. Many had Puritan belief systems that discouraged or prohibited the consumption of alcohol of any kind. Nativist movements of the early 18th century cast suspicion on immigrant groups who preserved Old World customs and did not fully assimilate into American society.

The consumption of wine was a lightning rod for these discriminatory views. Although not accurate, alcoholism was seen as a problem only associated with certain ethnic groups that enjoyed wine. Whiskey and beer were the actual source of the vast majority of the troublesome drunkenness. Nonetheless, the early prohibitionist forces were very effective in linking wine to the ills of American society.

History of wine consumption during the 19th century

In the 1830s, Americans were consuming massive amounts of whiskey and beer. Alcoholism was widespread and was affecting the stability of the American family. Husbands spent time in salons rather than with their families, and rampant drunkenness increased the cases of womanizing and delinquency.

Ironically, as prohibitionist fervor gained national momentum in the 19th century, the American wine industry flourished. From 1860-1880, Phylloxera devastated the vineyards of France. California wine production increased considerably to fill the international void. Vast tracts of vineyards were planted in Southern California to meet the international demand for wine. However, most of this production was exported and did not have a major impact on the history of wine consumption in America.

In the mid-1880s, European wine production recovered, leading to a glut of American wine. To make matters worse, Pierce’s disease and phylloxera simultaneously hit the vineyards of Southern California. The increase in population and real estate values ​​in the Los Angeles Basin was the final nail in the coffin of extensive viticulture in the region. With prohibitionist attitudes steadily gaining momentum, American demand for wine was insufficient to make up for the loss of the much larger European market.

History of wine during the Prohibition years

In response to mass protest by many Americans against alcohol consumption, Congress passed the 18th Amendment in 1917. It banned the commercial production and sale of alcohol in the United States. The Volstead Act was ratified in 1920 and exposed the actual implementation of Prohibition. It also established several loopholes in the production and consumption of alcohol. Doctors can prescribe alcohol and consume it for religious purposes. In addition, a head of the family was legally authorized to produce 200 gallons of wine per year for personal use. This was largely a concession to the significant Italian-American electorate.

Due to the Volstead Act, American wine consumption increased during Prohibition. Traditional American alcoholic beverages of beer and distilled spirits were illegal to produce and sell from 1920-1933. As a result, regions like Lodi saw a massive increase in demand for grapes used for home winemaking.

Prohibition did not reduce the American appetite for alcohol, it simply destroyed the legal framework that governed alcohol sales. Due to the inaccessibility of alcohol, the use of other drugs, including cocaine and marijauna, increased considerably. In addition, the government lost an important source of income to taxing alcohol when organized crime seized the means of production and distribution. The American public was increasingly dissolved by the government’s stubborn attempt to achieve the impossible.

The 21st amendment: repeal of the ban

After a decade of the “noble experiment,” Congress passed the 21st Amendment. It ended the National Prohibition and transferred the authority to allow or prohibit the production and sale of alcohol to individual states. Many states relegated this authority to the county level. Counties in some states prohibit alcohol to this day. The history of wine production and sale since the repeal of Prohibition has been governed by the 21st Amendment, not the free trade mandates of the United States Constitution.

Because each state has the power to make its own laws regarding the sale of wine, it has effectively made the commercial distribution of wine a complicated mess. Marketing wine in the United States remains a difficult and frustrating task, especially for smaller wineries.

The effects of the 21st Amendment have had a major impact on the history of wine consumption in the United States during the 20th and 21st centuries. His legacy is a tangle of state and county laws that regulate the production and sale of wine.

The years of fortified wine

In the immediate aftermath of the repeal of Prohibition, wine consumption declined as Americans renewed access to spirits and beer. From the repeal of Prohibition until the late 1950s, high-alcohol desserts and fortified wines dominated the market. They were the darkest days in the history of wine production and consumption. Many fortified wines were produced and sold at extremely low prices and were destined for the “misery market”. The “drunkards” drank these excessively alcoholic concoctions because they were the cheapest way to get drunk. In the pursuit of short-term profits, unscrupulous producers have left a black mark on American wine history.

From 1934 to the early 1950s, immigrant families consumed the majority of table wines. Unfortunately, many of their children did not follow their parents’ traditional beverage choices and began consuming beer and cocktails as they assimilated into American society. Table wine was a mystery drink to most Americans and was associated with high society and newcomers from southern and central Europe.

The years of the wine jug

America’s taste for unfortified wines finally began to develop in the early 1960s. Most of these new wine drinkers were young, traveled a lot, and were relatively wealthy. As the Baby Boom generation came of age, the ranks of wine drinkers grew. Still, most consumers bought plain sweet wines.

The early 1980s saw the height of the frenzy to promote and sell inexpensive wines to the American public. The White Zinfandel rage was and still is an important part of the market. Total US wine consumption reached an all-time high due to a massive influx of capital and advertising. Despite predictions of continued increases, it did not materialize.

At the same time, overall alcohol use declined in the United States during the 1980s. The drug and alcohol movement rightly discouraged dangerous levels of drug and alcohol ingestion. Unfortunately, extremists in the movement also attacked the history of wine consumption in the United States. Zero tolerance attitudes portrayed moderate wine consumption not only as dangerous for the individual, but also as detrimental to the entire population.

The Renaissance years

In the late 1980s, decanter wine consumption dropped dramatically. American tastes were changing and the market began to demand wines with defined characteristics. Mike Benziger’s Glen Ellen winery stepped into the void, creating the popular genre of “fighting varieties.” These wines bridged the gap between the generic production of the past and the boutique wineries of the following decade.

Much of the current US interest in quality wine stems from a 1991 60-minute program that examined the health benefits of moderate wine consumption. The “French paradox” is the fact that the French consume fatty foods, significant red wine, and have a very low incidence of heart disease. This news had a major impact on American wine consumption, especially in wealthy and aging demographics.

The future … factors to consider

As American society becomes increasingly fast-paced and hectic, fewer families are sitting down to dinner together. This is not a positive sign for wine consumption in the United States, as few people open a bottle of wine to drink with their take out or take out food.

The enjoyment of wine is symptomatic of relaxation, and these days American society is anything but relaxed. The history of wine is also synonymous with stable family relationships, and the divorce rate in the US is currently around 50%.

Furthermore, wine is a complicated subject that generally requires a certain amount of free time and money to become a true adherent. Additionally, wine has an unflattering image among many American alcohol consumers who prefer beer or liquor. In my opinion, there are limits to how big the quality wine market can grow.

On a more positive note, the American population is aging, and older and richer people tend to enjoy wine more than other demographics. Hopefully, they will pass on their appreciation for wine to the next generation.

In many ways, the history of wine consumption in the US is a microcosm of the positives and negatives that accompany the innate American experience. Studying the history of wine consumption in the US illuminates the political, cultural, religious, and racial diversity that has made the nation what it is today.

The United States has a relatively small but growing population of wine lovers. Although the number of habitual wine drinkers is far from the majority, it will continue to grow as the population ages. Future trends will likely include an increase in consumption of quality varieties grown in specific locations driven by terroir.