America has long been a land of innovation – from blue jeans and fast food to lightbulbs and telephones.
American ingenuity and the country’s talent for dreaming big have led to novel solutions to complicated problems. In wine, this means that new consumers, changing tastes and traditions in food and wine pairing, industry leaders, new technologies and new names are leading American wine into its next wave.
Of course, there are many issues facing American wine – wildfires and smoke continue to torment wine-growers in the American west, fewer young Americans are drinking wine as their beverage of choice, and the global climate crisis rumbles on.
But there are also many promising innovations. Climate change and new wine drinkers’ adventurous tastes are allowing winemakers and growers to explore new and not-so-new wine grapes in different ways. And there are brand new demographics of wine drinkers to whom influencers, rather than traditional industry gatekeepers, speak directly.
So what will America’s next wave of wine be, where will it come from, and who will be riding it? Here’s our US-based team’s selection of questions, answers, people and ideas...
Young Americans
Why aren’t younger demographics in the US turning to wine? Is it a simple lack of advertising in the wine sector or a combination of factors?
‘Growing up, for me,’ says Steve Matthiasson, winemaker at Matthiasson and popular Napa Valley vineyard consultant, ‘it was a given that wine was good for you. That’s not the message today, and I believe this is why younger drinkers are attracted to natural wines.’
Bu hikaye Decanter dergisinin May 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
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Bu hikaye Decanter dergisinin May 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
A Resource for the World? - Argentina is unique in the genetic diversity preserved in much of its vine material. With climate change and disease posing increasing threats worldwide, Catena Zapata winery is asking what lessons can be learned to protect vineyards within and beyond the nation's borders
Argentina is unique in the genetic diversity preserved in much of its vine material. With climate change and disease posing increasing threats worldwide, Catena Zapata winery is asking what lessons can be learned to protect vineyards within and beyond the nation’s borders
Great Cabernets of South America
Other varieties may hog the limelight across South America, but the world’s most popular grape for red wines has played a critical role in the continent's wine heritage. We trace Cabernet Sauvignon’s story here, and recommend 16 benchmark wines to try
PROVENCE by train and bike
With rail links to Paris, Nice, Marseilles and beyond, a vast network of cycle paths and quiet roads, and a plethora of historic wine estates, Provence is an ideal destination for an eco-friendly, car-free and carefree) holiday
IN THE MIX
These days most of the world’s vineyards are planted to just a single variety, but what happens when multiple varieties are planted, harvested and blended together?
Malvasia A BUYER'S GUIDE
If ever a grape was hard to pin down, it'd be Malvasia. Indeed it’s not even a single grape variety. In all of its many varied, and often completely unrelated guises, it has been the mainstay of popular wine styles across the centuries. Our expert takes a closer look...
RIBERA ADOPTS THE NEW OLD WAYS
It’s not so much a new direction for winemakers in Ribera del Duero, but a growing recognition that traditional methods and wine styles set aside by the previous generation can now provide a way ahead to revitalise the region
Roussanne around the world
Up for a challenge? For winemakers as much as wine drinkers, getting a handle on a mercurial grape such as Roussanne isn't easy. But wherever it's grown, when the balance is right, it truly repays the effort
Napa Cabernet 2021
There's a lot of excitement about this vintage, in which conditions were relatively calm and temperatures stable through summer. Ongoing drought reduced yields but intensified flavours, but it means quantities are down and you may need to act fast to secure top wines. Our Napa correspondent selects 60 great wines from more than 500 that he tasted, with many very high scores
10 reason to discover Uruguay
Squeezed between Brazil and Argentina on the Atlantic coast, Uruguay has mostly flown under the tourist radar - until now. Once dubbed 'the Switzerland of the Americas', it's a welcoming country that has much to offer the travelling wine lover
Leo Erazo
The old vines and special terroir of Itata, southern Chile, have beena source of inspiration for this intrepid winemaker. The 2023 fires were a setback, but his commitment to this ancient wine land is undiminished
