ZINFANDEL
A HISTORY OF A GRAPE AND ITS WINE
Chapter One
SOJOURN IN THE EAST
AMERICANS IN THE ENGLISH COLONIES OF NORTH AMERICA GREW
grapes from Florida to New England. In the early days of the republic, they
took vines west to the Ohio and Mississippi Valleys. The growers were most
successful when they raised grapes to eat. There were no great successes in the
field of winemaking, although there were some admirable failures.
The grapes the Americans used fall into three categories: the native varieties
found growing in North America, the European vinifera varieties transported
to the New World, and the chance hybrids between the two. (In the
nineteenth century American nurserymen began deliberately producing such
hybrids.)
In the more southerly climes, winegrowing demonstrated the most potential,
thanks to the warmer climate and the heterogeneity of the population.
But as one looks north along the eastern seaboard, one finds fewer and fewer
persons who thought of viticulture in connection with wine production; such
views were rare north of the ... read full excerpt from Zinfandel: A History of a Grape and Its Wine ebook
