America: Land of the Red, White and Rose

All 50 states are now members of the U.S. winemaking union: each has at least one federally licensed winery. More important, many regional wineries are producing surprisingly good wines that have been gaining national and international recognition.

Two of Gruet Winery's New Mexican sparkling wines, for example, won medals last July at the International Wine and Spirits Competition in London. Bubblies from L. Mawby Vineyards in Michigan and Westport Rivers Vineyard in Massachusetts sparkle too.

Other unlikely winners are emerging from equally unlikely venues. Riesling excels in New York's Finger Lakes region, where Konstantin Frank first planted European grape varieties in the 1950s. No one thought they would survive, much less thrive. Today Dr. Konstantin Frank's Rieslings are some of the best in the U.S. Thomas Jefferson, an aficionado of French wines, would have been proud of the Bordeaux-style reds produced by Virginia's Linden Vineyards. And last November three of Texas winemaker Becker Vineyard's products made Wine Spectator's list of the top 12 U.S. regional wines.

The grapes being used are special as well. In Missouri the Stone Hill Winery is producing excellent wines with the native red Norton grape. In Minnesota the hybrid Marechal Foch is featured in Alexis Bailly Vineyard's unique orange-infused fortified wine, Ratafia. South Dakota's Valiant Vineyards boasts a Wild Grape Red that is being successfully sold in Paris.

The U.S. is the world's fourth largest wine producer. The good news is that the quality nationwide is catching up with the quantity. Cheers!

For more on U.S. wines, see www.allamericanwineries.com