Alicia Steffann

For purists of the old world varietals, they continued to be considered inferior.

While the phylloxera blight was occupying Europe, wine was having ups and downs in the United States.

By 1850, wine was being produced all over the country, but Americans were still drinking other beverages such as whiskey, beer, and hard cider far more frequently.

One reason is that these other drinks were simply cheaper to produce.

When people in the US did drink wine, it was generally imported.

The 1840 census shows that only 3% of the wine consumed that year in the United States was American made.

Luckily for wine lovers, the gold rush provided a catalyst for the industry in 1849.

Wine expert Jim Lapsley explained the trend in a 2017 interview with PBS on American Experience.

He said that minors loved alcoholic beverages, including wine.

Settlers soon discovered that the climate in California was excellent for vineyards, and that grapes there suffered less from the problems they encountered on the humid east coast, such as mold and mildew.

Furthermore, these early grape growers were successful in planting the more popular European varietals that the drinking public appeared to want.

at first the growth in the popularity of wine was limited to the west coast but in 1875 a delegation from the wine growers was able to get attacks on foreign wines increased this resulted in new york wine sellers importing more california wines

and they gained a large share of the affordable portion of the market.

At the same time, wine-loving European immigrants were increasing demand for wine in general.

By the time Prohibition was looming, 90% of the steadily growing amount of wine consumed in the U.S.

was from California.

When prohibition outlawed the commercial production and sale of alcohol in 1919, wine found a surprising loophole.

Although it was illegal to make wine as a business or to sell it to anyone, it was not illegal to let people buy your grapes and make their own wine at home.

Vineyards got through this period by doing just that.

According to Lapsley, grape sales tripled year over year and California vineyard acreage doubled.