Favorite Wines By State

A 2022 survey by Wise Voter lists the top five wines for every state. Not sure why Wise Voter cares about wine, but here we go.

Some highlights on the #1 choices:

• Arkansas is the only state with White Zinfandel as the most popular wine. Only four other states have White Zin in their top five. I think rosé has largely displaced White Zin.
  
  
• Several hot weather states have rosé on top, along with Minnesota. Rosé shows up in the top five in 31 states.
  
  
• What do the largest wine-producing states drink? CA Sauvignon Blanc, OR Cabernet Sauvignon, WA Sauvignon Blanc. It's interesting that Oregon, a state where two-thirds of the grapes planted are Pinot Noir and just 4% Cabernet, prefers Cab.
  
  
• Ten states are trendy, you might say, with Pinot Noir at #1. Some of these trendy states are Kansas, Mississippi, and Montana, states that aren't necessarily considered trendy.
  
  
• Sauvignon Blanc is the overall winner, with 16 states having it as their #1 pick. Pinot Noir and Cabernet are tied for 2nd with 10 states. There's a lot of inexpensive imported Sauv Blanc, mostly from New Zealand. I expect that's why it's #1.

The full list - you have to scroll down aways to find the list.

Oldies, but Goodies

In Sonoma County, wine goes back to a Russian settlement on the coast in the early 1800s. A few years later the northernmost California mission came to the town of Sonoma with the mission grapes coming along. The first commercial winery started in the mid 1800s.

The Good Old Days of Wineries' Worries

Wineries and the grape growers are worried. Yes, many small businesses have things to worry about. Grape growers are farmers so are always worried and the weather, government policies, and almost everything else.

May is Sex in the Vineyard Month!

Grapes self-pollinate. In biological terms, they are a hermaphrodite and contain both male (stamens) and female (pistils) reproductive organs. Grape vines don't need bees, wind or other grape vines to pollinate. Yes, self-pollination, that could be something Catholics would frown on. 

May is the month this happens in the Northern Hemisphere.

You mean this isn't what you're looking for when you clicked on the title?

Actually, a few varieties of grape vines do have male and female vines. The main one is Vitis rotundifolia, or muscadine, that grows in the southern U.S.

Commercial vineyards may still need bees for pollinating their cover crops. 

Self-pollination does allow reliable and timely pollination, and it helps maintain the best traits. It does not promote diversity or help in adapting to a changing climate.

Hey, it's not polite to peek while they pollinate

 

Why are Sonoma and Napa Wines Different?

The key factors in growing premium wine grapes are the microclimate and the soil. They impact the ripening and flavors, and define the characteristics of a wine. The microclimates and soils in Sonoma County are different from those in Napa, even though the two counties are side-by-side. Winemaking is also key to the properties of the finished wine, but we can assume equipment and practices are similar. 

So it's the microclimates and soils that make the wines different. Let's take a deeper dive into why the grapes coming into the winery can be different in these two neighbors.

Sonoma County Wineries Off the Beaten Path

Below are a few suggestions for smaller, maybe somewhat hard to find wine tastings in Sonoma County. For every Chateau St Jean or Kendall Jackson, there are dozens of little charmers like these.

American Wineries by State

Below is a map of the US with the number of wineries per state. There are some surprises.

America's Favorite Wines

Polling and surveying company, YouGov, released data on American's wine habits. Following are a few highlights, some surprising.

The Los Angeles Connection to California Wine History

  How could Los Angeles have any influence on the wine industry? Well, it turns out that the start of California's commercial wine business was in LA.

  The California missions run from San Diego's Mission, founded in 1769, to Sonoma's Mission in 1823. BTW, there were also missions throughout Baja California. The missions were known for planting wine grapes and making mission wine for church services and to serve at their own dinners.

  You might consider the San Diego Mission as the oldest winery in the country. However, they haven't made wine there in a very long time, it was never really a commercial winery, and California wasn't part of the US at the time.

Has the Tasting Room Lost Its Way?

I'm old enough to remember when the tasting room was a plank across a couple of barrels in a corner of the actual winery. You walked in, got a small, cheap excuse for a wine glass, the tasting list was on a chalkboard on the wall, and you tasted while standing at the bar. You either purchased or you didn't, but you went on your merry way after a half hour, no charge. The purpose, like the tasting room, was simple, to introduce you to their wines and hope to make you a customer.

Things have changed. It's not everywhere, but the Disneyland style is spreading.

Tariffs and the Wine Industry

What are the likely effects of the American tariffs and retaliatory tariffs on the American wine industry? This is educated guesswork, but we'll know for sure if the tariffs are still in place in a few months.

Why should you care? Besides price increases, there are well over a million jobs at stake.

Alternatives to Wine in Sonoma County

So you're not much of a wino, or someone in your group travelling to Sonoma County couldn't care less. What to do?