USA wine production areas

The west coast states are the largest producers of wine in the USA by far. The north eastern states, however, are starting to gain a reputation for improved viticulture and winemaking using international varieties. Wines from the east coast were mostly made from indigenous grape varieties which are sometimes termed as ‘foxy’ because they have a musky, animal like aroma that is difficult to disguise through winemaking. Wine styles are broad with the American palate preferring slightly sweeter wines than other countries. Many still wines for domestic consumption have more residual sugar than their European counterparts. Sparkling wine is widely produced to satisfy the fourth largest market for sparkling wine in the world while fortified and dessert style sweet wines are more unusual with no specific region dedicated to their production.

The east coast climate is also more challenging as it has very little influence from the Atlantic Ocean due to the Gulf Stream moving away from the coast towards Europe. This creates a continental style climate whereby summers are warm at all latitudes while winters are harsh. Many parts can drop to well below freezing with northern states dropping to below -20°C which easily damages vines. The ‘Finger Lakes’ area of New York state is making excellent wines while Virginia and North Carolina are growing rapidly, despite challenging conditions. The west coast, in contrast, has a climate tempered by the North Pacific current which brings cooler waters south ensuring that viticulture is viable at the edges of suitable latitudes (even extending further south into Mexico). This ‘Mediterranean’ climate is helped by low mountain ranges that offer altitude, to cool the region further, before the hot deserts of Nevada and Arizona take over as a hot continental climate develops. The central areas are high plains more suited to arable crops and are bordered on the east and west by high mountain ranges. To the west are the Rocky Mountains and to the east, the Appalachians which both spread the length of the country. This creates an area of extreme weather with hail, hurricanes and tornadoes in the south with long, very cold winters in the north. Despite of these climate challenges, there is viticulture and wine production in every single state, although many producers are small and not commercially viable.