Summary
The United States has around 320,000 hectares of vineyards, producing an average of about 250 million gallons of wine per year. Chardonnay remains the most commonly grown grape in the USA with around 43,000 hectares of vineyard dedicated to its cultivation. Chardonnay produces wines that are light, crisp and fruity with a clean taste. The grape is also well suited to being made into sparkling wines such as Champagne using the méthode traditionelle Coming in a close second place is Cabernet Sauvignon, with over 41,000 hectares, followed up by Pinot Noir at 25,000 hectares, Merlot at 21,000 hectares, and Zinfandel at 19,000 hectares. California remains the dominant wine-producing state in the U.S, producing around 80-90% of all the wine made in the country. The most common grapes grown in California include the aforementioned Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc. However, while California is certainly the largest wine-producing area in the U.S, it is not the only one. In Oregon, for instance, the wine industry is dominated by the growth of Pinot Noir, which is grown on around 60% of all Oregon vineyards.
Climate & Grape varieties
As a wine producer, the United States is unusual in that the vast majority of its wine production comes from only one of its 52-states, California. California is well suited to wine production due to its Mediterranean climate, which is characterized by hot dry summers and cool wet winters.
The primary grape-producing regions in California include the Central Valley, the Sierra Foothills and Napa. The vineyards are located mainly around the Bay Area, Sacramento Valley for the North Coast region wines with the South Coast wines based in San Diego County. The soil in California varies depending on the region. The Central Valley is very rich in minerals with loam and clay-loam soils, which are often found near rivers like the Sacramento River or San Joaquin River.
The North Coast has volcanic soil while the Sierra Foothills have granitic soil; both of these regions contain mixtures of sandstone, shale and limestone. Many vineyards located in Napa Valley possess gravel deposits that were left by receding glaciers during past ice ages over 15,000 years ago. Some Northern California wine producers will also use peat moss in order to increase acidity levels within their wines’ grapes.
There are hundreds of grape varieties grown throughout different parts of California each providing distinct flavours for consumers based on the climate in which they were planted. While nowhere near as productive as California, Oregon also has its own vine industry and produces a wide variety of wines and grapes, including Pinot noir and Chardonnay. The most common grapes grown in Oregon are Pinot Noir which makes up around 60% of all Oregon vineyard plantings with top sites including Chehalem Mountains AVA (North Willamette Valley), Eola-Amity Hills AVA (Willamette Valley), and the Ribbon Ridge AVA (Columbia Gorge). The soil in Oregon is extremely varied, consisting of sandy lowland soils in the Willamette Valley to cobblestone alluvial soils along rivers. The climate in the state is mostly influenced by the Pacific Ocean but also affected by the Cascade Mountains. The Mediterranean climate in Oregon is quite dry and warm with hot summer temperatures often over 25 degrees Celsius (77 Fahrenheit), while winter lows are mild at around -0.50 degrees Celsius to 0 degrees Celsius Washington State also hosts a number of vineyards and wineries including the Yakima Valley, Walla Walla and Columbia River. The soil here is made up of loess and basalt which provides good drainage, but also holds heat. Washington State has a number of different microclimates due to the range of soil and elevation.
Red grapes, such as Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot often do well in the warmer regions of southern Washington State where they produce fruit with raspberry and blueberry flavours. The Walla Walla Valley has a continental climate that is similar to parts of France’s Rhone Valley so it is here we find some excellent examples from this region including Tempranillo, Syrah and Grenache Blanc.