California wine
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Wine made in the American state of California has a long history. In recent decades California has become recognized as producing some of the world's best wine. In this state, most of the American wine is produced.
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[change] History
Wine was first made in California in 1769. Missionaries from Mexico brought their wine plants to produce wine for the mass. Later, people coming from Europe improved wine production. They had brought their own kinds of wine plants.
In the years until 1920, wine production continued to grow. Then, the prohibition began. During the prohibition, it was not allowed to sell alcoholic drinks in the United States. It almost ended the making of wine in California. Californian wine making took a long time to recover.
In 1990, the USA exported less than five percent of its wine. In the next years, exports of wine from California increased. Today, the USA is one of the big wine industries.
[change] Wines
54 percent of the Californian wines are from white vines, like the Chardonnay and the Sauvignon Blanc. Among the red ones, there are the famous Zinfandel and the Cabernet-Sauvignon, but also Merlot and Pinot Noir.
[change] Cool climate viticulture
Looking for new areas of cultivable land because of the increased demand after grapes, the “cool climate viticulture” was developed. Classical vines are now planted on colder conditions, in heights up to 700 metres. The first among these producing regions is called Monterey-County.
[change] Wine regions
In California, there are more than 800 wine cellars. Wine cellars are big rooms were wine is stored. They are part of a winery, the place were wine is produced.
Two of the most famous growing areas for wine in California are the Napa and Sonoma counties. The products from this region, like Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon, are among the best worldwide.
Other known wineries are in Mendocino, in the Lake Counties, Santa Maria and Santa Barbara.
