Synopses & Reviews
Only a generation ago, the United States was little more than a footnote in the story of wine. Then, seemingly overnight, everything changed. American varieties began outscoring their counterparts in international competitions and tantalizing palates at home and abroad. Today, American wines not only compete successfully with prestigious imports but also set international standards for style and quality. How did a country with virtually no winemaking traditions of its own suddenly become a world leader?
In AMERICAN VINTAGE, Paul Lukacs tells the story of the improbable rise of American wine. He populates his narrative with a series of quirky heroes and visionaries who changed the course of wine history. They include Nicholas Longworth, the founding father of American wine, a diminutive real estate tycoon who in the decades before the Civil War transformed Ohio into "the American Rhineland"; George Husmann, a nineteenth-century Missouri grape grower who passionately believed that American wines belonged on American supper tables; and Gustave Niebaum, a Finnish sea captain who made a fortune in the fur trade and went on to establish one of California's premier vineyards. Lukacs chronicles the fall of wine during the dark days of Prohibition and then its gradual rise at the hands of the "first families of American wine" -- the Mondavis and the Gallos -- who held opposing views of the new direction that American wine would take, with important consequences for its future.
In chronicling the tumultuous history of wine, Lukacs reveals as much about American culture as he does about wine and viticulture.
Review
'\"An authoritative and immensely readable account of American wine\'s ascent to world-class status. Fascinating.\" --Anthony Dias Blue'
Review
"A clearheaded explanation of how the rustic rotgut produced by East Coast colonists led to...$125 Napa Valley cabernets." --Jerry Shriver
Review
'\"...\'American Vintage: The Rise of American Wine,\' is a delightful history of wine production in the United States.\" -Louis Marmon'
Review
'\"There are few wine books that could be rationally described as \"important,\" but this one is. Though Lukacs does pay some attention to the art of wine, his game is much bigger and will last long after this year\'s vintage chart is out of date.\"'
Review
'\"A social history of American wine in its extraordinary, and often hilarious, progress from booze to liquid art.\" --Betty Fussell'
Review
"An authoritative and immensely readable account of American wine's ascent to world-class status. Fascinating." --Anthony Dias Blue Bon Appetit
"Lively, provocative, and a good read." --Gerald Asher, Wine Columnist Gourmet
"A social history of American wine in its extraordinary, and often hilarious, progress from booze to liquid art." --Betty Fussell
"A clearheaded explanation of how the rustic rotgut produced by East Coast colonists led to...$125 Napa Valley cabernets." --Jerry Shriver USA Today
"...'American Vintage: The Rise of American Wine,' is a delightful history of wine production in the United States." -Louis Marmon The Washington Times
"There are few wine books that could be rationally described as "important," but this one is. Though Lukacs does pay some attention to the art of wine, his game is much bigger and will last long after this year's vintage chart is out of date." The Los Angeles Times
Table of Contents
Contents Acknowledgments and#183; ix Introduction: Doubtless As Good and#183; 1 1. Eastern Dreams and#183; 10 2. California Gold and#183; 51 3. Wine As Booze and#183; 90 4. First Families and#183; 129 5. Machines in the Garden and#183; 169 6. Small Is Beautiful and#183; 209 7. Beyond California and#183; 252 8. The Rise of American Cuisine and#183; 291 9. The World Comes Knocking and#183; 320 Bibliography and a Note on Sources and#183; 351 Index and#183; 357