Who would have ever thought there would be wine grapes grown, and wine made, in every state in the country today?  Having grown up in the midwest, it’s inconceivable to me that grapes are being grown in North Dakota, Montana, or Iowa.  But they are.  Did you know that prior to prohibition, Oregon farmers were growing grapes and making wine?  Missouri was the largest grape-growing state at the time, and New York was the largest producer of wine.  And at the same time Spanish priests were planting grapes in California, Thomas Jefferson was planting them in Virginia.

It is amazing that everywhere people live, and in fact, wherever civilization has existed, grapes have been grown and wine has been made. There is proof that wine was produced by ancient civilizations in Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Greece as early as 4000 BC.

So I suggest that growing grapes and making wine is not just a lifestyle, it is part of the human condition.  It is natural and even inherent to grow, produce, and consume a product that is founded on farming and fermentation.

So explore the contrasts of wine from different regions across our great country.  While we may have many different beliefs, priorities and climates; we seem to all enjoy the growing of grapes and the making of wine.   Maybe this is what is meant by “purple mountain majesties”!