Wine is examined in a variety of disciplines. It encompasses agronomy and geography, as well as geology, politics and geopolitics. The New World was which was populated by wine-drinking Europeans, exported to the colonies an international lifestyle. This meant that imports of wine would be required in the short-term and the cultivation of grapevines for wine in the longer term.
While it was not possible to replicate Europe exactly in the Americas however, many of the creature comforts could be brought in. The transfer of exotic animals and plants from the ocean provided opportunities for vegetables, meats and wine to grow.
In the time that the Spanish army took control of Mexico, Central America and South America, the Catholic Church was there with them. The wine planted was to be used in sacramental ceremonies as well as secular imbibing, and it was in fact component of the daily food and encouraged the planting of all.
Did You Know? This Day In Wine History has more information on colonialism and wine.
In the early 1500s, the first efforts to cultivate Vitis vinifera in central Mexico were unsuccessful. Within 50 years numerous vineyards were planted on the western coast of South America.
The Spanish concentrated on planting a simple grape, that we call Pais in Chile, which is also known as the Mission grape in Mexico. It was simple to keep and was not a problem with drought. It produced light-colored wines which was not of good quality.
However, since the 21st century , winemakers in Chile as well as Argentina have pushed this wine into a respectable kind of wine. The colonies could be a market for Spanish exporters of wine in the 1500s. They soon realized that the colonial wines were driving them out.
The 16th century saw, King Philip II stopped wine production in the colonies. However, the enforcement was unsuccessful.
The British tried to emulate Spanish success, both in New England and Virginia, during the late 1700s but the first plantings did not go well: both due to inclement weather, and disease, probably phylloxera, to which European grapes were prone and was discovered many years later.
The colonists tried to create wine using the wild grapes that grew in North America from the beginning of the 1600s. The wine, not particularly popular, is still made in New York state and New England, using traditional American grapes like the Concord and the grape species Vitis labrusca. It is used for wine grapes, table grapes, and juice grapes. This makes wine particularly kosher ones like Mogen David as well as Manischewitz. These wines are classified by experts as having a fresh, light flavor.
Thomas Jefferson was the most distinguished wine expert of his time. He traveled extensively through Europe to take precise notes. He tried to plant numerous times at Monticello however the results were always disappointing. The climate and the disease were the primary causes that prevented him from planting European grapevines.
In his honor, however in his honor, the Thomas Jefferson Foundation restored Monticello’s vineyards in the 1990s. Three years after, the harvest was profitable commercially and the production of wine began.
The state of Virginia is gaining recognition for its wine, despite its humid, hot summers. Over the past decade, the industry has developed and maturing. The majority of production is Vitis vinifera however there are certain American varieties. Chardonnay and Merlot are among the top cultivars which are being followed by Cabernet Franc and Merlot.
The colonial era’s politics were not restricted to the Americas. In the 1650s in the 1650s, the Dutch planted at the Cape of Good Hope, situated on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa to serve as a halfway stopover between Europe and the Dutch East Indies, on the spice route. The wine was not made to be consumed locally, but was available at a cost to thirsty crews of ships. The colonization of Australia was well under way towards the end of the 17th century. At the start in the 1800s wine export was an important economic driver.
New Zealand was not a productive area of production up until around the middle of the 1800s. Canada was too late and is now a vital wine-producing country.
Where Europeans go, wine follows. The influence of colonialism as well as the spread wine was felt throughout the world.
The extent of European colonialism between the 1500s and 1900s had a profound impact on at about 90% of planet’s territories. French colonialism was a source of trouble in Vietnam as well as Algeria. Long into the 20th Century, the English were still in Iran, India, Hong Kong. Wine is political. It’s everywhere.
China and Australia are both involved in a major wine dispute. The current U.S. tariffs on most French wines, German wines, Spanish wines, and U.K. wines has triggered an intense retaliation from the European Union.
Stay healthy and happy.