Made in the U.S.A.

I went to a wine tasting last night where the theme was "wines from your home state." Now, there were only a few of us there, so the entire country wasn't well represented, but we tried several from Virginia and California (no brainer to find good wine from THAT state...) as well as the bottle I brought from Pennsylvania (Clover Hill Riesling. Winery owned by the family of good friends of mine. It was a decent Riesling, and certainly not as sweet as I had feared.)

Wine is made in all 50 states. Yes, even Alaska. However, in my humble opinion, some states cheat when it comes to winemaking, sourcing grapes from other states, and just fermenting it. (I realize that even CA outsources grapes, but they also grow a ton of them, making them more "legit" in my eyes...)

I guess I shouldn't be bitter about that. Winemaking and wine drinking are growing at a rapid rate all over the U.S., which can only be a good thing. It's just that, if I visit, say Minnesota, and bring back a bottle of Minnesota wine, I would like to know that the whole product came from Minnesota. I'm not singling out this state, who for all I know DOES grow its own grapes for wine. Just using it as an example.

It's similar to going on vacation to Hawaii, bringing back some ticky-tacky souvenirs, and finding out that they are made in China. Just not as satisfying.

Anyway, I will continue to seek out local wines wherever I go. My brother is living in Hawaii right now, and I heard they make pineapple wine there. Could be interesting...or absolutely undrinkable. But I'd still like to try it.