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Number of commercial vineyards now in Sweden. The most northern Swedish wine region—Gothenberg (57.70 degrees north in latitude)—is on the absolute fringe of cool climate viticulture. Sweden’s wine industry is currently small, but rapidly advancing climate change is giving Swedish vintners considerable confidence in their future.

What was the most-planted white grape in the Napa Valley before Prohibition began in 1920?

A. Chenin Blanc

B. Sauvignon Blanc

C. Pinot Blanc

D. Riesling

Before Prohibition, many of the most important vintners in the Napa Valley were German. Immigrants such as Jacob Schram, Frederick Beringer, and Charles Krug forged the first wine industry in the Napa Valley using the grape they knew best: riesling. Even by the 1940s when Stony Hill Winery famously planted the largely unknown chardonnay grape in the Napa Valley, riesling plantings were four times greater than that variety. Vineyard acreage devoted to riesling declined precipitously throughout California in the 1970s, 80s, and 90s, but a new surge of excitement for the varietal means that plantings are once again on the upswing. Still, today, riesling plantings comprise just over 4000 acres in California; chardonnay, 95,000 acres.

Crying for Cava

Since its beginnings at the turn of the twentieth century, cava (Spanish sparkling wine) has been readily consumed by the middle classes. Barcelona has dozens of xampanyeria, wine bars specializing in it. It’s a Catalonian family… Continue reading

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