ABSTRACT
The fate of America's wine industry lies primarily in the hands of wine consumers, not those of winegrowers; patterns of wine consumption are key Since the 1960s, wine making in America has experienced a time of considerable ferment, a bubbling over of enthusiasm and technological innovation that has stretched from the halls of academe through expansive acreages of vines to the vastly improved quality of wine in the consumer's glass. Despite the best efforts of early American wine enthusiasts such as Thomas Jefferson, Americans have never accepted wine as a typical part of daily living. Sales of American wines have been up in recent years, but so have American wine prices. In early 1996, the US Department of Agriculture, for the first time ever in its recommended Dietary Guidelines for Americans, went so far as to say that moderate alcohol consumption may be beneficial to a person's health.
