My husband and I exchange gifts with several of our neighbors each year for the holidays. It seems that each year it gets more difficult to think of a gift. This year we decided to give them wine and cheese gift baskets. We did not like the pre-made cheese gift baskets that are available in the kiosks in the mall so we decided to create the baskets ourselves.
Did you know that the U.S. is now home to over 6000 wineries? As of this year, all 50 states have at least one winery, and many states have well over 100. And for as great a wine producing state California is, it's certainly not alone in turning out numerous award winning wines just waiting to be discovered.
Over 135 years ago, many German-Swiss immigrants traveled well into the south central United States to stake their claim. And back in the 1870's, the beautiful Ozark Mountain area of northwestern Arkansas seemed an appropriate place to begin. Rolling mountains, while not quite the height or splendor of the Swiss Alps, offered a reminder of home.
With the ever increasing interest in wine, more and more people are seeking the best accessories to go along with their wine collections. State of the art "wine centers" are becoming integral aspects of stylish home decor, as wine lovers move beyond functional to an emphasis on presentation.
America's long and storied wine making history is rooted in the efforts of European immigrants, who brought their skills to America throughout the 1800's. Long before California and other west coast wine producing states were settled, other areas of the country were busy producing wines from native grape vines growing in the wild. In the 1830's, a group of German immigrants settled in the Missouri river valley, about an hour west of St. Louis near the present historic town of Hermann, Missouri.
If you enjoy wine tours and wine travel, you'll be pleased to know that there's a U.S. wine trail within a half day's drive of your home, just waiting for you to experience and enjoy. With over 6000 wineries now active in the United States, many of these wineries are clustered all across the country in small groups in grape growing areas. These groups of wineries are often designated as a wine trail, and are perfect for visiting as a weekend excursion.
Several years ago, my wife and I began collecting wine from our U.S. wine trails adventures. At first, we used our basement to store the wine, graduating to a handsome wine rack a few years later. Only after a few bottles didn't meet our taste expectations did we learn the importance of proper wine storage.
Making wine at home has long been popular, with origins in the United States going back to the 19th century. Wine lovers who immigrated from Europe brought with them a knowledge of making wine, and often did so for personal consumption. There still exists a common misconception that making wine at home is illegal. It's not, as long as you don't sell the wine you make at home.