American wine American wine American wine has been produced for over 300 years. Today, wine production is undertaken in all fifty states, with California producing 89 percent of all US wine. The United States is the fourth-largest wine producing country in the world, after France, Italy, and Spain. The North American continent is home to several native species of grape, including "Vitis labrusca", "Vitis riparia", "Vitis rotundifolia", and "Vitis vulpina." But the wine-making industry is based on the cultivation of the European "Vitis vinifera", which was introduced by European settlers. With more than under vine, the United States is the sixth-most planted
Italian wine smaller allowed quantity of grapes per hectare, generally yielding a higher quality. 'Riserva' is a wine that has been aged for a minimum period of time. The length of time varies with (red, white, Traditional-method sparkling, Charmat-method sparkling). Sometimes, 'Classico' or 'Superiore' are themselves part of the name of the DOP (e.g. Chianti Classico DOCG or Soave Superiore DOCG). The Italian Ministry of Agriculture (MIPAAF) regularly publishes updates to the official classification. It is important to note that looser regulations do not necessarily correspond to lower quality. In fact, many IGP wines are actually high quality wines. Talented winemakers sometimes