Many of us may not have the USA on our radar as a wine country, but with 430,000 hectares of vineyards, the Americans are currently in 6th place worldwide. Almost 10 times as many vines are cultivated in the USA than in Austria. That's a lot! For comparison, Germany cultivates around 100,000 hectares.

And the fact that there is a large variety of different wines given the area under cultivation doesn't need to be mentioned again, does it? ;-)

The USA has catapulted itself to one of the top positions in the international wine market in a very short time. Along with Italy, France and Spain, it is among the most important wine-growing countries in the world. Around 20-30 million hectoliters of wine are produced per year. Viticulture takes place mainly in California, and Californian wines need not shy away from comparison with the best wine regions in the world.

California as a wine region

In particular, the fresh climate, due to the proximity to the Pacific and vineyards in river valleys, provides the necessary freshness and moisture for high-quality and balanced wines. The west coast of the USA is a very complex growing area because the soils are very diverse. There are around 100 different soil formations worldwide - and more than 50 of them can be found in California! This is why very different grapes sometimes grow only a short distance from one another. Californian viticulture is known for its varietal wines. The most widely grown are Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon.

Famous California wine regions include Alexander Valley, Carneros, Dry Creek Valley, Howell Mountain, Mount Veeder, Napa Valley, Oakville, Russian River Valley, Rutherford, Santa Maria Valley, Santa Ynez, Sonoma, Spring Mountain, and Stags Leap.

Inconspicuous wines? Not at all!

However, wine production takes place in all states. California, Washington, New York, Pennsylvania, and Oregon are among the states where the largest amount of wine is produced. Sure, there are power wines from Paso Robles and we love them, but delicate Pinot Noir from Oregon is also counted among our American favourites.

And there is one thing the wines are definitely not: Inconspicuous! Chronic Cellars in particular demand attention with their labels, but what's behind them is fantastic too. Discover now!