According to regulations, wines labeled “American” need to be made with at least 75% American grapes. So what? Apparently a lot of “corporate” wineries are taking advantage of this law and importing tons and tons of the foreign stuff—imports are up 229% this year alone. From Decanter: “One industry insider said that the Ceres-based Wine Group in the Central Valley, which sells Franzia wines, was one example of a winery that used imported wine in its blends.” This behavior is causing an uproar among American wine growers.

This is the sort of thing that really depends on consumer choise, so how do you know which wines to choose? First of all, if it’s in a box, thats’ a bad sign. Other than that, you can look for a bottle that says “California,” because A 1942 state law requires California appellation wines to be made only from California grapes.—MEGHANN MARCO
Loophole allows foreign wine in American blends [Decanter]

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