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| Grape Creek Winery, Texas |
Asia has its liquors, some include Sake, Shoju, and Lao Lao. People have enjoyed them for centuries without complaint, without a feeling of longing or need. Asians were content.
Until now.
According to statics for 2010, the US is now exporting more wine to Asia than any other place in the world. Things look serious. Young, middle class professionals across Asia are looking for more variety in their libations--and are willing to spend money to get it.
In 2002, when I lived in Japan, a bottle of cheap Sutter Home table wine cost $50 and came in a 500ml bottle. Wine was expensive and came with temple-throbbing headaches. During my months traveling, I went without. So much so that when I returned home after almost two years overseas, I refused to buy any wine except American. Some people thought it was naive, resigned to beliefs that American wine was somehow inferior. Please. I knew what bad wine tasted like and it wasn't in any of the bottles I was getting from Mendocino County.
Now with demand on the rise, China and Hong Kong seem to be at the front of the checkout line, acquiring and consuming massive quantities. This got me thinking about where all this wine came from. Of course the answer is not simple. American wine comes from a myriad of valleys, vistas, and mountain sides. And I'm not going to lie...some surprised me.
Check out my articles about American wine regions.
All your articles are about booze!
ReplyDeleteAwesome.
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