Day 1 – Thomas Jefferson, A Primer
Day 2 – The First Wine of Record, Claret
Day 3 – Jefferson and Madeira
Day 4 – Jefferson’s Favorite Wines Available Today
Day 5 – Monticello Pictorial
Day 6 – Monticello Vineyards
Day 7 – The Monticello Cellar
Day 8 – Thomas Jefferson—orchardist and cidermaker (Part 1)
Day 9 – Quotable Jefferson
Day 10 – The Curious Philip Mazzei
Day 11 – Jefferson Vineyards
Day 12 – What Would Jefferson Think?
( See recap of all 30 days at: Day 30 – Final Thoughts, Jefferson’s Last Letter, The End )
One of Thomas Jefferson’s most notable wine quotes illustrates his optimism for the potential of wine production here in the United States:
We could in the United States make as great a variety of wines as are made in Europe, not exactly of the same kinds, but doubtless as good. (1808)
No doubt that the US wine industry as a whole has met or exceeded Jefferson’s vision – wine is ubiquitous and available at every income level, roughly 6,000 wineries, roughly $12 billion in total US wine sales (~$1B export). Though the US wine industry as a whole is a very important part of the global wine industry in terms of consumption, exports, and quality, I wonder what Jefferson would think of Virginia’s place in the wine world?
Obviously I can not possibly know what Jefferson’s thoughts on the Virginia wine industry would be, but I think he might be surprised that Virginia occupies the 5th spot in terms of wine production in the United States. Virginia winemakers are producing world-class wines that unfortunately have not received as much national and international recognition as deserved (but this is indeed changing).
I write this to solicit input from those following this series – folks who know much more about Jefferson, wine and in particular the Virginia wine industry than I do.
What are your thoughts about the state of the US wine industry relative to Jefferson’s vision? For my fellow Virginians, what are your thoughts about our wine industry here relative to Jefferson’s vision? Post your thoughts below in the Comments section.
I truly appreciate all of the emails I’ve received from regular readers, and from those who found Drink What You Like as a result of this Jefferson on Wine series. Please take a moment to share your thoughts on this subject.
Thank you for reading and I hope you will continue to follow for the next 18 days.
Next week – Jefferson in Paris and Jefferson and Cider, Part 2
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Drink What YOU Like 
One of the problems with Jefferson’s initial thoughts was that the Europeans had making wine for thousands of years in some cases and the knew the soil and which soils were best suited for what varietals. Even today with all the success we have had in California, we still do not know our soils and climates well enough to truly understand what grows best where. This is especially true in VA. Further, Jefferson thought that we would make wines ” not of the same kind” but most of the wines that Rae made acceptably in the US are European varietals. And the successes are primarily on the west coast, something that he would not have foreseen.
Lorris – thanks for stopping by to share your thoughts on this subject. I would agree that ‘we’ (in the US) do not yet know the full capability and characteristics of our soils and may not be as intimately familiar with vineyards as some of the growers in certain areas of France, Italy and Germany. Appreciate your input on the subject. Cheers!
A couple of thoughts. I agree that Jefferson would have had no foresight into the world class wines in CA, OR and WA. I think he would be elated by their success. I think, Jefferson in hindsight, would have understood better the challenges and failures of simply transplanting European varietals to Virginia. However, I believe, Jefferson would be proud to see the increased wine quality and quantity currently produced in VA. While we still use varietals that emerged out of Europe, we have adapted them via clone variations and root stock variations to suit them to our terroir. We also, in the little time we’ve been producing wine, have focused on some different varietals and blends. So, there still is some truth in Jefferson’s statement, that we’ll make different kinds of wines. I am ever the optimist for VA wines and their climb to world class status. I believe Jefferson would be proud of our endeavors in the vineyard and in the cellar.
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