All Intensive Purposes

Prohibition quashed the budding wine culture in America, and we became, almost overnight, a society that found pleasure and solace in hard liquor. . . .

Ironically, during this time grape production and home winemaking increased. A veiled provision in the Volstead Act allowed citizens to make up to 200 gallons annual of nonintoxicating cider and fruit juices. Nonintoxicating, however, was never actually defined. Brokers and wineries immediately began shipping crates of grapes, grape concentrates (the most famous one, called Vine-Glo, came in eight varieties), and even compressed grape "bricks" to home winemakers around the country. Along with the bricks came the convenient admonition: "Warning. Do not place this brick in a one gallon crock, add sugar and water, cover, and let stand for seven days or else an illegal beverage will result." . . .

The hard drinking and notorious behavior carried on inside speakeasies set a new tone for alcohol consumption in the United States. A glass of zinfandel with roast chicken it was not. At the same time, home winemaking, however, amusingly clandestine and resourceful, would ultimately prove detrimental to whatever crippled wine industry was left. To provide a quick supply of basic grapes the best California vineyards were torn out and replanted mostly with inferior, tough-skinned varieties that would not rot in the boxcar during the long haul back East. Over time, an affinity for fine wine was lost, supplanted by a taste for sweet, cheap, fortified wine. Even after repeal, the desire for sweet, cheap, and strong remained.

// posted by t.s. @ 6:14 AM