#4: The Wine That Made America Into a Wine drinking Country

The Top Five Most Historic American Wines: A Series

NUMBER ONE: 1936 Beaulieu Vineyard Georges de Latour Private Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon
NUMBER TWO: 1966 Robert Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon
NUMBER THREE: 1973 Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars SLV Cabernet Sauvignon
#NUMBER FOUR: 1982 Kendall Jackson Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay

Despite the premium nature of the first three wines in this series of the most historic American wines, in the 1970s and before the vast majority of Americans that did drink wine drank it out of a jug or a liter bottle and they were consuming American wines named “Red Burgundy”, “Barbaresco”, “Moutain Chablis” and “Rhine Wine”. Moreover, Americans were satisfied paying in the neighborhood of $1.50 to $2.00 per bottle. This changed in the late 1970s and early 1980s thanks in large part to the vision of Jess Jackson, represented by the 1982 Kendall Jackson Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay.