250 Years of the Wine That Unites Us
By Jim Trezise, President, Wine America
A Tribute to America, Wine and Friends
As we Americans pause to celebrate the ideals, people, and persistence which created our great nation 250 years ago, it is appropriate to toast this occasion with American wines in the presence of family and friends. We are all connected.
What better way to celebrate the 250th 4th of July!
Wine has brought people together for over 6,000 years, and the creative and courageous founders of our union shared a special reverence and fondness for wine. Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and many other Founding Fathers appreciated The Magic of Wine™, from the vine to the glass.
Today, wine is produced in all 50 states, mostly on small family farms in the type of rural communities common in the early days of the United States of America. From east to west, and north to south, we have a lot to celebrate.
Here’s what our country’s founders said:
Words on Wine
“The discovery of a wine is of greater moment than the discovery of a constellation. The universe is too full of stars” – Benjamin Franklin
“Wine being among the earliest luxuries in which we indulge ourselves, it is desirable that it should be made here and we have every soil, aspect and climate of the best wine countries.” – Thomas Jefferson
“We hear of the conversion of water into wine at the marriage in Cana as a miracle. But this conversion is, through the goodness of God, made every day before our eyes. Behold the rain which descends from heaven on our vineyards, there it enters the roots of the vines, to be changed into wine; a constant proof that God loves us, and loves to see us happy.” – Benjamin Franklin
“My manner of living is plain, a glass of wine and a bit of mutton are always ready, and such as will be content to partake of that are always welcome.” – George Washington
“I have lived temperately, eating little animal food. Vegetables constitute my principal diet. I double, however, the doctor’s glass and a half of wine, and even treble it with a friend.” – Thomas Jefferson
“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.” –Thomas Jefferson
“By making this wine vine known to the public, I have rendered my country as great a service as if I had enabled it to pay back the national debt.” – Thomas Jefferson
Jim Trezise has been in the American wine industry for 44 years. He has been President of WineAmerica since 2017, and prior to that served on its Board for 20 years. He created and ran the New York Wine & Grape Foundation for 32 years, has served on Boards of several national and international organizations, judges in wine competitions, and has received several national awards and accolades for his contributions to the American wine industry. He lives and works on Keuka Lake in New York’s Finger Lakes wine region.
