Italian Wine and Enology in the United States (1861-1914)

During the second half of the 19th century, the world fame of Italian wine began to form. The international exhibitions, the foundation of specialized scholastic institutions, the birth of companies and the technical-scientific divulgation created the conditions of production and marketing of quality wines. The diffusion of Italian wine in the United States is an eloquent example of the changes produced by the internationalization of markets between the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. For Italian wine, the United States became a point of comparison and encouragement. A central role was played by the winemaking office created by the Italian government in New York. The objective of the office was to favor wine imports and the circulation of news. The head of the office did an intense job of information but also devoted himself to the analysis of the wine that came from Italy to ensure that it was not adulterated and respected the sanitary norms in force in the country. The action of the office, which even gave advice on the characteristics of the wines, contributed to the formation of a more modern oenological culture among the Italian winemakers who opened themselves to the United States market. All this favored the increase in imports and consumption of Italian wine as shown by the menus of the restaurants. Following the historiographical debate on the effects of the first phase of the globalization of the economy, the objective of the work is to demonstrate that in addition to the massive Italian immigration, the Italian quality wine was consolidated in the United States thanks to a series of initiatives and public and private strategies.