Alabama wine

Alabama

Wine region
Official name	State of Alabama
Type	U.S. state
Year established	1819;206 years ago (1819)
Country	United States
Total area	52,419 square miles (135,765 km2)
Grapes produced	Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Chambourcin, Chardonel, Chardonnay, Colombard, Merlot, Muscadine, Norton/Cynthiana, Vidal blanc [1]
No. of wineries	15 [1] [2]

The wine industry in the U.S. state of Alabama received a boost in 2002 when agricultural reforms lifted restrictions on wineries. Most wineries in the state focus on French hybrid grape varieties and the Muscadine grape, rather than Vitis vinifera grapes, which are vulnerable to Pierce's disease. There are no designated American Viticultural Areas in the state of Alabama. ^[1]

History

Early French Attempt: Vine and Olive Colony

Wine production in Alabama is usually first acknowledged by French military aristocrats who were exiled from Napoleon's army, given land, and founded the Vine and Olive Colony at the confluence of the Tombigbee and Black Warrior Rivers in 1817. This romanticisced tale comes from a real project in 1816, proposed by Jean-Simon Chaudron, editor of Philadelphia's French Newspaper, Abeille Americaine. This project of a French settlement in the "Old Southwest" was approved by Congress, who wanted to consolidate their hold on the Gulf Coast and establish an American winemaking industry, independent from European wine trade. ^[3]

References

1. "Alabama: Appellation Profile". Appellation America. 2007. Archived from the original on September 5, 2013. Retrieved November 27, 2007.
2. "Alabama Wineries". American Winery Guide.com. June 30, 2015. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
3. "Vine and Olive Colony". Encyclopedia of Alabama. Retrieved October 9, 2025.