The United States' reputation as a wine producer is to a large degree founded on the global fame of Napa and Sonoma. However, the country is home to countless wine regions producing world-class wines.
Wine has been made in The States for around 400 years, but it is only in the last 40 that American wine really began to earn respect on a global scale. The U.S. is now the world's fourth-biggest wine-producing nation (behind France, Italy and Spain) and produces roughly 18.5 million hectolitres each year.
The topographical, geological, and climatic diversity of the American continent has provided the states with all manner of vine-growing conditions. These range from higher-altitude, continental climes (e.g. Fair Play) to coastal, fog-laden areas (e.g. Edna Valley).
