October 2008

Joel Stein, a contributing writer for Time Magazine, recently penned an interesting and humorous article titles The Fifty States of Wine.  You learn that all 50 states in the United States make wine, with North Dakota finalizing the #50 spot in 2002.

He tasted and reviewed one randomly selected bottle ($15 - $20 range) from each state.  As I'm sure you all aware, tasting wine is subjective.  There are general and basic guidelines to assist you in reaching an opinion, but in reality it becomes simply that - your opinion.

He found wine from eleven states to be excellent, twenty-one states received a good rating, twelve states were rated bad; and, finally, the wines from six states were rated undrinkable.

The eleven excellent states predictably included California, Oregon, Washington, and New York.  Rounding out the top eleven were Michigan, Texas, a Pinot Grigio from Delaware, a white wine from Kentucky, a Muscat from New Hampshire, a Cabernet from Colorado, and a Chardonnay from North Carolina.

Twelve states achieved a bad ranking from the author:  Arkansas, Idaho, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Mississippi, Nevada, South Dakota, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Alabama, and Florida.  Florida's entry was a wine call "Palmetto White" Panama City.  Muscadine was the grape mentioned.

At the bottom of the wine barrel, the undrinkable six included Georgia, Indiana, North Dakota, South Carolina, Wyoming, and, sadly, my home state of Massachusetts. 

If you did not see your home state mentioned, it received an acceptable good rating. For reviews of all 50 wines go to:  www.time.com/wine

After reviewing each of the fab fifty, I'm pleased to report that our wine department does not carry any of the bad or undrinkables.  Pasadena Liquor's wine department currently includes approximately 3,000 different selections from all the major wine producing regions of the world.  Our selection is in a constant state of flux, replacing lesser types with a higher quality upgrade.  We differ from most local wine shops in our never-ending efforts to locate hard-to-find wines requested by our customers.  If you have yet to visit our store, give it a look.  Anyone can sell wine; customer satisfaction is the difference.

Pasadena Liquor and Fine Wines

1100 Pasadena Avenue South

South Pasadena, Florida 33707

727-347-9607