Soon after the Spanish colonists arrived in the Americas they tried to grow grapes so they could make wine. It was the beverage of choice and essential for communion in the Catholic Church. But wine grapes couldn't survive the dry heat of the Caribbean. The priests who had come to the Americas with the Spanish colonists became concerned that they had entered a world created by a devil that had no use for wine and its relationship to Christ. Five hundred years later the Americas have become a winemaker's heaven. This program looks at the history, folklore and culture of winemaking in America from the earliest plantings, through prohibition and up to our present vintages, which are considered to be some of the best in the world.
Episode #112 / Length: 25 minutes
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