America (Country Appellation)
Why Build Appellation Consciousness?
An open letter from the Publisher
Appellation America Publisher, Roger Dial, addresses the threat posed to North America’s diverse winegrowing regions by the mass production and mass marketing dynamics of the contemporary economy and culture.
by
Roger Dial
August 31, 2006
The short answer is SURVIVAL. In this era of globalization and corporate conglomeration, the homogenizing impact of the mega-brand production and marketing of wine is perhaps inevitable. However, contrary to these mass-market dynamics, the long-term health of North America's 4000+ wineries and the winegrowers that supply those wineries, not to mention the richness of the global wine culture, depends on the continuity and expansion of a production and marketing infrastructure that accentuates the rich diversity of North American wines. DIVERSITY IS OUR STRENGTH. That diversity resides in the complex geographic mosaic of North American viticulture, as defined in its ever-developing appellation infrastructure.
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