Italian-American Cuisine - Italian American Cuisine and Wine

Italian American Cuisine and Wine

There is a strong association of Italian American cuisine with the history of winemaking in the United States. Broadly speaking, the tradition among many Italian Americans is to enjoy their food with the pairing of any wine to make the meal complete and sociable; hence, on most any table could be found a cheap "table wine" and often (especially during Prohibition) a homemade wine that is sometimes pejoratively known as "dago red." Such wines are still embraced as a symbol of Italian Americans keeping their culinary traditions alive during Prohibition, and as well as until the extensive importing of higher-quality Italian wines in the 1970s and the appreciation of the new "finer" wines of California. The traditional straw-wrapped Chianti bottles still remain as emblematic fixtures on many of the habitual style Italian American restaurant tables, both because of the wine itself and for the use of the empty bottle as a candleholder thereafter; however, this custom is seeming to become passé, as the fiasco is no longer universal for Chianti packaging.

The influence of Italian Americans on American wine and winemaking has been profound as well, and has been recognized since the founding of the United States as a nation. Indeed, Italian vintners were brought to the state of Florida as early as the year 1766 by Dr. Andrew Turnbull, a British Consul at Smyrna. More significantly, perhaps, was the contributions of Filippo Mazzei (often spelled "Philip Mazzei"), an Italian physician, a promoter of liberty and friend of U.S. President Thomas Jefferson. Mazzei led a group of Italians in Virginia with the cultivation of vineyards, olives, and other Mediterranean fruit.

In later years, American viticulture was more influenced by the diaspora of Italians during the transatlantic migrations that began in the 1870s and reaching greater proportions from 1880 to 1920. Most of these Italians entered at the east coast of the United States at Ellis Island, whereas many of those quickly passed through to the American West Coast, where California still had the lure and aura of its famous “Gold Rush” and new prosperity. In that state, Italian Americans were inspired by expanses of rolling hills and fertile fields. Prior to Prohibition starting in 1919, many wineries had already made their start: Seghesio, Simi, Sebastiani Vineyards and Foppiano all began in the late 19th century and are still in operation today. Others included Giuseppe Magliavacca’s Napa winery, Secondo Guasti’s Italian Vineyard Company and Andrea Sbarbaro’s Italian-Swiss Colony.

From 1919 to the Repeal of Prohibition in 1933, many Italian Americans struggled to keep their vines in the ground and their vineyards going; yet they persisted, often providing sacramental wine to the Catholic Church or grape juice to the general market. These few holdouts can be credited with salvaging America’s viticulture heritage, in an industry that values the longevity and tradition of the vine and its produce.

Beyond Prohibition and into today’s wine producing economy, Italian American wineries maintain a powerful contribution to the domestic and world market. Some of these companies include: Atlas Peak (also known as Antinori), Cosentino, Dalla Valle, Delicato, Ferrari-Carano, E & J Gallo Winery, Geyser Peak (also known as Trione family), Louis M. Martini, Mazzocco, Robert Mondavi, Monte Bello Ridge, Corrado Parducci, Pedroncelli Winery, Robert Pepi, Picchetti Brothers Winery, Rochioli, Rafanelli, Rubicon Estate Winery (also known as Francis Ford Coppola Presents), Sebastiani Vineyards, Signorello, Sattui, Trinchero (most often under the Sutter Home brand), Valley of the Moon, Viansa, etc.

On the Italian American table today, there is an appreciation of California wine, American wine (other domestic), imported Italian wine; and, of course, the old standby Chianti (from Tuscany, Italy) or "generic" red or white table wine (often called vino da tavola) to high end "Super Tuscan" style wines such as Tignanello. Some of the first Chianti wine to arrive in the United States was standard, cheap wines; however, after a slide in the overall quality of Chianti production during the mid-20th century, improvements in the recipes and techniques used to make the wines have led to the creation of Chiantis ranging from simple table wines up to high-end Chianti Classicos. All of these and more are widely popular with Italian American cuisine in the United States.