I'll drink to that where we get behind the scenes of the beverage business.

I'm Levy Dalton.

I'm Erin Scala and here's our show today. Oh, United States wine history is varied and unique and it dates back pretty far.

In previous segments we've explored how some of the first vines in California were mission vines planted by Spanish missionaries,

and we've talked a little bit about Thomas Jefferson's experiments with vineyards.

And also about how, more recently, Constantine Frank pushed for viniferous. vine

in the East Coast area in the 1950s.

But one part of U.S. wine history that is often overlooked

is the contributions of Italians who came over in the

late 1800s and early 1900s in search of a better life. Many brought winemaking

traditions with them from Italy and there are several elements in US wine culture

today that can be traced back usually through Ellis Island to Italy. Well today I

have a different sort of dad tale for you. Over the holidays I sat down with my father-in-law

who told me about how his grandfather made wine

in the basement of a townhouse in Brooklyn,

and how that wine was the toast of the neighborhood.

And I grew up in Brooklyn, and my grandfather used to make wine in the basement of an Italian slung, 993 Pacific Street.

Grandpa learned to make wine in Naples, outside of Naples where he had his farm.

His dad had his farm.

His father was a car mine.

And Grandpa used to tell me stories about back in Italy if you had a farm you didn't

live on the farm you lived in the town and his job as a boy was to father taught him how and so that's where he learned and he come over here.

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