History of Wine Bars

Wine’s importance throughout history is undeniable and its involvement in ceremony’s and traditional celebrations have occurred since the beginning of recorded history. Wine has even been used before that. Wine bars have said to be in use as early as 1435. There are many famous wine bars around the world, but the older they are the more history the place has. Guinness World records recognize Al Brindisi in Ferrara, Italy as the oldest wine bar that was said to open in 1435, and this wine bar was said to have seen the likes of Copernicus and Benvenuto Cellini. The history of the American wine bar culture doesn’t go back as far as Copernicus, but it does have a good history.

As said before the first wine bar was from Italy, but wine bars were very common throughout Europe, especially during the late 1800’s. Whether it was Paris, London, or even Hamburg the late 1800’s were the time that wine bars throughout Europe were thriving. These locations carries some of the best wine in the world. At this time, wine was pretty much just starting to be the industry and production that we see today, but there was still a lot of manual labor. Mass production of wine was more of an American trait especially later in history. Wine in Europe differs a lot from country to country in taste, grape variety, and smell. Many people can easily tell the difference and it is almost a rivalry between different countries.

Obviously the Italian’s and the French are the countries you think of when you think of wine. These two countries have had a very large impact during the history of wine, when compared there are a couple key differences such as flavor and region. They both have notable styles, France’s Chateauneuf-Du-Pape has a blend of Mourvedre, Muscardine, Vaccarese, and Counoise which make a very balanced wine that is considered some of the finest wine in the world. While the Italians have a notable style called Amarone, and it is made from the most mature vines that are harvested late to ensure ripeness. The grapes are dried and they lose almost 40% of their weight, which is the reason for the high price. Both countries produce white pinot, France’s Pinot Gris and Italy’s Pinot Grigio. They make very different styles even though they are the same grapes. Pinot Gris can be produced in a range of styles from dry to sweet and there is a specific weight and richness. The Italian Pinot Grigio is light and zesty and there is said to be floral notes. All of these wine can be found in wine bars across the globe.

American wine bars have been, for the most part, looked down upon by Europeans because of the fact that most wine bars in America serve food and some Europeans would say that Americans don’t appreciate the wine enough. Over time many more wine bars have opened up in America that do respect and appreciate the wine, especially natural wine from California and imported wine from Europe. Although most wine bars in America do serve food, the wine takes the spotlight. The natural wine that European wine makers make usually have little or no sulfur, sulfur helps with preservation, and they are normally from a less variety of grapes that are used. Either way American wine bars do take after European wine bars in pretty much every way.

American wine is produced in all fifty states which makes sense considering there are almost 1,800 wine bars in the U.S. alone. The United States is also the biggest consumer of wine and California produces more than 80 percent of all of the Unites States’ total wine production. While there are many more wine bars in Europe the U.S.’s wine bar industry has a market size of over 2 billion dollars. The quality increase with the further technological advances have made wine so much better, which in turn make the wine bar experience better because the taste of the wine is better. The wine bar industry like all of the other industries took a hard drop during the height of Covid-19. It is slowly but surely growing, but supporting small wine bars is very important. Growing the industry of wine and wine bars is very important especially because of the significance that wine has had in our world’s history.

Ram Cat Cellars Wine Bar  is a fantastic representation of the growth of fun, wine-loving people that love to represent wine in a very good way. The attention to their heritage and where they came from while still bringing in very many amazing wines. The atmosphere in which the wine is being enjoyed in is almost just as important as the type of wine itself, and Ram Cat Cellar Speak-easy style Wine & Bourbon Bar provides that in a very amazing way.