This Wine/Whine Argument

In recent days, the topic of US wine (typically meaning California quality) being equal to French wine....has come up (again).

So I'll walk into this discussion.  I'm not a wine connoisseur....but I have probably had over 1,500 glasses of wine in my life, from at least twelve countries.

First, you can go and find some really awful wine from France, Germany, and Italy.....which everyone will agree that you can't price the wine above 3 Euro (roughly 3.75 US dollars), and it's best to only use the wine for cooking purposes (like for a stew or chilli).

Second, I've had some really great Australian wine, but will admit that by the time you handle shipping costs to Europe....it's really overpriced.

Third, it's an odd thing to admit....but if you were looking for a decent red wine from Germany, and stacked against the same products from South Africa.....the South African red wine would win.  It's something about the soil....sunlight....and temperatures.  Germans don't like to admit it but quietly....most will say there is no way for them to compete.

Fourth, I suspect if you lined up forty 'regular' people (not the intellectual or connoisseur crowd) and laid out wines from across Europe, the US, and South Africa....I don't think anyone could really suggest a geographic location for what they were sipping.  They could say X is better than Y, but this would amount to a quality standard.

Fifth, this thing about Italian Lambrusco wine.  This is a red wine which typically ONLY comes from Mantua, Modena, Parma, and Reggio nell'Emilia (the central region of Italy).  I'm particular about Lambrusco, and would probably sip three or four glasses a day if given a chance.  It's generally cheap (rarely higher than four Euro (5 US dollars)....fairly sweet....and I might even suggest that it goes down like a alcoholic Ni-Hi grape soda.  The connoisseur crowd looks down up this wine.  But on a hot afternoon....you can't beat a chilled glass of Lambrusco unless you got some ice tea. 

So this Trump-talk that occurred and challenged up the idea that French wine might not beat California wine?  The California folks will point out various awards that they've won and that the vines themselves....are from Europe originally.  Same for South Africa.  Same for Australia and New Zealand.  In twenty years, I suspect that the vines will be put into place there in China, and also get them on the wine market situation.