In the beginning: “Vinland,” the land of wine, was the name the Vikings christened North America in about 1001 A.D. The Italian explorer Giovanni de Verrazzano first described the grapes of the New World as a crop that “would yield excellent wines.” British settlers found America’s grapes growing wild, thick and luscious marveling that they covered the ground down to the Atlantic shoreline — “in all the world the like abundance is not to be found.” So, from the start, North America’s promise was, in part, the beckoning promise of wine.
Chris Columbus, Explorer and Wine Spy
Then, the Italians heard about this paradise called Vinland –
Queen Izzie and King Ferdie sent Chris Columbus over to check out the grape competition. Chris tried four times to reach the grape new world but the idiot kept ending up in Cuba, Puerto Rico or The Bahamas. The Fourth Voyage landed him in Central America checking out the tourist sights in Honduras and Costa Rica! For Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria’s Sake, why couldn’t somebody have given this poor, smelly sailor a working compass for Christmas!
And well, the rest is more History!
