Hudson Valley Wine Goddess Debbie Gioquindo recently blogged about the Paperbirch Cassis of Good Farm
CASSIS – THE FORBIDDEN WINE by Debbie Gioquindo
Cassis was once the “forbidden wine.” Black currants which is used to make Cassis were once very popular, but in the 20th century the U.S government banned them in almost all of the states. The reason was that black currant shrubs can host and spread a disease, the “white pine blister rust”, which threatened the booming timber industry in the early 1900s.
In 1966, the federal ban on black currants was moved to individual States’ jurisdiction. This led to many savvy states lifting the ban, as did the New York State in 2003 thanks to the efforts of the Currant Company and Greg Quinn. Other states lifting the ban were Oregon, Vermont and Connecticut, whereas others, such as New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Maine did not lift it as of 2007.
READ THE WHOLE INTERVIEW AT:
http://hvwinegoddess.blogspot.com/2010/07/cassis-forbidden-wine.html
