The state in the south-east of the USA with the capital Montgomery covers 135,767 km². It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south and Mississippi to the west. Alabama was admitted to the Union in 1819 as the 22nd state.
History
As early as the 17th century, French colonists from what is now Louisiana and English settlers from what is now North Carolina and South Carolina settled in the region. They attempted to produce wine from local vines, the pronounced foxy flavour of which was usually considered off-putting to the European palate. It was not until the 19th century that significant viticulture developed; a short-lived project was the Vine and Olive Colony (from 1817). Prohibition (1920-1933) brought things to a standstill. A revival began in the 1970s; Perdido Vineyards was the first winery to receive a licence again in 1979.
