A knowledgeable friend was explaining to me recently about the history of grape wines in America. Like many things, it’s a little bit complicated.
Grapes indigenous to Europe are better for wine, but they can’t really grow here, because they are vulnerable to a disease that kills the vines. Grapes indigenous to America are immune to that disease, but they didn’t produce the kind of wine that people liked.
Eventually growers figured out to import grapes from Europe and graft them onto American vines. American wine that we drink today is made this way.
At this point in the explanation, I interjected “So it’s like Hispanic people.”
My friend looked confused, so I explained. “European imports grafted onto actual American stock.”
“Yes,” she said, “that’s it exactly.”
I think I told a Thanksgiving joke.