U.S. now biggest consumer of wine

For centuries, fine wine has been synonymous with European countries such as France and Italy. But today, the U.S. is making its own name in the world of wine. And, for the first time ever, Americans are drinking more wine than any other country in the world, according to Gomberg, Fredrikson & Associates, a wine industry consulting firm.

And not only are we drinking more, we're producing more, too.

"Early Show" co-anchor Jeff Glor traveled to upstate New York and met a man who knows firsthand why America loves wine so much.

The life Tom Higgins lives today in Union Springs, N.Y. looks a whole lot different than it did a few years ago.

He was in the tech industry and working in New York City.

Higgins, thinking back, said, "Pages at three o'clock in the morning and constantly having to turn around and to follow up and looking at servers at the end of the day. We really needed to pursue the seed inside of you, the passion, the energy."

So in 2006, Higgins moved four hours north to rural Upstate New York and bet the farm. He opened a small winery.

Today, he's his own boss and his company's only full-time worker at Heart and Hands Wine Company.

Higgins says, "It's much more relaxing and I think I see the fruits of my labor in the long run."

And, in the process, helping to propel wine consumption in America to record levels.

Josh Green, editor of Wine and Spirits magazine, said, "We are definitely much more involved in the wine business, both as a producer and as a consumer country than we ever were before."

But why?

Many experts believe it dates back to a famous CBS "60 Minutes" story in 1991 entitled "The French Paradox."

"60 Minutes": Watch "The French Paradox"

In the report, Morley Safer explained that despite diets high in fat, the French were outliving Americans -- perhaps because of the health benefits of red wine.

Green said, "Suddenly, people began thinking they should we be drinking a little bit of wine with our dinner, and that really drove a lot of activity in the wine industry and a lot of the movement that we see now 20 years later."

Today, wine is more accessible than ever -- in many states, you can now pick up a bottle -- or even a box -- in your local grocery store. And we're not just drinking more wine, we're also producing it -- in places that decades ago you'd never imagine.

A wine maker in Illinois told CBS News, "You can make great wines here in the Midwest. Illinois produces over a million gallons of wine a year now."

Green added, "You have wine in 50 states, but you have really good top quality wine in a lot more states than you ever had before."

In New York, Higgins has only been selling wine for three years, focusing on the most fickle grape at that - pinot noir. But already, his tiny winery is winning awards - and pleasing palates.

One visitor to Higgins' winery said, "It's quality. It's a classy place, they're great people, they're very nice, but the wine is so good."

Higgins says the success is all in the company's name - "Heart and Hands."

He said, "The driving force behind the winery is certainly passion, which is why we have the heart and the hands, and in terms of the hand craftsmanship that goes into making the wine, as well as the passion, which goes with the heart."