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First Attempt at Wine in the New World
The first attempt at establishing wine in the present day United States came in 1619 AD when Sir George Yeardley brought 10,000 French grapevines and some French wine growers to the Virginia colony. The colonists were not keen on tending vines when tobacco grew well and was a very profitable crop for them. Additionally, battles with the local natives was a drain on manpower to tend the vines. -
Production of wine ceases in the US
Production ceased in the colony. -
Wine takes root in California
As Christianity was spread by missionaries throughout the New World, so too was wine production. As Spanish missionaries ventured into the territory of what would eventually become California, they found that the climate was well-suited for wine production. Father Junipero Serra is credited with starting the California wine industry by planting the first vines in 1769 AD. It takes about three years for newly planted vines to produce grapes, by 1772 AD the first California wines were produced. -
Founding the Ohio wine industry
Nicholas Longworth was a millionaire New Jersey banker who moved to the Cincinnati area in the early 1800s. He became serious about producing wine in the area in 1820, making a poor man’s Madeira using red Catawba wine fortified with sugar and brandy. It wasn’t until he separated the must from the grape skins to create a white or rose wine that he found commercial success within the German community of Cincinnati. Longworth’s vineyard holdings expanded through the 1830s. -
Introduction of sparkling Catawba win in the US Market
Nicholas Longworth achieved mainstream commercial success when he introduced sparkling Catawba wine to the US market (made in the Champagne tradition). -
Ohio is the leading producer of wine in the USA
Ohio was the leading producer of wine in the USA. Longworth’s efforts not only created the Ohio wine industry, but he paved the way for wine to remain an important US industry. -
Destruciton of the Ohio Wine Industry
black rot and downy mildew decimated the Carawba grape industry around Cincinnati. By 1870, the wine industry in Ohio was almost completely destroyed in Southern Ohio. -
Prohibition hits the US wine industry
While one could still make wine to consume at home or consume wine from one’s wine cellar during prohibition, businesses that made wine their business were essentially out of business. A creative few business sold grape juice that might accidentally ferment while en route to the consumer. Others sold grape juice with explicit instructions on how not to turn it into wine, teaching the consumer how to turn it into wine. It was only when Prohibition was repealed that signs of recovery occured. -
Recovery begins in Ohio
The Ohio Agricultural Research & Development Center (OARDC) breathed new life into the Ohio wine industry. The OARDC actively encouraged planting of French-American hybrid varieties in southern Ohio, and this program resulted in some nice successes that soon spread to Northern Ohio along Lake Erie. OARDC activity in this area resulted in the opening of more than 40 new wineries in Ohio since 1965.