Ohio wine (or "Ohioan wine") refers to

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...

made from

grape A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus ''Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters. The cultivation of grapes began perhaps 8,000 years ago, ...

s grown in the

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

state of

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. Historically, this has been wine grown from native American species of grapes (such as ''

Vitis labrusca ''Vitis labrusca'', the fox grape, is a species of grapevines belonging to the ''Vitis'' genus in the flowering plant family Vitaceae. The vines are native to eastern North America and are the source of many grape cultivars, including Catawba, Co ...

''), not European wine grapes, although

hybrid Hybrid may refer to: Science * Hybrid (biology), an offspring resulting from cross-breeding ** Hybrid grape, grape varieties produced by cross-breeding two ''Vitis'' species ** Hybridity, the property of a hybrid plant which is a union of two dif ...

and ''

Vitis vinifera ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, is a species of flowering plant, native to the Mediterranean region, Central Europe, and southwestern Asia, from Morocco and Portugal north to southern Germany and east to northern Iran. There are curre ...

'' grapes are now common in Ohio. As of 2018 there were 280 commercial wineries operating in Ohio, and there are five designated

American Viticultural Area An American Viticultural Area (AVA) is a designated wine grape-growing region in the United States, providing an official appellation for the mutual benefit of winery, wineries and consumers. Winemakers frequently want their consumers to know abo ...

s partially or completely located within the state.

History

Markko Cabernet Sauvignon 2003 from Ohio

The southern shore of Lake Erie falls within the global "Pinot Belt," which also runs through

Burgundy Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The c ...

and the

Willamette Valley The Willamette Valley ( ) is a long valley in Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. The Willamette River flows the entire length of the valley and is surrounded by mountains on three sides: the Cascade Range to the east, ...

, which according to ''

Wine Enthusiast ''Wine Enthusiast'' magazine is an American wine magazine published by Wine Enthusiast Companies in Valhalla, New York. Founded in 1979 by Adam and Sybil Strum, Wine Enthusiast Companies engages in the wine accessories, storage, information, educat ...

'' means Ohio has "innate potential for attention-worthy wines". Wine has been produced in Ohio since 1823 when

Nicholas Longworth Nicholas Longworth III (November 5, 1869 – April 9, 1931) was an American politician who became Speaker of the United States House of Representatives. He was a Republican. A lawyer by training, he was elected to the Ohio Senate, where he initi ...

planted the first

Alexander Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

and

Isabella Isabella may refer to: People and fictional characters * Isabella (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Isabella (surname), including a list of people Places United States * Isabella, Alabama, an unincorpor ...

grapes in the

Ohio River Valley The Ohio River is a long river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing southwesterly from western Pennsylvania to its mouth on the Mississippi River at the southern tip of Illinoi ...

. In 1825, Longworth planted the first

Catawba Catawba may refer to: *Catawba people, a Native American tribe in the Carolinas *Catawba language, a language in the Catawban languages family *Catawban languages Botany * Catalpa, a genus of trees, based on the name used by the Catawba and other ...

grapes in Ohio. Others soon planted Catawba in new vineyards throughout the state and by 1860, Catawba was the most important grape variety in Ohio. At this time, Ohio produced more wine than any other state in the country, and

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

was the most important city in the national wine trade. Golden Eagle winery on

Middle Bass Island Middle Bass Island is an island of the U.S. state of Ohio, located in Lake Erie. A small town, Middle Bass, lies on the island. The 805-acre (3.258 km²) island is shaped like the Big Dipper and is one of three Bass Islands located at th ...

housed America's largest winery in 1872. As in many other states,

Prohibition in the United States In the United States from 1920 to 1933, a Constitution of the United States, nationwide constitutional law prohibition, prohibited the production, importation, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages. The alcohol industry was curtai ...

destroyed the Ohio wine industry, which has struggled to recover. As of 2018 Ohio was the 6th-largest wine producer in the United States. In Fall of 2011

Kent State University at Ashtabula Kent State University at Ashtabula is a satellite campus of Kent State University. The campus is located in Ashtabula, Ohio, United States, and was established in 1958. It is the northernmost of Kent State's seven satellite campuses in Northeast ...

became the first university in the state to offer programs in

viticulture Viticulture (from the Latin word for ''vine'') or winegrowing (wine growing) is the cultivation and harvesting of grapes. It is a branch of the science of horticulture. While the native territory of ''Vitis vinifera'', the common grape vine, ran ...

and

enology Oenology (also enology; ) is the science and study of wine and winemaking. Oenology is distinct from viticulture, which is the science of the growing, cultivation, and harvesting of grapes. The English word oenology derives from the Greek word ' ...

. Wholly or partially in Ohio are the American viticulture areas Lake Erie, Isle St. George, Grand River Valley, Ohio River Valley, and Loramie Creek.

Reception

In 2018 ''Wine Enthusiast'' called out Ferrante Winery, Firelands Winery, Gervasi Vineyard, Meranda-Nixon Winery, and Valley Vineyards as "wineries to know" in the state. That same year, RewardExpert analyzed wine ratings on CellarTracker and identified Heritage Vineyards in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

in Coshocton County as having the highest-rated wine in the country.

Wine industry

Many wineries in Ohio are members of the Ohio Wine Producers Association. The site includes resources for produces and consumers, including an extensive calendar of Ohio Wine events. It also includes the Ohio Wine Hall of Fame.Information fro
Ohio Wine Producers Association
Website There are six "wine trails" in the state, including the Lake Erie Shores and Islands Trail, the Lake Erie Vines and Wines Trail, the Canal Country Trail, the Appalachian Wine Trail (Southeast Ohio bordering West Virginia), the Ohio River Valley Wine Trail (along the Ohio River in Cincinnati to Dayton), and the Capital City Trail (Columbus area).

Wineries in Ohio

The following wineries and

vineyard A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineyards ...

s operate wholly or principally in Ohio.

References

External links