Ohio wine (or "Ohioan wine") refers to

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented grapes. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different ...

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 a ...

s grown in the U.S. state of

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

. Historically, this has been wine grown from native American species of grapes (such as '' Vitis labrusca''), not European wine grapes, although hybrid 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 cur ...

'' 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 wineries and consumers. Winemakers frequently want their consumers to know about t ...

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 ...

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 eas ...

, 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, educ ...

'' 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 ini ...

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 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 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 w ...

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 ...

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 nationwide constitutional law prohibited the production, importation, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages. The alcohol industry was curtailed by a succession of state legislatures, an ...

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 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, r ...

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 officiall ...

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. Vineyard ...

s operate wholly or principally in Ohio.

References

External links