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Pennsylvania

Located in the Middle Atlantic states, Pennsylvania is one of the thirteen original states of the United States. Grape growing and winemaking appear to have started here as early as the mid1600s, when members of the New Sweden Company planted VITIS VINIFERA vines in the state’s southeastern portion (with little success). In 1684, William Penn tried VITICULTURE again in Philadelphia in the area that is now Fairmont Park. Again, no success. In 1793, The Pennsylvania Wine Company, the first commercial winery in Pennsylvania and the United States, was established along the Schuylkill River near Philadelphia. In the 1800s, grape-growing centers sprang up around the Susquehanna River in York County and around the Ohio River near Pittsburgh. Around the middle of the nineteenth century, shortly after the Erie Canal project was finished, the Lake Erie area in Erie County became another major wine-producing area. The wine industry in Pennsylvania continued to grow into the twentieth century. Of course, PROHIBITION brought wine production to a halt in 1920. Even after Prohibition ended in 1933, wine production was inhibited by the state liquor monopoly. Although the Conestoga Winery was established in 1963, it wasn’t until the 1968 Farm Winery Act was put in place that the number of wineries started to expand. Today Pennsylvania has approximately seventy wineries, none of them very large. The largest of these is Chaddsford Winery, in the state’s southeastern portion, which annually produces approximately 30,000 cases. Pennsylvania has four AVA’s—CENTRAL DELAWARE VALLEY AVA, which it shares with NEW JERSEY; CUMBERLAND VALLEY AVA, which it shares with MARYLAND; LAKE ERIE AVA, which it shares with OHIO and NEW YORK; and LANCASTER VALLEY AVA. Pennsylvania is the fourth-largest grape grower in the United States but only ranks in the top fifteenth in wine production. A large majority of the vineyards (especially around Lake Erie) are planted with CONCORD, which is usually made into juice and jelly. A very small percentage of vineyards (mostly located in southeastern Pennsylvania) are planted with HYBRIDS like CAYUGA, CHAM-P BOURCIN, SEYVAL BLANC, and VIDAL BLANC, and VITIS VINIFERA vines like RIESLING CABERNET SAUVIGNON, CABERNET FRANC, CHARDONNAY, GEWÜRZTRAMINER, Pinot Grigio (PINOT GRIS), and PINOT NOIR—all of which are used for wine production.
Related Links: Central Delaware Valley AVA, Cumberland Valley AVA, Lake Effect, viticulture
© Copyright Barron's Educational Services, Inc.
1995 based on THE WINE LOVER'S COMPANION,
by Ron Herbst and Sharon Tyler Herbst.

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