Despite the American wine and grape industry’s association with California’s Napa Valley, the Great Lakes region boasts four of the top 10 wine-producing states in the nation.
“For a long while, it was thought the climate in the Midwest was too harsh for the more tender vinifera – and it still is for some varieties,” said Donniella Winchell, executive director of the Ohio Wine Producers Association. “But many of the ‘cooler climate’ varieties like chardonnay, riesling, cabernet franc, showed some promise, especially when planted around the Great Lakes, which provided winter temperature moderation and delayed spring bud break as a foil to killing frosts.”