The word is getting out:

Kentucky's grape and wine industry is back

 

Agriculture Commissioner Richie Farmer

 

An article on Kentucky wines will be featured in the June issue of Delta Airlines’ Sky magazine.

 

The spreading notoriety of Kentucky’s wine industry is another new page in an old story. Prior to prohibition in 1919, Kentucky was the third leading state in the nation in grape and wine production.

 

Stacia Alford, the Kentucky Department of Agriculture’s grape and wine marketing specialist, says our soil content and rolling hills are perfect for grape production. Stacia says wineries are popping up all over the state and are in need of grapes from Kentucky farmers.

 

Kentucky’s early settlers found that the state has ideal temperatures and climate for growing well-balanced grapes like those in the noble regions of France and Italy, according to www.KentuckyWine.com. In 1798, European settler Jean Jacques du Four planted the first Kentucky vineyard in Nicholasville. Kentucky was also home to the nation’s first commercial vineyard.

 

By 1870, Kentucky produced more than half the nation's output of wine. After Prohibition outlawed the production and consumption of alcoholic beverages, most of Kentucky’s grape vines were ripped out during the 1920s. Kentucky farmers had to find a new cash crop, so they turned to tobacco. 

 

With the recent decline in tobacco production, Kentucky farmers are moving back to grapes, and Kentucky winemaking is experiencing a renaissance. Acreage devoted to commercial viticulture in Kentucky has been increasing rapidly, from 68 acres of grapes and five wineries in 1999 to 583 acres at last count in 2006 and, currently, 46 wineries. The state’s largest producer is Elk Creek Vineyards in Owenton.

 

To find out more about Kentucky wines and wineries, go to www.KentuckyWine.com. For more information on growing grapes in Kentucky, go to http://www.uky.edu/Ag/Horticulture/.