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Ohio: The Birthplace of American Winemaking?
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Image from a pamphlet advertising Nicholas Longworth's wines, 1866.
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Ohio's E & K Wine Co. Catawba label, mid 1800s. (Source: E & K Wine Company).
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Old Nick Longworth, father of American winemaking.
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Mt. Adams, mid 1800s. Nicholas Longworth owned all of Mt. Adams, where he cultivated Catawba grapes used in making his famous "champagne" known as Golden Wedding. For a brief period Mt. Adams was at the vortex of American winemaking. (Source: Ci
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Aerial View of Lake Erie's Isle St. George, home to wine growing since the 1800s and current home of Firelands Winery.
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Longworth's pink Catawba a precursor to this? I'm sure he'd be proud.
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Arnie Esterer of Markko Vineyard, one of the fixtures of modern Ohio winemaking and a pioneer (with the help of famed Finger Lakes viticulturalist Dr. Konstantin Frank) of the use of Vinifera varieties along the shores of Lake Erie.
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The Golden Eagle Winery on Middle Bass Island, Lake Erie, Ohio. Golden Eagle - complete with caves dug out of the island's limestone bedrock and a dance hall - was America's largest winery by 1875. (Source: California Digital Library).
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Present day Catawba grapes.
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1800s Ohio Wine List featuring Longworth's Sparkling Catawba. A bargain at $2.00/bottle.
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Prohibition all but destroyed the American wine business. Those that managed to stay afloat did so by producing sacramental wines, de-alcoholized wines, and fresh grape juice.
