Lake Erie AVA

The Lake Erie AVA is an American Viticultural Area that includes 2,236,800 acres (3,495 sq mi) of land on the south shore of Lake Erie in the U.S. states of Ohio, New York, and Pennsylvania. Over 42,000 acres (17,000 ha) of the region are planted in grapevines, predominantly in the Concord grape variety.

Lake Erie AVA

Wine region
Type	American Viticultural Area
Year established	1983[1]
Years of wine industry	199
Country	United States
Part of	Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania
Sub-regions	Grand River Valley AVA, Isle St. George AVA
Climate region	Continental
Total area	2,236,800 acres (3,495 sq mi)[2]
Size of planted vineyards	42,000 acres (17,000 ha)[3]
Grapes produced	Aurore, Auxerrois, Baco noir, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Catawba, Cayuga, Chambourcin, Chancellor, Chardonnay, Concord, De Chaunac, Delaware, Diamond, Edelweiss, Fredonia, Gewurztraminer, Ives noir, Lemberger, Leon Millot, Marechal Foch, Merlot, Niagara, Pinot gris, Pinot noir, Riesling, Seyval blanc, Steuben, Touriga Nacional, Traminette, Vidal blanc, Vignoles[3]
No. of wineries	58[3]

History

Grapes were first cultivated in the area during the early nineteenth century, and many wineries survived Prohibition in the twentieth century by legally selling grapes to home winemakers, marketing their products solely for religious purposes such as kosher wines (which continues to the present day), converting to grape juice production for local companies such as Welch's, or illegally selling wine to consumers in Canada.

The wine industry in the Lake Erie region did not thrive after the repeal of Prohibition, however, and by 1967 there were fewer than twenty commercial wineries in the area.

Recently, Lake Erie wineries have begun planting and vinifying Vitis vinifera varieties in an attempt to improve wine quality.^[3]

Geography

The region has a humid continental climate (Dfa/Dfb) and the hardiness zone ranges from 6a in higher areas to 7a in some lakefront areas.