Indiana wine is

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink made from Fermentation in winemaking, fermented fruit. Yeast in winemaking, Yeast consumes the sugar in the fruit and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Wine is most often made f ...

made from

grape A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus ''Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters. The cultivation of grapes began approximately 8,0 ...

s grown in the

U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

state of

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

. Wine has been produced in the area since the early days of

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

colonization 475px, Map of the year each country achieved List of sovereign states by date of formation, independence. Colonization (British English: colonisation) is a process of establishing occupation of or control over foreign territories or peoples f ...

in the 18th century. In the mid-19th century, Indiana was the tenth-largest winegrape producing state in the country. There are two

American Viticultural Area An American Viticultural Area (AVA) is a designated wine grape-growing region in the United States, providing an official appellation for the mutual benefit of winery, wineries and consumers. Winemakers frequently want their consumers to know abo ...

s (AVA) in Indiana: the

Ohio River Valley AVA Ohio River Valley is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) centered on the Ohio River, the vast Ohio River Valley and its adjacent terrain. It was established on September 6, 1983 by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), Treasury ...

which also contains portions of Kentucky and Ohio, and the Indiana Uplands AVA which is wholly located in south-central Indiana and includes the oldest and most prolific winery in Indiana,

Oliver Winery Oliver Winery is the oldest and largest winery in the U.S. state of Indiana. Established in 1972, the winery has grown to become the 28th largest winery in the U.S. The Oliver Winery tasting room operates in Monroe County north of Bloomington at ...

History

Indiana was a crucial area in the early American wine industry. Early attempts at grape cultivation were mainly undertaken by English immigrants, which were all unsuccessful in the production of palatable wine. French vinedressers were blamed for intentionally causing this failure even though this was not the case. French cultivation of grapes started in what would be present-day Indiana by 1735. Reasons that wine production failed in this era included the inability to use native grapes (which were too bitter and produced less fruit), the lack of mature vineyards, diseases that non-native grapes were especially weak to, and a colder climate compared to Europe. Vinyards were abandoned for tobacco, which was a more profitable crop. More serious attempts to produce wine took place after the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

but these efforts were also unsuccessful.

References

Sources

* Wine regions of the United States by state or territory 1816 establishments in Indiana {{wine-region-stub