California, Oregon, Washington and even Texas are four states that produce a significant amount of wine. If you start talking wine production in the United States one of these states would be mentioned right off the bat. Probably California. But do you know which state has the richest history when it comes to producing wine? That would be Ohio! There are over 140 wineries in Ohio and was once the largest producer of wine in the United States.

This was all the way back in the 1800's, so many people you talk with today are not aware of this states rich history in wine production. This history all started near Cincinnati by a man name Nicholas Longworth and a little Catawba grape, a sweet grape. Nicholas had the states wine history booming and more winemakers were from europe were showing up to take advantage of Ohio's micro climates and rich soils.

Everyone from across the nation wanted Ohio sweet wine. No other state's wine could even compare.

What happened to Ohio wineries

If you are a wine drinker you may be unaware of the wine produced in Ohio. However, many wineries still exist in Ohio, and they still are producing high quality of wine. It took Ohio wine a bit of time to recover from its fall from grace, but now the wine being produced here is becoming more and more popular.

What caused this states demise? Four things

1. Rot Disease

2. Civil War

3. Prohibition

4. Grape Juice

First the rot disease hit the grapes down in Cincinnati and destroyed the grape harvests, then the vineyards could recover the Civil War broke out and no one was left to manpower the vineyards and wineries. Then not so long after the Civil War ended, there was a little amendment to the constitution called Prohibition.

By the time Prohibition ended all the grape vineyards were under contract to make grape juice. For a long time the state didn't have the raw materials necessary to make wine. This was when other states such as California began gaining recognition for wine.

Ohio's wine making industry took three hits in a row and eventually the thought of making wine left the minds of people in Ohio. But not entirely. The state started to invest more and more in grape production and starting in the 1990's Ohio wines and Ohio wineries started showing up more and more and win more and more national and global wine competitions. If you live in state or plan on passing through or staying awhile, you may want to consider spending a day at one of the nearby wineries.