History of Midwest Wine: Firstvineyard

The History of wine making in the North America is a story of many false starts. Shortly after Europeans settled North America, European grapes were planted in attempts to make wine. The Jamestown colony attempted to grow grapes, only to find them attacked by mildew and black rot. For the next 200 years, others tried to grow grapes in North America.

There were three main failings of these early vineyards. The first two were mildew and black rot, diseases native to North American grapes that the European varieties had no resistance too. European grapes could survive for a couple of years, but eventually mildew or black rot would find their way to the vines and decimate them.

Early settlers jumped to conclusions about North America's climate that also hindered their ability to grow grapes in the region. Climatology did not exist as a science 400 years ago. People simply looked at a map and said, "Hey, France and New England are at the same longitude, so surely New England's weather is much like France's". This assumption proved deadly for many settlers unprepared for New England winters. This also proved difficult on the warm weather vines brought over from Europe.

But, one of the first successful vineyards attempted to revolutionize North American wine making. Established in 1799 in Northern Kentucky, just across the Ohio River from Indiana, Firstvineyard grew grapes and made wine from grapes that survived and were healthy in North America instead of continually trying European vines. John James Dufour and his family, who came over from Switzerland, tended this vineyard until it closed down about 15 years later. But here, at Firstvineyard, the American Wine Industry was born.

Here at Firstvineyard, the Cape grape thrived. John James Dufour bought his clippings from a vineyard on the Eastern seaboard. At the time, it was thought the Cape was a European variety that thrived in South Africa, but modern opinion holds that the Cape was a hybrid between a European variety and an American variety. Today, the only way we know what the grape looked like and tasted like is from historical documents, as this grape is extinct and has not been seen in over 100 years.

From Firstvineyard, the Dufour family went to Vevay in Indiana and started a number of vineyards there. From the birth of the American wine industry, it spread first to the Midwest before encompassing the entire country.

After 200 years, Firstvineyard has been restored on the location of the original vineyard. In 2007, the original grape terraces were rebuilt. A few months ago, a tasting room was opened at the site. Here in Nicholasville, Kentucky, the early history of American wines is being remembered and celebrated.