Midwest Wine Press

Kentucky Brings Home Winning Harvest

by · October 20, 2011

Dr. Tom Cottrell, Extension Specialist for Enology at The University of Kentucky.

The color and flavor of fruit coming from many Kentucky vineyards is remarkable this year, according to Dr. Tom Cottrell, Extension Specialist for Enology at the University of Kentucky in Lexington.  “Sugars are high this year,” Dr. Cottrell said.  “We’re seeing reds like Norton, Chambourcin and Cabernet with sugars as high as 24.”

According to Alicia McGuire, Executive Director of The Kentucky Vineyard Society (KVS) , the number or wineries in Kentucky has grown in recent years to over 60.  Many new Kentucky vineyards are being planted by former tobacco growers, McGuire said.  As tobacco prices and demand decline,  locally made wine is increasingly important to rural economic development, she said.

Norrie Wake, Lake Cumberland Winery, Monticello, KY.

An example of the growth of small farm wineries in Kentucky is Lake Cumberland Winery in Monticello Kentucky.  Winery owner Norrie Wake was recently granted what may be the only licence to operate a winery to in a dry county.  “I could not have got my business up and running without their (Dr. Cottrell and KVS) help,” Wake said.   Norrie’s wine will be made from grapes grown in his own vineyard, which he has tended since switching from tobacco farming.    “Many of the same skills for growing tobacco are needed to grow grapes,” he said,  “you have to work hard, know how things grow and get out in the field every day.”

The Kentucky Vineyard Society was established in 1798.  Please visit their website at:

www.kentuckyvineyardsociety.org

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Mark Ganchiff

Mark Ganchiff is the publisher of Midwest Wine Press, the leading source of news on the growing wine industry in the central United States. Mark has been a wine judge at the 2012 and 2014 INDY International Wine Competition, the 2014 Cold Climate Wine Competition, the 2013 Mid-American Wine Competition, the 2012 Illinois State Fair Wine Competition and the 2013 Michigan Wine Competition. He also enjoys speaking at wine events including the Cold Climate Wine Conference, the Illinois Grape Growers and Vintners Association Annual Meeting, the Midwest Grape and Wine Conference and the Wisconsin Fruit and Vegetable Conference. Mark's articles about regional wine have appeared in Vineyard & Winery Management, WineMaker and several regional magazines. Mark is a Level One Sommelier in the Court of Master Sommeliers. He lives in Louisville, but also has a residence in Chicago.

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