Page 57 - Grapevine NovDec 2021

Around The Vineyard

1,128 acres of grapes planted, but it proved to be
quite lucrative. A yield of over 64,000 gallons of
wine was valued at $90,000. If you consider curren-
cy during this period, a golden price tag and lim-
ited supply marked these Tennessee wines a rare
Southern find.

Although a promising beginning saw wines made
in this Southern region as a possible competitor of
those produced in California, this potential Napa
Valley of the south experienced slow growth due
to the impediment of the 18th Amendment to the
U.S. Constitution, establishing total alcohol prohibi-
tion throughout the nation. Even when Prohibition
ended 13 years later with the 21st Amendment, a
hold on wine production in the region lasted more
than 50 years. This hold meant that Tennessee
winemakers who entered an already booming wine
industry were decades away from gaining recogni-
tion among wine connoisseurs.

With the changing times of the 1970s, when
archaic production laws were finally put to bed,
wine cultivation in Tennessee experienced its
freedom and led to the slowly growing industry
now seen today. The West Tennessee Experiment
Station, the Plateau Experiment Station and Middle
Tennessee Station spearheaded research on grapes
and how to best cultivate them in the region.
This endeavor in the mid-1970s opened the door
for establishing vineyards and creating signature
Tennessee wine blends. By the end of that decade,
Tennessee had 125 acres of planted grapes.

Easing Into Ripe Times

It has been a slow start for Tennessee winemak-
ers, simply because it was not until 1980 that grape
cultivation licensing to produce wine for sale was
available in the state. Forty years in an industry
with a long, diverse lineage allows Southern wine-
makers to see what has been done be-fore, make it
better and add their own flair to stand out amongst
the best. With that said, it also puts them a step
behind since making a name for their brand and
enticing local and international acclaim is not easy,
as winemakers around the world know. For a wine
to truly become a mem-ber of the elite, it must be
something special.

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