Oklahoma Wine Country Wine production was significant in the 1920’s in Oklahoma, which then suffered the double whammy of Prohibition followed by the Dust Bowl of the 1930’s. Today’s wineries produce a wide range of wines from different species of grape along with various fruits and honey. The Oklahoma Grape Industry Council provides education and … Read more

Clouds on the Horizon With 40+ years in the wine industry, I’ve seen lots of ups and downs, starting in the early 1980’s when the New York grape industry was in a severe economic crisis. But then American wine consumption enjoyed a long, steady growth curve occasionally disrupted by the 2008 stock market crash, the … Read more

In 1860, Ohio was the nation’s largest wine producer thanks largely to the Catawba grape introduced by Nicolas Longworth in 1825, two years after he planted the Alexander and Isabella varieties. As in all other states, the Ohio wine industry was wiped out by Prohibition, but eventually bounced back to its current status as one … Read more

DC Update: Deadlines and Dead Ends The Senate was back this week, with the House joining them next week after a very long summer recess. Between now and the end of this month, both chambers will be in DC at the same time for just 11 days. That’s important (and alarming) because a government shutdown … Read more

North Dakota was notably the last state since repeal of Prohibition to license a winery—in 2002!    Bordering Canada, it is also one of the many states which have benefited from the extremely cold hardy “Minnesota” grape varieties. In the past two decades, the local wine industry has benefited from the state Department of Agriculture’s … Read more