The Central Lakes region of New York.
In the central part of western New York are several remarkable bodies of water known as the Central Lakes. Three of these are large and deep enough to give ideal climatic conditions for grapes, and about these lakes are grouped several important areas of vineyards, making this the third most important grape region in America. The region assumes further importance because most of the champagne made in America is produced here, and it is the chief center of still wines in eastern America as well. It is further distinguished by its distinctive types of grapes, Catawba and Delaware taking the place of Concord and Niagara, the sorts that usually predominate in eastern grape regions.
The main body of this region lies on the steep slopes of the high lands surrounding Keuka Lake. On the shores of this lake there are, approximately, 15,000 acres of grapes. Adjacent to this main body are several smaller bodies about the neighboring lakes. Thus, at the head of Canandaigua Lake and on its shores are about 2500 acres; near Seneca and between Seneca and Cayuga Lakes there are probably 1500 acres more. In a few specially favored places on other of these Central Lakes, there are possibly 1000 acres, making all told for this region, about 20,000 acres. Again it is climate that sets the seal of approval on the region for viticulture. In addition to the benefits of deep bodies of water, high and sloping lands cause the frosts to cease early in the spring and hold them in abeyance in the autumn, giving an exceptionally long season.
Champagne-making began here about 1860; at present there are a score or more manufacturers of champagne, wine and brandy, the output being annually about 3,000,000 gallons of wine and 2,000,000 bottles of champagne. Recently the manufacture of grape-juice has begun and the industry is now flourishing.
Minor grape regions.
Viticulture is commercially important in several other regions than those outlined. Thus, in the valley of the Hudson River, grapes have been grown commercially for nearly a hundred years, the industry reaching its height between 1880 and 1890, when there were 13,000 acres under cultivation. For some years, however, grape-growing along the Hudson has been on the decline. Another region in which viticulture reaches considerable magnitude is in several islands in Lake Erie near Sandusky, Ohio, the product going largely for the manufacture of wine. At one time grapes were grown commercially on the banks of the Ohio River about Cincinnati and westward into Indiana. The industry here, however, is a thing of the past. Another region in which grape-growing was once of prime importance but now lags has its center at Hermann, Missouri. The newest grape-producing area worthy of note is in southwestern Michigan about the towns of Lawton and Paw Paw. A small but very prosperous grape-growing region has its center at Egg Harbor, New Jersey. Ives is the mainstay among varieties in this region. In the southern states, Muscadine grapes are grown in a small way in every part of the cotton-belt and varieties of other native species are to be found in home vineyards in the upland regions, but nowhere in the South can it be said that grape-growing is a commercial industry.
The Determinants of Grape Regions
Climate, soil, site, the surface features of the land, insects, fungi and commercial geography are the chief factors that determine regions for money-making in grape-growing. This has been made plain in the foregoing discussion of grape regions, but the several factors must be taken up in greater detail. To bound the regions is of less importance than to understand why they exist—less needful to remember, more needful to understand. From what has been said, the reader has no doubt already concluded that successful grape-growing is in largest measure due to kindliness in climate.