Oklahoma wine
Encyclopedia
Oklahoma wine refers to wine
made from grape
s grown in the U.S. state of Oklahoma
.
Wine production was a significant component of the Oklahoma agricultural
economy in the 1920s. The industry was destroyed by the Dust Bowl
of the 1930s and the introduction of Prohibition in the United States
. Oklahoma currently has about 52 wineries. Most of the wineries are located in Green Country (Northeast Oklahoma), Lincoln county and surrounding areas in east central Oklahoma, Central Oklahoma and Southwest Oklahoma.
Most Oklahoma wineries produce a range of wines ranging from sweet to dry. Several wineries have experimented with non-grape varieties of wine (utilizing everything from peaches to jalepenos peppers), and one winery (Woods and Waters Winery produces a ice wine
. Grape varieties used include standards such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay, German white varieties such as Riesling and Gewurstraminier, French hybrids, and American native varieties.
There is currently one designated American Viticultural Area
in Oklahoma, the Ozark Mountain AVA
.
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
made from grape
Grape
A grape is a non-climacteric fruit, specifically a berry, that grows on the perennial and deciduous woody vines of the genus Vitis. Grapes can be eaten raw or they can be used for making jam, juice, jelly, vinegar, wine, grape seed extracts, raisins, molasses and grape seed oil. Grapes are also...
s grown in the U.S. state of Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
.
Wine production was a significant component of the Oklahoma agricultural
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
economy in the 1920s. The industry was destroyed by the Dust Bowl
Dust Bowl
The Dust Bowl, or the Dirty Thirties, was a period of severe dust storms causing major ecological and agricultural damage to American and Canadian prairie lands from 1930 to 1936...
of the 1930s and the introduction of Prohibition in the United States
Prohibition in the United States
Prohibition in the United States was a national ban on the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol, in place from 1920 to 1933. The ban was mandated by the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution, and the Volstead Act set down the rules for enforcing the ban, as well as defining which...
. Oklahoma currently has about 52 wineries. Most of the wineries are located in Green Country (Northeast Oklahoma), Lincoln county and surrounding areas in east central Oklahoma, Central Oklahoma and Southwest Oklahoma.
Most Oklahoma wineries produce a range of wines ranging from sweet to dry. Several wineries have experimented with non-grape varieties of wine (utilizing everything from peaches to jalepenos peppers), and one winery (Woods and Waters Winery produces a ice wine
Ice wine
Ice wine is a type of dessert wine produced from grapes that have been frozen while still on the vine. The sugars and other dissolved solids do not freeze, but the water does, allowing a more concentrated grape must to be pressed from the frozen grapes, resulting in a smaller amount of more...
. Grape varieties used include standards such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay, German white varieties such as Riesling and Gewurstraminier, French hybrids, and American native varieties.
There is currently one designated American Viticultural Area
American Viticultural Area
An American Viticultural Area is a designated wine grape-growing region in the United States distinguishable by geographic features, with boundaries defined by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau , United States Department of the Treasury....
in Oklahoma, the Ozark Mountain AVA
Ozark Mountain AVA
The Ozark Mountain AVA is an American Viticultural Area located in northwest Arkansas, southern Missouri, and northeast Oklahoma. The sixth largest American Viticultural Area in total size, Ozark Mountain AVA covers...
.