American Wine Guides by State
Deep-dive guides to every American wine region — the AVAs, the grapes, the producers, and what makes each state worth exploring.
131 guides across 50 states
Alaska
Alabama
Arizona
Arizona Wine Beyond the AVAs — Phoenix, Tucson, Prescott, and the Producers in Between
Arizona has three federally designated wine appellations — Sonoita/Elgin, Willcox, and Verde Valley — but the state's wine culture extends well beyond those boundaries. From the urban tasting rooms of Phoenix and Scottsdale to the mountain producers of the Prescott Highlands and the White Mountains, from the Tucson urban winery scene to the négociant operations sourcing high-desert fruit from across the state, Arizona wine is a bigger and more varied story than its AVA map suggests.
Willcox AVA: The High-Desert Powerhouse Driving Arizona Wine
At 4,200 feet in southeastern Arizona, the Willcox AVA produces more wine grapes than anywhere else in the state. Discover the terroir, the grapes, and the producers turning this remote high-desert basin into one of America's most compelling emerging wine regions.
Verde Valley AVA: Arizona Wine Country in the Shadow of Red Rocks
Nestled between Sedona's red rock formations and the Mogollon Rim, the Verde Valley AVA is Arizona's most exciting wine region — a high-desert landscape producing Rhône varieties, Italian grapes, and wines with genuine character.
Sonoita Elgin AVA: Arizona’s High-Desert Wine Country
Discover the wines, wineries, and high-desert character that make Arizona’s Sonoita Elgin AVA a standout American wine destination.
Arkansas
Arkansas Wine Beyond the AVAs — The Full Story of a State Finding Its Voice
Arkansas wine is most often discussed through the lens of its federally recognized appellations — the Altus AVA, the Ozark Highlands, the Ozark Mountain AVA. But some of the most interesting wine being made in the Natural State happens outside those boundaries entirely. From the Ouachita Mountains to the Arkansas Delta, from the Gulf Coastal Plain to the suburbs of Little Rock, a new generation of Arkansas winemakers is writing a chapter that the AVA map doesn't yet capture.
Altus AVA — Arkansas Wine's Historic Heartland
Perched on a sandstone plateau above the Arkansas River valley, the Altus AVA is the oldest and most storied wine-producing district in the American South. Founded by German and Swiss immigrants in the 1870s, its family wineries have survived Prohibition, two world wars, and a century of changing tastes — and they are still making wine from the same ancient land their great-great-grandparents first planted.
Ozark Mountain AVA — Arkansas Wine on Ancient Ground
The Arkansas portion of the Ozark Mountain AVA is one of the most geologically dramatic and historically rooted wine regions in the American South. Carved from ancient plateau rock, shaped by German and Swiss immigrant winemakers, and defined by native varieties that have no real equivalent anywhere else in the world, Arkansas Ozark Mountain wine is a story most American wine drinkers have never heard — and one that is well worth knowing.
Ozark Highlands AVA — Arkansas Wine Country's Best-Kept Secret
Carved into the plateau country of northwestern Arkansas, the Ozark Highlands AVA is one of the oldest wine regions in the American South — and one of the least known outside its home state. German and Swiss immigrants planted vines here in the 1870s, and some of those original family wineries are still operating today. This is a wine region with deep roots, distinctive terroir, and a story that most American wine drinkers have never heard.
California
California Wine Beyond the Famous AVAs — Sierra Foothills, Santa Barbara, Mendocino, Lodi, and More
California has more than 140 federally designated wine appellations, but the national conversation about California wine rarely moves beyond Napa Valley, Sonoma Coast, and Paso Robles. The rest of the state — the Sierra Foothills, the Santa Barbara County wine country, the Mendocino and Lake County highlands, the Lodi delta, the South Coast, and the vast Central Valley — is producing wines that are as interesting, as distinctive, and in many cases as compelling as anything coming out of the famous appellations. This is the California wine story that most people have not read yet.
Napa Valley AVA Breakdown — A Guide to Every Sub-Appellation
Napa Valley is not one place — it's 16 distinct sub-appellations, each with its own soils, climate, and wine character. This guide explains every Napa AVA and what makes each one unique.
Sonoma Coast — California's Most Exciting Wine Region
The Sonoma Coast AVA stretches 60 miles along the Pacific and produces some of California's most compelling Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Here is what makes it special.
Stags Leap District — Napa's Most Celebrated Sub-AVA
The Stags Leap District put American wine on the world map at the 1976 Judgment of Paris. Fifty years later, it remains Napa's most distinctive and celebrated sub-appellation.
Paso Robles Wine — California's Most Exciting and Underrated Region
Paso Robles has spent decades in Napa's shadow. That era is over. Here is why California's Central Coast is producing some of the most compelling and diverse wines in the country.
Sonoma vs Napa Valley: Which Wine Region Is Right for You?
Two legendary California wine regions, one big question. Here is how Sonoma and Napa Valley differ in style, price, and personality — and how to choose.
Colorado
The West Elks AVA — Colorado's Hidden Wine Country in the North Fork Valley
Tucked between the West Elk Mountains and the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, the North Fork Valley is one of the most beautiful and least-known wine regions in the United States. The West Elks AVA — Colorado's second federally recognized wine appellation — produces wines of striking character from a handful of small family estates working at elevations above 5,000 feet, where the combination of volcanic soils, intense sunshine, and cool mountain nights creates growing conditions unlike anything else in American wine.
The Grand Valley AVA — Colorado's High-Desert Wine Country Above the Colorado River
Carved by the Colorado River between the Book Cliffs and the Grand Mesa, the Grand Valley is one of the most dramatically situated wine regions in the United States. At 4,600 feet above sea level, with 300 days of sunshine, thin desert soils, and temperature swings of forty degrees between day and night, the Grand Valley AVA produces wines of genuine intensity and character — Bordeaux varieties, Rhône grapes, and a handful of Italian varieties that have found an unlikely home in the high desert of western Colorado.
Colorado Wine Beyond the AVAs — Front Range Urban Wineries, Cold-Hardy Pioneers, and the State's Hidden Wine Country
Colorado's two federally recognized appellations — the Grand Valley and the West Elks — are the foundation of the state's wine identity, but they are far from the whole story. From the urban winery movement that has transformed Denver and Boulder into genuine wine destinations, to the cold-hardy hybrid pioneers farming the Eastern Plains, to the small estate producers working the Arkansas River Valley, the San Luis Valley, and the Four Corners country, Colorado wine is more diverse and more interesting than its AVA boundaries suggest. This is the guide to the wine country that exists between and beyond the appellations.
Connecticut
Rhode Island Wine Country: A Guide to the Grapes, Wines and Wineries of the Ocean State
Rhode Island may be America's smallest state, but don't let its size fool you. The Ocean State has something many larger emerging wine regions would love to have: a genuine maritime wine climate. Surrounded by Narragansett Bay and the Atlantic Ocean, Rhode Island combines coastal breezes, moderating water temperatures and a relatively long, cool growing season with historic New England farmland.
Connecticut Wine Beyond the AVAs — The Wineries, Grapes, and Hidden Gems Outside the Formal Appellations
Connecticut has three formally recognized American Viticultural Areas — the Southeastern New England AVA, the Western Connecticut Highlands AVA, and the Eastern Connecticut Highlands AVA. But some of the state's most interesting and most visitor-friendly wineries operate entirely outside those boundaries, in the Connecticut River Valley towns, the New Haven shoreline, the Fairfield County suburbs, and the small cities of the Hartford metro. This is a guide to the wineries, grapes, and wine experiences that fall between the formal appellations — the Connecticut wine country that the AVA maps don't show.
Eastern Connecticut Highlands AVA — The Quiet Corner's Wine Country, Where Ancient Uplands Meet Cold-Hardy Viticulture
The Eastern Connecticut Highlands AVA is Connecticut's least-known and most authentically rural wine region — a landscape of glacially sculpted hills, hardwood forests, and the stone-walled farmland of the Quiet Corner that has been quietly producing wine for decades. This is a guide to the AVA's grapes, wines, and wineries, and to the specific character of the cold-hardy viticulture that has made the Eastern Connecticut Highlands one of the most distinctive and most rewarding wine destinations in New England.
Western Connecticut Highlands AVA — Stone Walls, Glacial Soils, and the Cold-Hardy Wine Country of the Litchfield Hills
The Western Connecticut Highlands AVA is the most geographically dramatic and most climatically challenging wine region in Connecticut — a landscape of ancient metamorphic ridges, glacially sculpted valleys, and the stone-walled farmland of the Litchfield Hills that has been producing wine since the earliest days of the modern New England wine revival. This is a guide to the AVA's grapes, wines, and wineries, and to the specific character of the cold-hardy viticulture that has made the Western Connecticut Highlands one of the most distinctive wine regions in the northeastern United States.
Connecticut Wine Country — Southeastern New England AVA, Litchfield Hills, and the Quiet Rise of New England's Most Surprising Wine State
Connecticut is not the first state most wine drinkers think of when they imagine American wine country. But tucked into the river valleys, glacially sculpted hills, and coastal lowlands of the Constitution State, a wine industry has been quietly building for decades — one shaped by the Southeastern New England AVA, the cold-hardy hybrid varieties that have transformed viticulture across the northeastern United States, and a growing community of growers and winemakers who have committed to making wine that reflects the specific character of the New England landscape.
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Helen & the Blue Ridge: Georgia's Mountain Wine Frontier
Beyond the Bavarian storefronts of Helen and the well-worn wine trail of the Dahlonega Plateau, a quieter and wilder wine country stretches across the Blue Ridge ridgelines of northeast Georgia. From the Chattahoochee headwaters in Rabun County to the high meadows of Towns and Union counties, this is Georgia wine at its most adventurous — small family estates, extreme elevations, and grapes grown in some of the most dramatic mountain terrain in the eastern United States.
Helen & Sautee Nacoochee — North Georgia's Most Scenic Wine Country
Tucked into the Chattahoochee River valley between the Blue Ridge ridgelines of White County, the Helen and Sautee Nacoochee corridor is one of the most visually stunning wine destinations in the American South. The alpine-themed village of Helen draws millions of visitors a year — but the vineyards and wineries scattered through the surrounding valleys and mountain hollows are a quieter, more rewarding discovery.
Dahlonega & North Georgia Wine Country — The South's Most Exciting Wine Region
Perched in the Blue Ridge Mountains of north Georgia, Dahlonega is one of the most surprising wine destinations in the American South. The town that sparked America's first gold rush in 1828 is now the heart of a thriving wine region — the Dahlonega Plateau AVA — where granite-rich mountain soils, cool elevations, and a passionate community of growers are producing wines that are turning heads well beyond Georgia's borders.
Hawaii
Idaho
The Snake River Valley AVA — Idaho's High-Desert Wine Country Between the Rockies and the Oregon Border
Stretching across the high-desert floor of southwestern Idaho and a sliver of eastern Oregon, the Snake River Valley AVA is one of the most compelling and least-understood wine regions in the American West. At elevations between 2,000 and 4,000 feet, with volcanic basalt soils, 200 days of sunshine, and the dramatic diurnal temperature swings of a continental high-desert climate, the Snake River Valley produces wines of genuine intensity and character — Riesling and Chardonnay of striking precision, Cabernet Franc and Syrah of real depth, and a growing portfolio of varieties that are redefining what Idaho wine can be.
The Lewis-Clark Valley AVA — Idaho's River Canyon Wine Country at the Confluence of Two Great Rivers
Where the Clearwater River meets the Snake River at the Idaho-Washington border, a wine region unlike anything else in the Pacific Northwest has quietly taken shape. The Lewis-Clark Valley AVA — named for the Corps of Discovery expedition that camped at this confluence in 1805 — is a river canyon wine country of dramatic topography, ancient basalt soils, and a surprisingly warm growing climate sheltered deep within the walls of the Snake River canyon system. It is one of the most geographically distinctive and least-known wine appellations in the United States, and the producers who have committed to it are making wines of genuine character that deserve a national audience.
Illinois
Upper Mississippi River Valley AVA — Illinois Wine on the Great River
The Upper Mississippi River Valley AVA is one of the largest and most geographically ambitious wine appellations in the United States, stretching across four states along the bluffs and river terraces of the upper Mississippi corridor. In Illinois, it tells a story of dramatic limestone palisades, cold-hardy hybrid varieties, and a small but serious community of producers making wines that reflect one of the most iconic landscapes in American geography.
Shawnee Hills AVA — Illinois Wine's Southern Secret
Tucked into the forested bluffs and sandstone hollows of far southern Illinois, the Shawnee Hills AVA is one of the most geologically dramatic and genuinely surprising wine regions in the American Midwest. Where most people expect corn and soybeans, they find ancient sandstone escarpments, deep river valleys, and a wine culture that has been quietly building for decades — producing Norton, Chambourcin, and Chardonel from terrain that looks more like the Ozarks than the Illinois prairie.
Illinois Wine Beyond the AVAs — The Whole State in a Glass
Illinois has two federally recognized wine appellations — the Shawnee Hills in the deep south and the Upper Mississippi River Valley along the northwestern bluffs — but the state's wine culture extends far beyond those boundaries. From the Illinois River valley to the Chicago suburbs, from the central prairie to the Quad Cities corridor, more than 100 licensed wineries are making wine in places most Americans would never think to look. This is the Illinois wine story that rarely gets told.
Indiana
Indiana Wine Beyond the AVAs — The Whole Hoosier State in a Glass
Indiana has two federally recognized wine regions — the Ohio River Valley AVA and the Indiana Uplands AVA — but some of the state's most interesting wineries, grapes, and wine experiences exist entirely outside those boundaries. From the glacial plains of the north to the cornbelt heartland of the center, Indiana wine is bigger, more diverse, and more surprising than its AVA map suggests.
Indiana Uplands AVA — The Limestone Hills Wine Region You Need to Know
Carved from the karst hills of south-central Indiana, the Indiana Uplands AVA is the state's most distinctive wine region. Limestone bedrock, dramatic elevation changes, and a continental climate with a warm-season twist are producing wines that surprise even seasoned American wine drinkers. Here is your complete guide.
Indiana Wine and the Ohio River Valley AVA — The Hoosier State's Quiet Wine Revolution
Indiana is not the first state that comes to mind when American wine drinkers think about great bottles. That is their loss. The Hoosier State has a wine history stretching back to the 1800s, a growing roster of serious producers, and a stretch of the Ohio River Valley AVA that produces wines worth seeking out. Here is everything you need to know.
Iowa
Central Iowa & the Des Moines Metro Wine Scene — Where Prairie Roots Meet Urban Ambition
Central Iowa and the Des Moines metro are not the first places most wine drinkers think of when they think of American wine country. They should. A growing cluster of wineries, urban tasting rooms, and farm-based producers is building something genuinely interesting in the heart of the state — rooted in cold-hardy varieties, shaped by the deep prairie soils of the Des Moines lobe, and driven by a wine culture that is more sophisticated than the flyover-country reputation suggests.
Iowa River Corridor & Cedar Valley Wine Country — A Guide to East-Central Iowa's Emerging Wine Scene
Beyond the Amana Colonies, the Iowa River Corridor and Cedar Valley region is quietly developing one of the most interesting wine cultures in the upper Midwest. From Waterloo and Cedar Falls south through Iowa City and the university towns, a new generation of producers is making cold-hardy wines worth knowing.
The Iowa Amana Wine Trail — East-Central Iowa's Hidden Wine Country
Tucked into the rolling hills of east-central Iowa, the Amana Colonies have been making wine for more than 170 years. The Iowa Amana Wine Trail is one of the Midwest's most distinctive wine destinations — rooted in German heritage, shaped by cold-hardy grape varieties, and producing wines that are genuinely worth seeking out.
Loess Hills District AVA — Wine on the Edge of the Great Plains
Straddling the Missouri River border between Iowa and Nebraska, the Loess Hills District AVA is one of the most geologically distinctive wine regions in the United States. Built on ancient wind-deposited silt that forms some of the most dramatic bluff topography in the American Midwest, this young but ambitious AVA is proving that serious wine can be made in places most Americans would never think to look.
Kansas
Kentucky
The Kentucky Wine Trail — Grapes, Wines, and Wineries Worth Knowing
The Kentucky Wine Trail connects more than 40 producers across the Bluegrass State, from the limestone-rich soils of central Kentucky to the Ohio River corridor in the north. Here is what to drink, where to go, and what makes this trail worth your time.
Ohio River Valley AVA — America's Oldest and Largest Wine Region
The Ohio River Valley AVA is the largest federally recognized wine appellation in the United States and one of the oldest wine-producing regions in American history. Stretching across parts of Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, and West Virginia, it is a region that shaped American wine before California existed as a wine state — and it is quietly making a case for itself again.
Kentucky Wine — Bourbon Country's Best-Kept Secret
Everyone knows Kentucky for bourbon. Far fewer know it for wine. That is a mistake worth correcting. The Bluegrass State has a wine history stretching back nearly two centuries, a growing roster of serious producers, and a terroir that rewards the grapes willing to work for it.
Louisiana
Maine
Maryland
Maryland Wine Beyond the AVAs — The Eastern Shore, Southern Maryland, and the Wineries in Between
Maryland has three federally designated wine appellations — Catoctin, Linganore, and the Maryland portion of the Cumberland Valley — but some of the state's most interesting and most visited wineries sit entirely outside those boundaries. From the tobacco-country estates of Southern Maryland to the watermen's landscape of the Eastern Shore, from the suburban-edge producers of the Baltimore-Washington corridor to the small-batch operations scattered across the state's remaining counties, Maryland wine is a bigger and more varied story than its AVA map suggests.
Catoctin AVA — Maryland's Mountain Wine Country
The Catoctin AVA sits in the foothills of the Blue Ridge in western Maryland, where the same mountain chain that runs through Virginia's wine country crosses the Potomac and continues north through Frederick County. It is a small, quiet appellation — fewer than a dozen wineries, no national profile to speak of — but it produces wines with a genuine sense of place, shaped by elevation, well-drained mountain soils, and a continental climate that rewards the varieties willing to work for it.
Linganore AVA — Maryland's Piedmont Wine Country
The Linganore AVA sits in the rolling Piedmont of central Maryland, east of Frederick and west of the suburban sprawl of the Baltimore-Washington corridor. It is warmer and lower than the Catoctin AVA to its west, with a gentler topography and a climate that opens the door to a broader range of varieties. It is also, quietly, home to some of the most interesting and diverse winemaking in the state — a region where hybrid varieties are taken seriously, where fruit wines have built a loyal following, and where a new generation of producers is pushing the boundaries of what Maryland wine can be.
Cumberland Valley AVA — Maryland's Western Frontier Wine Country
The Cumberland Valley AVA stretches across the Appalachian ridge-and-valley landscape of western Maryland and south-central Pennsylvania, but it is the Maryland portion — tucked into Washington and Allegany counties between the Blue Ridge and Allegheny Front — that tells the most compelling story. This is wine country at the edge of what is possible in the mid-Atlantic: high elevation, short growing seasons, and a continental climate that demands cold-hardy varieties and rewards producers willing to work with the land rather than against it.
Massachusetts
Michigan
Michigan Wine Beyond the AVAs — The Whole State in a Glass
Michigan has five federally recognized wine appellations, and they tell a compelling story. But the state's wine culture extends well beyond those boundaries — into the Upper Peninsula, the Grand Rapids corridor, the Thumb, and the rural interior of the Lower Peninsula, where more than 200 licensed wineries are making wine in places most people would never think to look. This is the Michigan wine story that rarely gets told.
Fennville AVA — Michigan's Quiet Overachiever on the Lake Michigan Shore
Fennville is one of Michigan's smallest and least-known wine appellations. It is also one of its most interesting. Tucked into the southwestern corner of the state, this compact AVA produces Riesling, Chardonnay, and Pinot Noir with a character that is distinctly its own — shaped by the warmth of Lake Michigan and soils that have been growing fruit for over a century.
Leelanau Peninsula AVA — The Heart of Michigan Pinot Noir
The Leelanau Peninsula juts northward into Lake Michigan west of Traverse City, surrounded on three sides by water and shaped by one of the most dramatic lake-effect climates in American wine country. It is the home of Michigan's most serious Pinot Noir, some of its finest Riesling, and a wine culture that is quietly, confidently building a case for itself on the national stage.
Old Mission Peninsula AVA — Michigan's Most Precisely Situated Wine Region
The Old Mission Peninsula is an 18-mile finger of land that extends northward into Grand Traverse Bay with water on both sides and vineyards running nearly to the shore. It sits almost exactly on the 45th parallel — the same latitude as Bordeaux and Burgundy — and the lake effect it receives from two directions creates one of the most precisely calibrated growing climates in American wine country. This is where Michigan Riesling was born, and where it still reaches its highest expression.
Lake Michigan Shore AVA — Michigan's Oldest and Most Diverse Wine Region
The Lake Michigan Shore AVA stretches 70 miles along the eastern edge of the lake through southwestern Michigan, and it has been growing wine grapes longer than any other part of the state. Warmer than the northern peninsulas, more varied in soil and terrain, and home to a wine trail that runs from the Indiana border to the resort towns of Saugatuck and South Haven, this is Michigan wine country at its most accessible — and its most underestimated.
Tip of the Mitt AVA — Michigan's Most Unlikely Wine Region
At the very top of Michigan's Lower Peninsula, where the land narrows to a point above the Straits of Mackinac, sits one of the most improbable wine appellations in America. The Tip of the Mitt AVA is cold, remote, and surrounded by water on three sides. It is also producing wines — particularly Riesling and cold-hardy hybrids — that are unlike anything else made in the state. This is frontier wine country in the truest sense of the phrase.
Michigan Wine — The Great Lakes State's Surprising Wine Country
Michigan is one of America's most underrated wine states. Surrounded by the moderating influence of four Great Lakes, its vineyards produce world-class Riesling, Pinot Noir, and Cabernet Franc that most wine drinkers have never heard of. That is about to change.
Minnesota
Minnesota Wine Beyond the AVAs — The Full Story of the North Star State's Wine Country
Minnesota has two federally recognized wine regions — the Alexandria Lakes AVA and the Minnesota reach of the Upper Mississippi River Valley AVA — but the state's wine story extends well beyond those boundaries. From the lake country of the north to the prairie farmland of the south and west, Minnesota wineries are making cold-hardy wines in places that carry no AVA designation at all, and the best of them are every bit as interesting as anything produced inside the official appellations.
Upper Mississippi River Valley AVA — Minnesota's River Bluff Wine Country
The Upper Mississippi River Valley AVA stretches across four states, but its Minnesota reach — running along the dramatic bluffs and river terraces of the southeastern corner of the state — tells a story that is entirely its own. Here, where the Mississippi carves through ancient limestone and the Driftless landscape rises in steep, forested ridges above the water, a small and determined community of growers and winemakers is producing cold-hardy wines with a genuine sense of place.
Alexandria Lakes AVA — Minnesota's Cold-Hardy Wine Country
Carved from the glacial lake country of west-central Minnesota, the Alexandria Lakes AVA is one of the most unlikely wine regions in the United States — and one of the most fascinating. Here, where winters regularly plunge to minus twenty and the growing season lasts barely five months, a determined community of growers and winemakers is producing wines from cold-hardy hybrid grapes that are genuinely worth your attention.
Mississippi
Missouri
Kansas Wine Country: A Guide to the Grapes, Wines and Wineries of the Sunflower State
Long before California became synonymous with American wine, vineyards were flourishing across portions of Kansas. By 1900 the state had more than 5,000 acres of vines. Prohibition nearly erased that culture. Today, Kansas wine is experiencing a quiet revival built on Chambourcin, Norton, Vignoles and other varieties capable of handling hot summers, freezing winters and the unpredictable weather of the Great Plains.
Ozark Mountain AVA — Missouri's Wild Heart of American Wine
Stretching across the rugged highlands of southern Missouri, northern Arkansas, and a sliver of Oklahoma, the Ozark Mountain AVA is one of the largest and most geographically dramatic wine regions in the United States. It is also one of the least understood. Here is the full story of the grapes, the wineries, and the ancient landscape that makes Ozark Mountain wine unlike anything else in American viticulture.
Augusta AVA — America's First Federally Recognized Wine Region
Before Napa Valley. Before the Finger Lakes. Before any of the wine regions Americans talk about today, there was Augusta, Missouri. Designated in 1980 as the very first American Viticultural Area in the United States, the Augusta AVA sits in the Missouri River valley west of St. Louis and produces wines that carry the weight of American wine history in every bottle.
Loess Hills District AVA — Wine on the Edge of the Great Plains
Straddling the Missouri River border between Iowa and Nebraska, the Loess Hills District AVA is one of the most geologically distinctive wine regions in the United States. Built on ancient wind-deposited silt that forms some of the most dramatic bluff topography in the American Midwest, this young but ambitious AVA is proving that serious wine can be made in places most Americans would never think to look.
Missouri Wine Beyond the AVAs — The Whole State in a Glass
Augusta, Hermann, and the Ozark Mountain AVA get most of the attention when people talk about Missouri wine. But the Show-Me State's wine culture stretches far beyond those three federally recognized appellations — from the bluffs of the Missouri River valley to the rolling prairies of the central corridor, from the Ozark foothills of the south to the urban tasting rooms of St. Louis and Kansas City. This is the Missouri wine story that doesn't always make the headlines.
Hermann AVA — The German Heart of Missouri Wine Country
Tucked into the bluffs above the Gasconade and Missouri Rivers, the town of Hermann is the most storied wine destination in the American heartland. Founded by German immigrants who planted vines on hillsides that reminded them of the Rhine, Hermann produced wine on a scale that rivaled the great wine regions of the world before Prohibition silenced it. Today it is back — and making some of the most compelling American wine you have never heard of.
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Jersey Winery List by Region
A comprehensive directory of all licensed wineries in New Jersey, organized by AVA and county. Whether you are planning a tasting trail or just want to know what the Garden State has to offer, this is your starting point.
New Jersey Wine — The Garden State's Surprising Wine Country
New Jersey is one of America's oldest wine-producing states, and its modern winemakers are finally getting the recognition they deserve. Here is everything you need to know about Garden State wine.
New Mexico
New Mexico Wine Country: A Guide to the Grapes, Wines and Wineries of the Land of Enchantment
New Mexico's winemaking tradition reaches back nearly 400 years, making it one of the oldest wine-producing regions in what is now the United States. Today it combines that remarkable history with a modern industry producing everything from traditional-method sparkling wine and high-elevation Riesling to Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Tempranillo, Sangiovese and unusual Italian varieties.
Mesilla Valley AVA: Where the Rio Grande Meets the Vine
Straddling the Texas–New Mexico border along the Rio Grande, the Mesilla Valley AVA is one of America's oldest and most overlooked wine regions — a high-desert corridor where ancient soils, blazing sun, and cool desert nights produce wines of genuine character and surprising elegance.
New York
Vermont Wine Country: A Guide to the Grapes, Wines and Wineries of the Green Mountain State
Vermont wine is built on cold-climate conviction. Winters are long and hard, the growing season is short, and frost can arrive at either end. But growers have embraced cold-hardy varieties — Marquette, La Crescent, Frontenac, Louise Swenson — and discovered that the Green Mountain State's hillside vineyards, apple orchards and wild fruits can produce wines with genuine character. Add the Lake Champlain Valley AVA, one of New England's only federally recognized wine appellations, and Vermont has more to offer serious wine explorers than most people expect.
New York Wine Beyond the Famous AVAs — Niagara Escarpment, Catskills, Brooklyn, and the Regions You Haven't Discovered Yet
New York is the third-largest wine-producing state in the country, with more than 400 wineries spread across a geography that stretches from the Great Lakes in the west to the Atlantic Ocean in the east. The Finger Lakes, Long Island, and the Hudson River Region get most of the attention — and deserve it — but the New York wine story extends well beyond those three appellations. The Niagara Escarpment, the Lake Ontario shore, the Catskill Mountains, the Capital Region, the Thousand Islands, and the urban winery scene of New York City are all producing wines that reward exploration.
Upper Hudson AVA: The Quiet Northern Reach of New York's Most Historic Wine Valley
The Upper Hudson AVA sits at the northern end of the Hudson Valley wine corridor, where the river narrows, the Adirondack foothills press closer, and the growing season gets just a little shorter and a little more demanding. It is a region that rewards patience — both the growers who tend its vineyards and the wine drinkers willing to seek out what it produces.
Champlain Valley AVA: New York's Northernmost Wine Frontier
Tucked along the western shore of Lake Champlain in the far northeastern corner of New York State, the Champlain Valley AVA is one of the most geographically dramatic and climatically challenging wine regions in America. The wines it produces — cold-hardy reds, crisp whites, and some of the most food-friendly hybrids grown anywhere in the Northeast — are a revelation for anyone willing to seek them out.
Hudson River AVA: America's Oldest Wine Region and New York's Best-Kept Secret
The Hudson River AVA is the oldest continuously operated wine-producing region in the United States, with a viticultural history stretching back nearly four centuries. Today, its hillside vineyards, ancient Brotherhood winery cellars, and a new generation of serious producers are making some of the most compelling and distinctive wines in the Northeast.
Long Island Wine: Grapes, Wines, and Wineries of New York's East End
Long Island is one of America's most underrated wine regions. Discover the grapes, wines, and top wineries of the North Fork and Hamptons, and why this coastal AVA deserves a place on every serious American wine list.
Finger Lakes Wine Country: A Guide to the Grapes, Wines and Wineries of New York's Premier Wine Region
With dramatic glacial lakes, rolling vineyards and a cool climate perfectly suited to Riesling, Cabernet Franc, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, the Finger Lakes has developed into one of America's most distinctive wine destinations.
North Carolina
Lake Murray Country & the South Carolina Midlands — A Wine Lover's Guide to the Heart of the Palmetto State
Stretched across the red clay hills and longleaf pine savannas between Columbia and the fall line, the South Carolina Midlands is wine country that most Americans have never considered. Lake Murray — the vast reservoir at the heart of the region — anchors a growing community of wineries working with Muscadine, heat-tolerant hybrids, and an ambitious handful of vinifera varieties. This is Southern wine on its own terms: honest, rooted in the land, and more interesting than its modest reputation suggests.
Appalachian High Country Wine Guide
Explore the mountain history, wineries, and distinctive cool-climate wines of North Carolina’s Appalachian High Country.
Muscadine Grapes and the Deep Roots of North Carolina Wine
Long before Napa Valley existed, muscadine grapes were making wine in the American South. North Carolina's winemaking story begins not with European vinifera, but with a wild native grape that has been growing here for five centuries.
North Dakota
South Dakota Wine Country: A Guide to the Grapes, Wines and Wineries of the Mount Rushmore State
South Dakota has developed a small but fascinating wine culture built around cold-hardy grapes capable of thriving where traditional European varieties cannot. From Marquette and Frontenac to Flathead cherry wines and rhubarb that became a regional icon, Big Sky Country's neighbor offers a wine experience that is distinctly its own.
North Dakota Wine Country — Cold-Hardy Grapes, Prairie Wineries, and the Unlikely Rise of America's Northern Frontier Wine Industry
North Dakota sits at the northern edge of what most Americans would consider possible wine country — a state defined by brutal winters, vast open prairies, and a growing season so short and so cold that the classic European wine grapes cannot survive it. And yet, wine is being made here. Real wine, from real grapes, grown in the ground, fermented with care, and poured in tasting rooms from Bismarck to the Red River Valley. The story of North Dakota wine is the story of cold-hardy viticulture — of University of Minnesota breeding programs, of hybrid grapes engineered to survive -30°F winters, and of a small but passionate community of growers and winemakers who have decided that the northern prairie is wine country after all.
Ohio
Ohio's Lake Erie Wine Country — The Great Lake That Made Ohio a Wine State
Before the Ohio River Valley became famous for Catawba, before Nicholas Longworth planted his first vines above Cincinnati, there was Lake Erie. The great lake's thermal mass has been moderating temperatures along Ohio's northern shore for as long as people have been growing grapes here — and today the Lake Erie wine region is the most productive and most visited wine country in the state. Here is everything you need to know.
Ohio Wine and the Ohio River Valley AVA — Where American Wine Was Born
Ohio was once the wine capital of America. Long before Napa Valley existed as a wine destination, the hillsides above the Ohio River near Cincinnati were producing sparkling Catawba that was shipped across the country and celebrated in verse by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. That legacy faded, but it never fully disappeared — and today, Ohio's wine industry is in the middle of a serious, sustained revival that deserves national attention.
Isle St. George AVA — Ohio's Island Appellation and the Birthplace of American Island Wine
Sitting in the middle of Lake Erie, surrounded on all sides by water, North Bass Island is one of the most unusual wine-growing sites in America. The Isle St. George AVA was one of the first federally recognized wine appellations in the United States, established in 1982 before most Americans had ever heard the term AVA. The island's extreme lake influence, ancient limestone bedrock, and unbroken winemaking heritage stretching back to the 1850s make it one of the most historically significant and terroir-driven wine appellations east of the Rockies.
Lake Erie AVA Wines and Labor Day Winery Visits
The Lake Erie AVA is the largest American Viticultural Area east of the Rocky Mountains, spanning 2.24 million acres along the southern shore of Lake Erie across New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio
Oklahoma
Oregon
Oregon Wine Regions — Beyond the Willamette Valley
Everyone knows Willamette Valley Pinot Noir. But Oregon wine is far bigger than one grape and one valley. From the Rogue Valley to the Columbia Gorge, here's the full picture.
Willamette Valley Pinot Noir — The Complete Guide to Oregon's Greatest Wine
Oregon's Willamette Valley has quietly become one of the world's great Pinot Noir regions. Here is everything you need to know — the AVAs, the producers, and what makes it so compelling.
Oregon Pinot Noir: America's Answer to Burgundy
The Willamette Valley has quietly become one of the world's great Pinot Noir regions. Here is what makes Oregon Pinot so special — and where to start.
Pennsylvania
Cumberland Valley AVA — Pennsylvania's South-Central Wine Country
The Pennsylvania portion of the Cumberland Valley AVA stretches across Franklin and Adams counties in the south-central part of the state — a broad, fertile valley floor flanked by Blue Mountain to the north and the Mason-Dixon Line to the south. It is apple country, peach country, and increasingly wine country, where limestone soils, a sheltered continental climate, and a growing community of serious producers are making a compelling case for the valley as one of Pennsylvania's most distinctive wine regions.
Bucks County Wine Trail: Revolutionary History, Rolling Hills, and Serious Wine
Along the Delaware River corridor north of Philadelphia, Bucks County has been producing wine in the shadow of Revolutionary War history for decades. The Bucks County Wine Trail winds through covered bridge country and canal towpaths, connecting family wineries producing Cabernet Franc, Chambourcin, Vidal Blanc, and some of the most distinctive wines in southeastern Pennsylvania.
Brandywine Valley Wine Trail: Where Pennsylvania Wine Meets American History
In the rolling hills of Chester and Delaware counties, just south of Philadelphia, the Brandywine Valley Wine Trail winds through some of the most storied countryside in America. Wyeth paintings, Revolutionary War battlefields, and du Pont estates share the landscape with family-owned wineries producing Cabernet Franc, Chambourcin, Vidal Blanc, and some of the most food-friendly wines in southeastern Pennsylvania.
Berks County Wine Trail: Pennsylvania Wine Country in Your Own Backyard
An hour west of Philadelphia, Berks County's rolling limestone hills and rich agricultural heritage have quietly produced one of Pennsylvania's most rewarding wine trails. From Cabernet Franc and Chambourcin to Vidal Blanc and Traminette, here is everything you need to know about wine country in the heart of southeastern Pennsylvania.
Hershey-Harrisburg Wine Country: Pennsylvania's Best-Kept Wine Secret
Between the state capital and the sweetest place on earth, a quiet wine country has been taking shape for decades. The Hershey-Harrisburg region of central Pennsylvania is home to a growing cluster of family wineries producing Cabernet Franc, Chambourcin, Vidal Blanc, and some of the most food-friendly wines in the state.
Lake Erie Wine Country: Pennsylvania's Most Productive Wine Region
Stretching along the southern shore of Lake Erie in northwestern Pennsylvania, the Lake Erie wine region is the state's oldest and most prolific wine-growing area — a place where the Great Lake's moderating influence makes world-class Riesling, Concord, and a growing roster of vinifera varieties possible.
Pennsylvania Wine — A Serious Wine State You Should Know
From the rolling hills of Lancaster County to the shores of Lake Erie, Pennsylvania produces far more interesting wine than most people realize. Here is your complete guide.
Lake Erie AVA Wines and Labor Day Winery Visits
The Lake Erie AVA is the largest American Viticultural Area east of the Rocky Mountains, spanning 2.24 million acres along the southern shore of Lake Erie across New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio
Rhode Island
South Carolina
Lake Murray Country & the South Carolina Midlands — A Wine Lover's Guide to the Heart of the Palmetto State
Stretched across the red clay hills and longleaf pine savannas between Columbia and the fall line, the South Carolina Midlands is wine country that most Americans have never considered. Lake Murray — the vast reservoir at the heart of the region — anchors a growing community of wineries working with Muscadine, heat-tolerant hybrids, and an ambitious handful of vinifera varieties. This is Southern wine on its own terms: honest, rooted in the land, and more interesting than its modest reputation suggests.
South Carolina's Upstate & Midlands Wine Country — From the Blue Ridge Foothills to the Fall Line
Between the granite peaks of the Blue Ridge and the sandy soils of the coastal plain lies a stretch of South Carolina that most wine lovers have never considered. The Upstate and Midlands regions — anchored by Greenville, Spartanburg, and Columbia — are home to a growing community of wineries working with a surprisingly diverse range of grapes and soils. This is South Carolina wine at its most ambitious: producers pushing vinifera varieties into the foothills, reviving the native Muscadine tradition on the Piedmont, and building a wine culture that is as rooted in the character of the land as any in the American South.
South Carolina's Lowcountry & Coastal Wine Country — Where the Tides Meet the Vine
Spanish moss drapes the live oaks, tidal creeks wind through cordgrass marshes, and the air carries the salt and iodine of the Atlantic. This is the South Carolina Lowcountry — one of the most distinctive landscapes in the United States, and the unlikely home of a wine culture that is as rooted in the character of its place as any in the American South. From the sea island vineyards of Wadmalaw Island to the urban wine bars of Charleston's French Quarter, the Lowcountry is writing its own chapter in the story of American wine.
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Fredericksburg, Texas: The Heart and Soul of Texas Wine Country
Nestled in the limestone hills of the Texas Hill Country, Fredericksburg is the undisputed capital of Texas wine tourism — a charming German-heritage town surrounded by more than 50 wineries, where Tempranillo, Viognier, and Mourvèdre thrive in thin soils and blazing sun, and where the Texas wine story is told most completely.
Bell Mountain AVA: The Birthplace of Texas Wine Country
Tucked into the granite hills of the Texas Hill Country north of Fredericksburg, the Bell Mountain AVA holds a distinction that most wine drinkers do not know about — it was the first single-estate AVA ever established in the United States. The wines it produces are as distinctive as its history.
Davis Mountains: West Texas Wine at the Top of the World
Rising dramatically from the Chihuahuan Desert floor, the Davis Mountains of far West Texas are home to one of the most exciting and least-known wine frontiers in America — where volcanic soils, mile-high altitude, and a handful of visionary producers are crafting wines of remarkable elegance and intensity.
Escondido Valley AVA: West Texas Wine in the Shadow of the Pecos
Deep in the Chihuahuan Desert between Fort Stockton and the Pecos River, the Escondido Valley AVA is one of the most remote and least-known wine regions in America — and one of the most quietly compelling. High altitude, extreme aridity, and a handful of stubborn believers are making something worth the detour.
Mesilla Valley AVA: Where the Rio Grande Meets the Vine
Straddling the Texas–New Mexico border along the Rio Grande, the Mesilla Valley AVA is one of America's oldest and most overlooked wine regions — a high-desert corridor where ancient soils, blazing sun, and cool desert nights produce wines of genuine character and surprising elegance.
Texoma AVA: North Texas Wine Country on the Rise
Straddling the Red River along the Oklahoma border, the Texoma AVA is one of Texas's most underrated wine regions — a place where French-American hybrids, heat-tolerant reds, and a handful of dedicated producers are quietly building something worth paying attention to.
Texas High Plains AVA: The Surprising Heart of Texas Wine
High altitude, intense sun, and sandy soils make the Texas High Plains one of America's most distinctive wine regions — and most drinkers have never heard of it.
Texas Hill Country Wine — The Lone Star State's Surprising Wine Region
Texas is now the fifth-largest wine-producing state in America, and the Hill Country is leading the charge. Here is what makes this region worth your attention.
Utah
Vermont
Virginia
West Virginia Wine — The Mountain State's Hidden Corner of the Ohio River Valley AVA
West Virginia sits at the eastern edge of the Ohio River Valley AVA, the largest federally recognized wine appellation in the United States. It is one of the least-known wine states in the country — and one of the most quietly compelling. Here is what you need to know about West Virginia wine, the grapes that thrive here, and the wineries making it worth a detour.
East Tennessee Wine Country — Smoky Mountain Vineyards, Appalachian Terroir, and the Surprising Rise of Tennessee Wine
Tucked into the hollows and ridgelines of the Great Smoky Mountains and the Tennessee Valley, a wine industry has been quietly taking shape for decades. East Tennessee wine country is not what most visitors expect — it is not the rolling pastoral landscape of Virginia or the sun-baked high desert of Texas. It is mountain wine country, shaped by the ancient Appalachian geology, the mist-wrapped peaks of the Smokies, and a growing community of winemakers who have learned to work with the region's challenging climate to produce wines of genuine character. From the muscadine traditions of the lowland hollows to the cold-hardy hybrids of the mountain ridges, East Tennessee wine tells a story that is rooted in the land and in the culture of the southern Appalachians.
The Blue Ridge Wine Region: Virginia's Mountain Wine Backbone
Stretching 550 miles along Virginia's western spine, the Blue Ridge Mountains form the backbone of the state's wine identity — a chain of high-elevation vineyards, cool-climate terroir, and some of the most scenically dramatic wine country in America.
Heart of Appalachia AVA: Virginia's Most Unlikely Wine Country
In the rugged coalfield mountains of far southwest Virginia, the Heart of Appalachia AVA is rewriting what wine country looks like — high-elevation vineyards, cool-climate grapes, and a community using viticulture to reimagine its economic future.
Hampton Roads Virginia Peninsula AVA: Wine at the Edge of the Chesapeake
Where the James, York, and Elizabeth rivers empty into the Chesapeake Bay, Virginia's Hampton Roads AVA produces wines shaped by one of the most historically significant and geographically dramatic landscapes in America.
Virginia's Eastern Shore AVA: Wine Between Two Waters
Flanked by the Chesapeake Bay to the west and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Virginia's Eastern Shore AVA is one of America's most geographically dramatic wine regions — a narrow peninsula where maritime influence shapes every bottle.
Northern Neck George Washington Birthplace AVA: Virginia's Tidewater Wine Country
Surrounded by the Potomac and Rappahannock rivers on Virginia's coastal peninsula, the Northern Neck George Washington Birthplace AVA produces wines shaped by water, maritime breezes, and some of the oldest agricultural land in America.
Monticello AVA: The Heart of Virginia Wine Country
From Thomas Jefferson's visionary vineyards to a modern renaissance of world-class Cabernet Franc and Viognier, Virginia's Monticello AVA is the state's most celebrated and dynamic wine region.
North Fork of Roanoke AVA: Virginia's Quiet Achiever
Tucked into a narrow river valley in the Virginia Blue Ridge, the North Fork of Roanoke AVA is one of the state's smallest and least-visited appellations — and one of its most intriguing.
Rocky Knob AVA: Virginia's Hidden High-Altitude Gem
Perched high in the Blue Ridge Mountains along the Virginia–North Carolina border, Rocky Knob AVA is one of America's most distinctive — and least-known — wine appellations.
Shenandoah Valley AVA: Virginia's Mountain Wine Country
Nestled between the Blue Ridge and Allegheny Mountains, Virginia's Shenandoah Valley AVA produces some of the East Coast's most compelling wines — from crisp Viogniers to structured Cabernet Francs.
Virginia Wine — America's Most Historic and Underrated Wine State
Thomas Jefferson believed Virginia would one day produce the finest wines in America. Three centuries later, he is being proven right. Here is what you need to know.
Washington
Washington State Wine — America's Most Underrated Wine Region
Washington State is America's second-largest wine producer and home to some of the country's most exciting Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, and Riesling. Here's the complete guide to what makes it special.
Washington State Wine: The Best Bottles to Buy Right Now
Washington makes world-class Cabernet, Syrah, and Riesling at prices that make Napa look overpriced. Here are the specific bottles worth buying at every price point.
West Virginia
Wisconsin
Wisconsin Wine Beyond the AVAs — The Whole State in the Glass
Wisconsin has three federally recognized wine appellations — the Upper Mississippi River Valley AVA, the Lake Wisconsin AVA, and the Wisconsin Ledge AVA — but the state's wine story does not begin and end at their boundaries. From the Fox Valley to the Northwoods, from the shores of Lake Superior to the farmland of the central sand plain, Wisconsin wineries are growing cold-hardy grapes, sourcing fruit from across the region, and making wines that reflect the full breadth of what this state can produce. This is the Wisconsin wine that exists beyond the lines on the map.
Wisconsin Ledge AVA — Wine on the Niagara Escarpment
Running in a broad arc from the Door Peninsula south through Sheboygan, Ozaukee, and Milwaukee counties, the Wisconsin Ledge AVA follows one of the most geologically dramatic landforms in the upper Midwest — the Niagara Escarpment. Here, where ancient dolomite bedrock rises above the surrounding lowlands and Lake Michigan moderates the climate with a steadying hand, a growing community of wine producers is making cold-hardy wines with a mineral character and a sense of place that is entirely their own.
Lake Wisconsin AVA — The Quiet Wine Country at the Heart of the State
Tucked into the glacially sculpted terrain of south-central Wisconsin, the Lake Wisconsin AVA is one of the most compact and least-known federally recognized wine appellations in the United States. But small does not mean unimportant. Along the shores of the reservoir that gives the AVA its name and across the sandy, well-drained soils of the surrounding upland, a handful of dedicated producers are making wines that reflect the particular character of this corner of the state with quiet confidence.
Upper Mississippi River Valley AVA — Wisconsin Wine on the Great River
The Upper Mississippi River Valley AVA spans four states, but Wisconsin's share of this vast appellation is among its most visually dramatic and viticulturally distinctive. Along the bluffs and coulees of the Driftless Area, where the Mississippi carves through ancient limestone and the land rises in steep, forested ridges above the water, a small and serious community of Wisconsin growers and winemakers is producing cold-hardy wines with a genuine sense of place.
Wyoming
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