Connecticut Cuts into Wine Making

Filed in archive Wine Making on September 23, 2006

New England in general is not known for it's wine making. In fact, neither is Connecticut, but this is starting to change as more and more people jump on the wine making band wagon.

While Connecticut is definitely not the first place I think of when it comes to wine making or vineyards, I'm not really that surprised to hear that their wine industry is growing right now. Seems like they are just one area of many doing the same thing.

From Blaze a trail through state's wine country:

"Without question, Connecticut has the biggest wine industry in New England," said Nick Smith, owner of Stonington Vineyards in Stonington. "It's definitely growing, and this growth is part of the agriculture of the area."

And with wine prices ranging from about $7 a bottle into hundreds of dollars, there is something for everyone.

There are 16 wineries on the Connecticut Wine trail, a large tourist attraction in the state, and Smith said there are at least three other fairly new wineries.

"They are one of the bigger sources of tourism revenue in the state, with 450,000 to 500,000 visitors each year," he said. Stonington Vineyards alone had 45,000 visitors last year, he said.

Smith credits two factors for the rapid growth: climate and economy. "We have a great ability to grow here in this climate," he said. "And we are the highest per-capita income state in the country."

But Smith and other local vineyard owners say the industry is still young.

"It's still a very fledgling business," said Jonathan Edwards of Jonathan Edwards Winery in North Stonington. "I'm not really sure where we stand. We're small, but growing rapidly and that's exciting to me."