The Connecticut Farm Winery Development Council

Connecticut's Vineyard and Winery Association

CT Vineyards and Wineries

According to the National Association of Wineries (AKA Wine America) there are two associations that promote the wine industry in Connecticut. 

• The Connecticut Farm Winery Development Council (Colchester, CT)
• The Connecticut Vineyard & Winery Association (Farmington, CT)

In 1978, the American Vintners Association started and in 1991 it merged with the smaller organization called the National Vintners Association to create WineAmerica. In the early days the organization served members by sharing developments in the wine industry, provided members with affordable insurance and helped represent the wine industry in government relations. WineAmerica State Associations Council (SAC) has over 800 members in 48 states around the country. Both associations in Connecticut have memberships in the nationwide organization.
Today, SAC works with all member vineyards and wineries to help educate members with new developments in viticulture as well as  research and development. The national association also works with member vineyard and winery association members when legislation is being considered by states like Connecticut.
To view WineAmerica's By-Laws click here

For more information about the Vineyard and Wine Associations in Connecticut visit:

Connecticut Vineyard And Winery Association Inc
195 Farmington Ave. - Ste 200
Farmington, CT 06032-1700

contact: Jamie Jones

Phone: 860 677 5467 - Fax: 860 677 8418

Website: www.ctwine.com

Connecticut Farm Winery Development Council
The CT Farm Winery Development Council was instituted as part of a piece of legislation passed by the Connecticut State Legislature as follows:

Sec. 22-26c. Connecticut Farm Wine Development Council. (a) There shall be a Connecticut Farm Wine Development Council which shall be within the Department of Agriculture for administrative purposes only.

Said council shall consist of ten members as follows: The Commissioners of Agriculture and Economic and Community Development, the dean of the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources of The University of Connecticut and the directors of the Storrs Agricultural Experiment Station and the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, or their respective designees; and five members engaged in the wine production industry in this state, three of whom shall be involved in wine production and two of whom shall be viticulturists. The Commissioner of Agriculture shall appoint the members involved in the wine production industry.

(b) The term of one of the initial appointments from the wine production industry shall expire on the last day of July, 1988, the terms of two shall expire on the last day of July, 1989, and the terms of two shall expire on the last day of July, 1990. On or before the first day of July, 1987, and annually thereafter, the commissioner shall appoint members to succeed the members whose term expires. Said members shall serve a term of four years. The commissioner shall fill any vacancy by appointment for the unexpired portion of the term vacated.

(c) Members of the council shall not be compensated for their services but shall be reimbursed for necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties. No member shall serve for more than four consecutive terms. A majority of the council shall constitute a quorum.

(d) The Commissioner of Agriculture shall be the chairman of the council.

(e) The council may receive funds from any source and expend such funds as may be necessary to carry out its duties. The council may seek funding and provide financial support to organizations for activities concerned with wine production and related products.

To promote vineyards and wineries in the state the Connecticut Farm Wine Development Council created a passport program. When tourists and residents travel the Connecticut Wine Trail they can provide their passport to be stamped at each vineyards tasting rooms. By visiting sixteen vineyards before November, they can submit their passport into one of the wineries in early November to get the chance to win a prize.

Which Connecticut Vineyard wines are available in your local wine and liquor store. | Wine and Liquor Stores

Which Connecticut Vineyard wines are available in your local wine and liquor store?

Wine and liquor stores in Connecticut

Which Connecticut Vineyard wines are available in your local wine and liquor store? Well, of the over two dozen vineyards in Connecticut only a handful of Connecticut's vineyards produce enough wine to be sold at your local wine and liquor store. Most boutique wineries in Connecticut produce and sell their wine at their vineyard. But some wineries produce and sell their wine for local residents and tourists to purchase at wine and liquor stores in their immediate area.

Sharpe Hill Vineyard is Connecticut's largest winery and they are one of Connecticut Vineyards that produce wines that can be purchased at your local wine and liquor stores around the State of Connecticut. Sharpe Hill Vineyard is in Pomfret, CT and has the distinction of winning over 225 medals in wine competitions around the world. Sharpe Hill is a Connecticut vineyard that resides in Northeastern CT on over 100 acres. They produce 8 different wines that can be sampled at their restaurant and vineyard.

Another Connecticut vineyard that sells wine at restaurants, wine and liquor stores is the Stonington Vineyard found in Southeastern Connecticut. They produce "5,500 cases of wine annually, the vast majority of which are sold from the winery; the balance to high-end restaurants and fine wine shops throughout Connecticut." Source  

There is a new website that has gone mobile that lists all of the wine and liquor stores in Connecticut. To find one of Connecticut's 1200 plus wine stores in the state visit: http://ctwinetrail.vineyardswineandcheese.com/placecategory/ctwine/ Find out about the Sharpe Hill Vineyard, Stonington Vineyard and others by visiting the Connecticut Wine Trail on the Vineyards, Wine and Cheese website.

Where was the first Vineyard? | Vineyards and Wineries

Vineyards are supposed have been established to Europe by the Phocaeans. The earliest proof of wine production dates from between 6000 and 5000 BC. References by Homer and Vergil and also it is stated in the Bible corroborate that viticulture was common in the Mediterranean region in ancient times. Wine making expertise enhanced noticeably with the prehistoric Greeks but it was not until the end of the Roman Empire that crop growing method as we know them was widespread all the way through Europe.

The Romans also accepted the trailing plant to England, where its cultivation was enforced at irregular intervals in anticipation of the 19th century with negligible accomplishment. Large areas of Spain, Italy, France, the Rhineland, and Portugal finally demonstrated welcoming to V. vinifera, which also do well in North Africa, Greece, the Azores, and the Canary Islands.

In medieval Europe the Church was a hold back follower of wine, which was essential for the celebration of the Mass. In A.D. 81, one of the Emperors named Domitian, terror granule shortage, forced broadens of vineyards in Italy. During the long-lasting unsteadiness of the Middle Ages, the monasteries continued and developed viticulture applications, having the security, stability, resources and interest in improving the value of their vines.

Frequent attempts to transfer grapes to the New World began early in the 17th century but Tuscan vine farmers in German and Virginia - working for Thomas Jefferson refugees from the Rhineland to Pennsylvania unsuccessful. They have possession of and have a propensity the greatest winery in Europe and vinum theologium was considered better-quality to all others. Grape on the rising did not accomplish something in the early United States until the opening of marketable varieties the Concord in 1849-of phylloxera-resistant species and the Catawba in 1830 native to the E United States.

European vineyards were place in the ground with a wide diversity of the Vitis Vinifera grape. Nevertheless, in the late 19th century, the entire species was nearly destroyed by the plant louse phylloxera unintentionally established to Europe from North America. Native American grape vines include varieties such as Vitis labrusca, which is opposed to the bug. These varieties were accumulated by being grafted onto the rootstock of Native American varieties, although there is still no remedy for phylloxera, which residue a hazard to any wine producer not planted with inserted rootstock.

What is Vineyard? | Vineyards and Wineries

A vineyard is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. If you happen to live in any regions that produce wine, you are probably already familiar with the sight of fields of grapes, exclusively grown for the purpose of producing wine or sometimes wine vinegar. Acres of land can be devoted to the vineyard, and in certain parts of the world, the land is separated in sections where different types of grapes are grown. A vineyard could for instance have one part of the land designated for the growing of Chardonnay grapes, another to Pinot Noir, and a third to Zinfandel.

When it is time to harvest the grapes, which may have slightly different harvesting times, vineyard workers pick the sections separately, so as not to confuse which grapes will make certain types of wine.
Vineyard, land on which cultivation of the grape-known as viticulture-takes place. While the primary purpose of vineyards throughout history has been the production of grapes for wine, many vines, largely in the New World, are cultivated for eating grapes, grape juice, and dried grapes, or raisins.

The best wines result from warm, dry conditions. Two thirds of the grape vines in the United States grow in California, mostly in the San Francisco Bay area, supplying the bulk of the grapes for the expansion of the American wine industry since 1950. Washington and New York rank next among the 13 grape-growing states.

If you take place to subsist in any areas that manufactures wine, we have already well known with the variety of meadows of grapes.  Wide area of land can be dedicated to the vineyard, and also to the certain parts of the human race. The land is divided in segments where diverse types of grapes are developed. When it is time to gather the grapes, vineyard workers pick the sections independently, so as not to puzzle which grapes will make sure types of wine.

Except during the winter months, when grape vines are dormant, a vineyard is a place of extraordinary activity. An unseen aspect of the vineyard, if wine is made onsite, is the laboratory workers.

Not all vineyards today are making or selling wines. Current marketing trend of grapes are simply rising of wine grapes and then sold in volume to the superior wineries company. They have also the options to sell wine in-house and then offer there visitors the changes to taste their diverse varietals. In reality, even a bigger number of wineries that produce grapes on site may get some of their fruits from other countries or other companies in the regions. In some areas where they are nominated and well known as wine countries,  where they produced a lots of wine, some people love the beauty of vineyards especially in fall as the grape leaves turning to a variety of colors like orange, yellow and purple.