By Hillary Delaney
Boone County Public Library
First of an occasional series
Kentucky is the bourbon capital of the world, but few are aware that Kentucky has the distinction of being the birthplace of America’s wine industry.
In 1798, the Marquis de Lafayette sent his personal winemaker Jean-Jacques Dufour to select a location for a commercial wine venture, the first in the United States. Dufour chose Jessamine County, Kentucky to start his vineyard, and sent President Thomas Jefferson one of the first bottles of Kentucky wine in 1803.
Silas Dinsmore, whose family established what is now Dinsmore Homestead in Burlington, a contemporary of Jefferson, encouraged his nephew James to relocate to Boone County from Louisiana and start a vineyard and farm in 1839.
Silas and his son, Thomas were already cultivating crops in several locations, including Belleview and Laughery Island, which Silas sometimes referred to as “Grape Island.”
There were other Boone County residents growing grapes and making wine for sale or personal use around this time as well. Verona resident, Robert E. Sleet, reported an impressive production of 4,000 gallons of wine during the 1859 growing season, though it’s unclear if he sold it commercially.
There were setbacks during this time, however.
Both James and Silas Dinsmore reported issues with late-Spring frost and “rot” caused by moisture and mold on the vines. There was also widespread blight reportedly destroying crops both here and abroad in the late 1850s. Some local crops survived, though, as evidenced in Julia Dinsmore’s wine-related journal entries dating 1873-1876. The Dinsmore “wine house” still stands on the property.
Prohibition ended the Commonwealth’s wine industry, and tobacco became King of Kentucky’s agriculture for decades.
In recent years, however, tobacco settlement awards have helped to fund programs designed to teach cultivation and wine production skills.
As a result, Kentucky vineyard land totals have grown from about 60 to over 600 acres since 1999. There is growing interest in wine tours and agritourism ventures built around Kentucky wine production, with over 65 commercially operating vineyards, including several located in and around Boone County.
Additionally, there are local hobby vineyards and tasting rooms offering Kentucky vintages continue open all over our county, from Rabbit Hash to the Florence Mall.
Hillary Delaney is local history public service associate at the Boone County Public Library. Contact her at hdelaney@bcpl.org
Feature photo courtesy of Katherine Walker Thomas
More information about Kentucky wine here.
