First Vineyard & Winery in Jessamine County, Kentucky has been certified by the U.S Department of the Interior as the first commercial vineyard and winery in the U.S. Incorporated 216 years ago, the impressive certification places the winery on the National Register of Historic Places, signifying its incredible importance to U.S. history.

The achievement of this recognition is due to the painstaking research of Tom Beall, amateur historian and owner of First Vineyard & Winery. Beall, who purchased the property in 1994 without knowing of its massive historical significance, pieced together an impressively detailed history of the somewhat unexpected birthplace of the wine industry in the U.S. for presentation of the application. `What an honor to be a steward for this place, to share this story,` said Beall, `what a thrill to help put Kentucky on the map for wine.`

The story of First Vineyard & Winery began in Switzerland in the late 1700`s with a vinedresser named John James Dufour. By the end of 18th century there had been many previous attempts at cultivating grapes and establishing a commercially viable winery in the United States. Due in large part to the attempted use of imported grape vines, none had succeeded. Dufour heard of the lack of wine industry in the U.S. from French soldiers who had served in the Revolutionary War, and departed Europe for America in 1796 with the hope of carrying on the family business in the new country.

Dufour traveled throughout the eastern U.S. assessing land and opportunities for the industry here, eventually settling on a tract of land perched atop a steep hill above the Big Bend of the Kentucky River. The southern facing slope, humidity from the river, soil makeup topography, and the location right across from Quantico, a large shipping port on the Kentucky River, made this tract of land the ideal spot for establishing the wine industry in the U.S.

Full article can be found at source lanereport.com