Niagara Escarpment is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) in Niagara County, New York along the Niagara Escarpment. It was established as the nation's 165th and the state's eighth appellation on September 7, 2005 by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), Treasury after reviewing the petition submitted by Michael Von Heckler of Warm Lake Estate Vineyard and Winery proposing an viticultural area to be called "Niagara Escarpment."

The boundary area runs in a narrow 28 miles (45 km) Niagara escarpment landscape which is part of a free-draining limestone ridge that also stretches around Lake Ontario and the Canadian province it was named after. It stretches from the village of Johnson Creek traveling west through the towns of Gasport and Lockport, and ending at the Niagara River at Lewiston. The 18,000-acre (28 sq mi) wine region is less developed with more available land than the 70 or so Niagara Peninsula wineries on the Canadian side of the Niagara River, but shares the same terroir. Wines range from traditional grape varieties such as Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon. Chardonnay and Riesling to fruit wines. The USDA plant hardiness zones range from 6b to 7a.

History

The oldest winery in the region dates to the 19th century (no longer in business), but the region's growth began in the late 1990s with the opening of the first new winery. There are now 11 wineries cultivating approximately 400 acres (160 ha) of vineyards on the Niagara Wine Trail.

External links

43°10′36″N 78°59′27″W/43.176689°N 78.990826°W/ 43.176689; -78.990826