Film showcases Ky. wine industry

MELBOURNE - When the 1800s dawned, Kentucky had the country's first commercial vineyard, and before the Civil War, the commonwealth was the country's third biggest producer of wine and grapes, according to a new documentary, "Vintage Kentucky: The Vine to Wine Experience."

The film, by documentarian Doug High of Covington's The PPS Group, tracks Kentucky winemaking's early success to its disappearance during Prohibition, through its recent rebirth in the 21st century.

High has made several documentaries for KET, including a groundbreaking one about the history of Kentucky bourbon that still is being aired.

The winemaking documentary had its premier Wednesday at the Kentucky Center in Louisville. It appeared on television for the first time Thursday night and will be shown several times between now and January.

It was produced by New West LLC and PPS Group, and was well received during the premier, High said.

Among wineries featured in the film are StoneBrook Winery in Melbourne and Elk Creek Vineyards in Owenton.

StoneBrook owner Dennis Walter notes during the film that he is the fifth generation of his family living on the same land.

"I see a sixth and hopefully a seventh and eighth down the road," he said. "That's my goal."

Grape growing and wine making have re-emerged in recent years, particularly as tobacco has been abandoned as a cash crop. Many don't realize that during the late 1800s Kentucky was among the nation's largest grape and wine producers.

The commonwealth was home to the country's first commercial vineyard in 1798 when the Marquis de Lafayette's winemaker, Jean-Jacques Dufour, planted what he called the "First Vineyard" on 600 acres in what now is Jessamine County. After German immigrants planted their vines, the Ohio River Valley became known as the Rhine of America.

Prohibition essentially killed the industry locally, but it now is regaining a footing, particularly in the Lexington region and in Northern Kentucky, because of the loss of tobacco as a profitable crop and because of favorable soil and climate.

"A great wine starts in the field," University of Kentucky viticulturist Patsy Wilson asserts on the film.

The state better known for its horses and bourbon again is marketing its wine to Kentuckians and its wineries as agri-tourism destinations, where people can get back to nature and learn something about how wine is crafted.

"It is an old, old, old tradition," Andre Brousseau, owner of Chateau du Vieux Corbeau in Danville, said about winemaking on the film. "We're simply going back to that tradition."

"We are real proud of this documentary, and it tells a great story," said High, of PPS Group's Lexington office.