Grand River Valley is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) on the edge of Lake Erie in the state of Ohio. Entirely contained within the much larger Lake Erie AVA, the Grand River Valley has a sharper focus, covering land within two miles (3.2km) of the Grand River. A huge range of cool-climate-styled wines are made in the region. Vitis vinifera varieties such as Riesling, Chardonnay and Cabernet Franc are joined in the vineyards by Franco-American hybrids such as Chambourcin, Vidal Blanc and Traminette.
The sheer volume of water in Lake Erie (the fourth largest of the Great Lakes) has a warming effect along the Grand River Valley, blessing local vineyards with a longer growing season than those further inland. It is an added bonus that Erie is the shallowest of the Great Lakes, meaning that it is also the warmest. The reduced risk of spring frost, which particularly threatens yields of such early-budding varieties as Merlot, is complemented by a milder fall season.
Rainfall is higher in the Grand River Valley than in other areas of Ohio, but the region's sand- and gravel-based topsoils are free draining and efficiently disperse excess water. Over the millennia, strong, slow glaciation has sculpted the landscape, exposing some rock types and covering up others. The region offers winemakers a generous hoard of south-east sites, where the vines can soak up the morning sun, and good air drainage further reduces the risk of frost. Similar grape-growing environments can be found in AVAs such as Old Mission Peninsula in neighboring Michigan and Long Island in New York.
Ohio's viticultural history dates back to the 1800s, and at the turn of the century there was a thriving wine industry along the shores of the lake. Prohibition led to the decimation of the Grand River Valley's vineyards in the 1920s, but the development of cold-hardy hybrids sparked a resurgence of winemaking in the area in the latter half of the 20th Century.
The moderately sized Grand River Valley AVA should not be confused with the similarly named Ohio River Valley AVA, one of the largest appellations in North America.
