Lancaster Valley is an AVA of the eastern United States, covering 225,000 acres (91,000ha) in the south-eastern corner of Pennsylvania. Despite the relatively large size of this AVA, only a very small area is planted with vines at present. Lancaster Valley's wine production suffered a century-long hiatus caused by war, wild weather, vine disease and Prohibition and is only now beginning to re-emerge.
© Wikimedia/Nicholas A. Tonelli
The vines planted along the valley's 30-mile (48-km) length cover around 400 acres (160ha) of land, but this figure is growing – as is the prevalence of vineyards right across Pennsylvania. Naturally, the number of wineries is also increasing; where there were just a handful of wineries in the 1980s, there are now more than 20 in this area of the state, which Lancaster Valley shares with its larger neighbor, Lehigh Valley.
The Lancaster Valley is not a river valley, but rather a geological depression formed between the ridges of the northern Appalachian Mountains. It is bounded on the north, east and south by areas of higher elevation – ranging from 100 to 600 feet (30–180m) above the valley floor – and on the west by the Susquehanna river. Underneath the valley is a large limestone basin, similar in some ways to the Paris Basin in north-western France. Because it is an easily eroded stone, porous forms of limestone draw water away from vine roots, preventing them from getting foot rot and motivating them to grow deep, strong root systems. The added value is that the limestone locks away the moisture to a certain extent, providing a certain humidity even in periods of drought.
The soils here are rich in free-draining shale and limestone of various densities, much like the favored vineyards of northern Burgundy. Blessed with a moderate climate by the proximity of the Atlantic Ocean and its Chesapeake Bay inlet, the Lancaster Valley mesoclimate is well suited to certain vine varieties, including both vinifera and native species.
Lancaster Valley wines are made from Franco-American hybrids such as Chambourcin and Seyval Blanc; various native grapes such as Delaware; and well-known vinifera varieties, dominated by Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Riesling and the standard components of Meritage or Bordeaux Blend wines.
