Lehigh Valley is an AVA of the eastern United States, covering an impressive 1.2 million acres (490,000ha) in the south-eastern corner of Pennsylvania. Despite the size of this AVA (it is amongst the largest in the country), fewer than 500 acres (200ha) of land are currently under vine. This figure is growing, however, along with the number of vineyards and wineries across the whole state. Where there were just a handful of wineries in the 1980s, there are now more than 20 in this part of Pennsylvania, which Lehigh Valley shares with its smaller neighbor, Lancaster Valley.
The Lehigh Valley was formed by the Lehigh river, a tributary of the Delaware which marks the AVA's eastern edge. Its northern and southern ends are delimited by two long ridges of the north-eastern Appalachian ranges, which also mark the edge of the geological zone responsible for the valley's very existence – a large limestone basin similar in some ways to the Paris Basin in north-western France. Being 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 some of the moisture, 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 virtue of its proximity to the Atlantic Ocean and its Chesapeake Bay inlet, the Lehigh Valley mesoclimate is well suited to certain vine varieties, of both vinifera and native species.
Lehigh 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.
