AVA · MID

Lake Erie

Location: New York / Pennsylvania / Ohio, United States

Legal name: Lake Erie American Viticultural Area

Regulatory body: TTB

Official designation: 27 CFR §9.83

Lake Erie is modeled here as the appellation/legal-origin layer for the existing EncyclopediaOfWine region row. It identifies the protected label name associated with New York / Pennsylvania / Ohio, while the original region row remains available as legacy geographic context until downstream links are fully migrated. The AVA crosses state boundaries and includes both wine-grape and broader grape-growing traditions. Commonly associated grapes include Concord, Niagara, Riesling, Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc, Vidal Blanc. AVA status in the United States is origin-based rather than grape-prescriptive: it protects a delimited place-name and does not require one authorized grape list or a European-style production recipe.

Permitted Grapes

No AVA-specific grape restrictions. Commonly associated grapes: Concord, Niagara, Riesling, Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc, Vidal Blanc.

Notable Rules

AVA label use is origin-based: under 27 CFR §4.25(e)(3), at least 85 percent of the wine must be derived from grapes grown within the viticultural area, and American wine must be fully finished within the State, or one of the States, in which the AVA is located. The AVA does not impose a grape-variety list or European-style production code.

Recent Vintages

Public vintage-level information for the Lake Erie belt is thinner than for the Finger Lakes, but extension material points to 2023 as a slower, later-ripening season with lower Brix concerns in parts of the region. Because the appellation spans a cool Great Lakes-influenced belt with both wine grapes and juice-grape acreage, vintage context should stay general unless tied to a specific producer or vineyard. Expect vintage variation to be driven by frost, rainfall, late-season warmth, and disease pressure.

A general read of growing-season and harvest character — not a rating.

Also Known As

Lake Erie AVA, Lake Erie American Viticultural Area

Sources & References

eCFR / 27 CFR §9.83 — United States appellation and AVA framework; public regulatory reference.

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REFERENCE NOTE

This entry is written as an educational overview and may synthesize public regulatory, historical, and editorial sources. It is not an official regulatory record.