Challenges and progress in improving the quality and identity of Midwest U.S. Wines^*

* Portions of the article are revised from Local Vino: The Winery Boom in the Heartland. Copyright 2017 by the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. Used with permission of the University of Illinois Press.

ABSTRACT

Winery owners in the Midwestern states of the United States have been working with each other and their state industry experts to improve the quality of their wines while also struggling to establish state and, at times, regional identities and overcome a widely-held perception that good wine is not made and cannot be made in the region. Drawing on a qualitative sociological study conducted over five years in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Iowa, this article examines the issues with which winery owners and industry specialists have worked to improve quality and establish marketable identities. Challenges include the sourcing of quality grapes, the status of hybrid grapes, the skill-level of winemakers, and the desire to meet demand and please a wide range of customer preferences. Industry efforts to address these challenges are highlighted.

KEYWORDS:

• Wine industry
• wine markets
• wine culture
• perceived quality
• distribution

Acknowledgements

The author is extremely grateful for a year-long sabbatical granted by the University of Indianapolis that was used for this study. Many thanks to Brian Vermillion for his assistance with the map (Figure 1). Thanks also go to two anonymous reviewers who provided helpful feedback on an earlier draft.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

* Portions of the article are revised from Local Vino: The Winery Boom in the Heartland. Copyright 2017 by the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. Used with permission of the University of Illinois Press.