America’s Grape Country
Why not a week to celebrate the American grape? Yes, Road Trip Foodies, we’re talking the Concord. The Lake Erie Grape Region is home to the oldest and largest Concord grape-growing region in the world! In fact, it’s the first agriculturally themed Heritage Area in New York State! Who wouldn’t want to follow the purple pennants to the Chatauqua County Fairgrounds in Dunkirk, New York, between August 15 and 23, 2009! You’ll have to check the website for all the side events (Bluegrass, BB & Brews on August 22! Pesto Festo on August 23!). Heck, there’s even the eighth annual International Lighthouse Festival on August 15 and 16! America’s Grape Country is a 50-mile stretch of countryside located along the southeastern shore of Lake Erie and spanning two states — New York and Pennsylvania. There are nearly 1,000 farms, some that have been in the same family for seven generations. Here you’ll find fruit processing factories, farmers’ markets and 21 wineries. Grape-growing began in the early 1800s, and hit its stride in 1849, when horticulturalist Ephraim Wales Bull developed the first native American grape, the Concord. Today, growers harvest more than 400,000 tons of Concord grapes each year. Just in case you’re wondering what you can see along the way, America’s Grape Country is 2½ hours north of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 60 miles southwest of Buffalo, New York, 110 miles east of Cleveland, Ohio, and 120 miles south of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
