Ohio is the USA's 6th largest wine producer. This program is helping wineries expand

When you think of wine country in the USA, you probably envision lush rolling fields of grape arbors in California, Oregon and Washington. You should also think of the place that first put American winemaking on the international map: Ohio.

Yes, Ohio. Politician, banker, and winemaker Nicholas Longworth is considered the father of the American wine industry. Longworth's sparkling wine — made from Catawba grapes that delighted in Cincinnati's rich hillside soil along the Ohio River — was wildly popular across the country and in Europe in the early to mid-1800s.

While California eventually became the leader in U.S. wine production, Ohio remains the sixth largest wine producer in the nation. Some 400 wine manufacturers turn out 1.2 million gallons — that's 500,000 cases — of wine each year. Plus, the Ohio Grape Industries Committee notes Ohio wineries account for more than 8,000 fulltime jobs, provide more than $1.3 billion in economic impact, and attract 1.2 million tourists annually.

Those wineries have until Friday, Nov. 4, to apply for a bonus round of the state's Vineyard Expansion Assistance Program.