CHAPTER II 

 GRAPE REGIONS AND THEIR DETERMINANTS 



HAPPILY, the grape in its great diversity of forms accommo- 

 dates itself to many conditions, so that some variety of the sev- 

 eral cultivated species will produce fruit for home use, if not as a 

 market commodity, in every part of America adapted to gen- 

 eral agriculture. But commercial grape-growing on this con- 

 tinent is confined to a few regions, in each of which it is profit- 

 able only in ideal situations. In fact, few other agricultural 

 industries are more definitely determined by environment than 

 the grape-industry. Where are the grape regions of America ? 

 What determines the suitability of a region for grape-growing ? 

 Answers to these questions furnish clews to the culture of this 

 fruit and help in estimating the potentialities of a new region or 

 of a location for grape-growing. 



THE GRAPE REGIONS OF AMERICA 



There are four chief grape-growing regions in North America, 

 with possibly twice as many more subsidiary ones. These 

 several regions, each of which has its distinct varieties and to 

 less extent distinct species, and in each of which grapes are 

 grown for somewhat widely different purposes, give a great 

 variety of industrial conditions to the grape-growing of the 

 continent. Nevertheless, the regions have much in common 

 in their environment. It is from their differences and simi- 

 larities that most can be learned in the brief discussions of 

 the regions that follow. 



16 



