The Ohio Wine Producers Association Presents:

The Ohio Wine Hall of Fame

The warmth of the sun.  The rolling slope of a hillside.   A refreshing rain shower.  Time tested vines, bulging clusters of succulent grapes -- All gathered and crafted in the gentle hands of a skilled winemaker.  Many notes come together to create the symphony of a vintage wine.  Similarly, stretching over three centuries, many dedicated hearts and sharp minds have shaped and nurtured the Ohio Wine Industry we know and embrace today.

Wine people appear in all shapes and sizes, from all walks of life, with a variety of motivations.  Some Appear, make an imprint and leave us.  Others are lifers. 

All who touch this industry and its people contribute in some great or subtle way to the harmony of our lives and livelihood.

It is with this understanding, that the board of directors of the Ohio Wine Producers Association have established the Ohio Wine Hall of Fame.

Our purpose is to recognize the outstanding contributions of individuals to the wine industry in Ohio, to gain recognition for the excellence in our industry and to encourage future leaders. 

Ohio owes the rich heritage of its wine industry to Nicholas Longworth, whose passion for growing native grapes and producing fine wines led to the development of the Ohio wine industry in the 19th century.

The 5' 1" "crazy Jerseyman" came to Cincinnati from Newark in 1803 at the age of 21 with little more than the clothes on his back.  He studied law for six months, established a lucrative law practice, invested in land and became the wealthiest man in Ohio.  Wine growing was just beginning along the banks of the Ohio River in Cincinnati.  It became Longworth's hobby.

In 1823 he planted a vineyard overlooking the Ohio River using European vines.  But, they soon died.  He made his first wine from native varieties Alexander and Isabella.

The in 1825, he discovered a "wonder grape" called the Catawba. It met two critical requirements.  The grape was easily cultivated along the Ohio River and it produced an acceptable wine. Three years later when Longworth tasted the first Catawba wine pressed from his grapes, he quit his law practice and gave his full attention to winemaking.

In 1842, Longworth created America's first champagne, which he called "Sparkling Catawba".  With praise from across the country and as far away as Europe, he could hardly keep up with the demand for his champagne and Catawba wine.  A lasting tribute "Ode to Catawba Wine" was written by the famous poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

By 1860, thanks to Longworth's passionate efforts, Ohio supplied one-third of the nation's wine and out-produced California by two to one.

The most respected and successful winemaker of his time, Longworth is now known as the Father of American Winemaking -- and certainly, the Father of Ohio Wine.

It is only fitting that Nicholas Longworth be the first member of the Ohio Wine Hall of Fame.

If Longworth is the Father of Ohio Wine, this gentle man was certainly the industry's "fairy Godmother".

Born in Brownsville, Pennsylvania in 1918, Robert G. Gottesman, became a resident of New York City when he was hired by Schenley Industries.  In 1957, after a successful sales career, Gottesman moved to Cleveland where he and his partner, Louis Zeller, purchased Paramount Distillers, Inc.

Gottesman's interest in the wine industry began with Paramount's 1976 acquisition of Meier's Wine Cellars in Cincinnati.  Since then, he expanded the company's holdings with the purchase of 400 acres on North Bass Island, two hundred of which were devoted to vineyards.

Firelands Winery in Sandusky and Mon Ami Wine Cellars in Port Clinton were acquired in 1980.

Today, paramount is the largest grower and producer of wines and juices in the state of Ohio.

Gottesman's ambitious entry into the wine industry has been credited with sparking a renaissance in Ohio winemaking and his planting of some of the state's first vinifera grapes bore testimony to his confidence in the future of fine Ohio wines.

In 1994, he brought honor to all of us by being the first member of the Ohio wine industry to be inducted into the Ohio Agricultural Hall of Fame in recognition of his role in revitalizing the states grape and wine industry.

He was a founding member of the Ohio Wine Producers Association.  He initiated the legislation that created the Ohio Grape Industries Committee, which has become a model for similar programs in at least eight other states.  He was a tireless crusader for our industry working nearly to the very day he died.

Perhaps most importantly, his personal enthusiasm, crusty good humor, his vision, business savvy, passion for our industry and his friendship touched nearly everyone in the industry -- shaping us, nurturing and inspiring us all to be better winemakers and better human beings.

You might Say, Dr. Jim Gallander is to winemakers what SO2 is to winemaking!  Over the years, he has kept us fresh and allowed us not to become oxidized!

James F. Gallander was born in Peoria, illinois in 1937.  He earned his Bachelor's Degree and Ph.D. from The Ohio State University in 1960 and  '64 in food technology.  In 1970, he was assigned resident duty at the University of California at Davis where he worked in enology. 

He began as an instructor at the OSU's Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center at Wooster while he was finishing his doctorate degree in 1963.  Throughout the years, he was consistently promoted   first to assistant, then associate and finally to full professorship in 1972.

His contributions to the Ohio wine indsutry can be measured at least in part, by the hundreds of food science and enolgy research studies and resulting published articles and presentations he has given in his career.  His industry-shaping research placed him behind podiums at wine meetings across the country, sharing not only his research, but the message that Ohio wine industry is a progressive and aggressive competitor.

He has served as an advisor to the Ohio Wine Producers Association and organized the Ohio wine competitions and guided the Short Course for dozens of years.

Even with these academic accolades, perhaps his greatest contribution to us has been the time he has spent with the individuals in this industry and the many who have gone before.  Patiently and painstakingly, explaining again and again the fundamentals of winemaking to many a fledgling enologist.  His ability to teach us, his attention to detail and his committment to quality has lengthened the list of all of our award-winning wines and encouraged new winemakers to aspire to high standards.

It is with great pride that the Ohio wine industry welcomes Dr. James F. Gallander into the ranks of the Ohio Wine Hall of Fame.

How can you possibly sum up the career and contributions to our industry of one Dr. Garth Cahoon in just a few short paragraphs?

A native of Delta, Utah, Garth Cahoon earned a degree in technical soils from the Utah State University in 1950 and a Ph.D. in Plant Science from the University of California at Los Angeles in 1954.

He worked as a horticulturist at the University of California, Riverside, from 1953 to 1963 before coming to OARDC as an associate professor in Horticulture in 1963.  By 1967 he was made full professor and in 1983 assumed the role of assistant Chair of the Department of Horticulture at OARDC.   Professional assignments in India, Somalia and the Caribbean broadened his knowledge of small fruit horticulture.

Of course, we all know Garth as a tireless crusader for more grapes in Ohio, better grapes in Ohio.  A true champion for the Ohio wine industry. 

It is with great honor that we welcome Dr. Garth A Cahoon to the first class of the Ohio Wine Hall of Fame.

In the next year, you will learn about the mechanics of the program, but more importantly, about how to nominate someone for this distinction.  With your help, The Ohio Wine Hall of Fame will become a lasting legacy and salute to the leaders of our industry.