Alaska
Alaska is probably America’s final frontier when it comes to wines and wine making. The state is so vast, it stands to reason there would be pockets of grape growing taking place.
While most people associate Alaska with bitter cold temperatures, there are areas that are more akin to a Pacific Northwest marine climate.
There are only a small handful of wineries in the state, and no defined wine trails. Two examples are Denali Winery and Alaskan Wilderness Wines, both of whom rely on native Alaskan berries as much as grapes for their wines.
Another Alaskan winery is Bear Creek Winery, located in Homer. This winery has numerous berry based wines made from locally grown fruit, like blueberry, rasberry, cranberry, and strawberry. Some of these fruits are combined with grapes imported from other states to formulate some interesting blends.
While we doubt an official wine trail will develop in Alaska due to the sheer size of the state, we anticipate seeing more wineries in Alaska in the near future. As experimentation with cold weather hardy grapes continues, we should see more grape crops grown in parts of the state if economics deem it worthwhile to growers.
