Switzerland Wine County – Winemaking in Vevay

Switzerland Wine County – Winemaking in Vevay. . , As soon as immigrant James Dufour saw the area now known as Vevay in the Northwest Territory, he knew it would be an ideal place for his vineyards. The gentle hills were terraced like those in his native district of Vevay, Switzerland, and he named the area “New Switzerland.” In 1800 he brought seventeen members of his own family and encouraged other French-speaking Swiss settlers to join him in the rich farmland of the unsettled territory. Dufour soon petitioned Congress to pass an act to extend credit to purchase vineyard land so he could introduce the culture of the grape to the United States. His petition was granted, and growers were given 12 years to pay for their land purchases. In 1803 he sent his son John Francis on horseback carrying two kegs of wine to President Thomas Jefferson. By 1809 production of vine from the New Switzerland area was 1,200 gallons a year. Dufour authored “The Vinedressers Guide,” the standard authority on wine grape growing in North America. Prohibition ended the Indiana wine industry but the “small-winery” law passed in 1971 has allowed its rebirth by allowing wineries to sell directly to the public. Today, the Swiss settlement and the winemaking history of Vevay are celebrated at the Swiss Wine Festival, an annual event that draws thousands of people to Vevay to enjoy the wine, the traditions and the culture of the Swiss settlers., By the Way: Downriver Tell City was established by German-speaking Swiss immigrants in 1858.