With so many businesses positively impacted by making wine, its no wonder the industry is expected to grow.

Which state was the largest producer of wine prior to Prohibition?

If you answered North Carolina, you were correct, although this is a little-known fact, even among wine experts.

North Carolina is making a strong comeback in wine production and now ranks No. 12 in the country in wine production and No. 10 in the production of grapes.

Duplin Winery in southeastern North Carolina holds the distinction of being the oldest continuing operating winery in the state, opening in 1972. During that same year, land was purchased for the Westbend Vineyards in Lewisville.

However, a review of the history of wine in North Carolina will show that its growth has been rather dramatic over the past 20 years, especially since 2000.

The first cultivated grape was discovered in 1524 in North Carolina, and the first commercial winery opened in 1835 in Halifax County in northeastern North Carolina. Wine was a thriving industry in the state in the 19th and 20th centuries, with 25 wineries at its peak prior to Prohibition. From 1920 to 1933, the wine industry screeched to a halt during Prohibition.

North Carolina was slow to get back into the game. When former Agriculture Commissioner Jim Graham formed the North Carolina Grape Council in 1986, there were six wineries in the state. By 1989, there were 15. Now, the state has 56 wineries and 10 more planned within the next year.

Compared with California, the nation’s leading wine producer with 1,300 wineries, North Carolina still is small. But the state has 360 grape growers and more than 1,500 acres of commercial vineyards.

North Carolina produced almost 4,000 tons of grapes in 2005, with a total grape farm value estimated at $3.9 million and an estimated wine value of $39 million. A total of 665,000 gallons of wine, or 279,000 cases, were produced in 2005. There are more than 1,000 full-time jobs associated with North Carolina’s wine industry, compared with more than 200,000 jobs in California.

There are many businesses and occupations positively impacted by the wine industry — real-estate brokers, insurance salespeople, mortgage bankers, lawyers, transportation officials, and public relations and advertising firms, as well as those who make vineyard posts, wiring, fertilizer, chemicals, farm and wine equipment, bottles, corks, labels, and boxes.

The industry is expected to grow in the state for several reasons. North Carolina’s elevation is a positive factor, as is its growing season, which lasts for 150 to 200 days. Other helpful factors include soil composition from heavy clay to sandy clay, temperature differential and average rainfall. Too much rain, especially during late July and August, literally can destroy a crop.

North Carolina also has become more aggressive in promoting the wine industry. The Legislature has moved the North Carolina Wine and Grape Council to the Department of Commerce and placed it under the Division of Tourism, Film and Sports Development. Margo Knight is executive director of the council, and Lynn Minges heads the division.

Tourism is a dynamic and growing industry in the state. It has a $14 billion direct economic impact and hosted almost 50 million visitors last year, making it the sixth-most visited state in the U.S. The wine industry, with its tours, tasting opportunities, weekend festivals and retail sales, is an important and growing part of the tourism industry. It is expected to have a billion-dollar impact on the North Carolina economy within 10 years.

The industry also is becoming better organized through organizations such as the Wine and Grape Council and North Carolina Winegrowers Association. Various geographical areas also have organized their own groups. Perhaps the most active and best organized is the Yadkin Valley Winegrowers Association. The valley is a federally recognized viticulture area that includes Surry, Wilkes and Yadkin counties, and parts of Davie, Davidson, Forsyth and Stokes counties.

Yadkin Valley also is home to Surry Community College, which has the most comprehensive viticulture program east of the Mississippi. Appalachian State University (ASU) and North Carolina State University are active in the wine industry. ASU has mobile and fixed labs that test grapes and study the relationship among grapes, climate, and quality of wines produced.

The council’s purpose is to help develop North Carolina’s grape and wine industries, improve product quality, and encourage economic viability and opportunity for growers and processors through education, marketing, and research.

While the industry continues to grow dramatically, it also faces many challenges in North Carolina, a state not known for its wine. Quality control in vineyards and wineries is essential, and pivotal steps have been made so far. A more effective job of marketing an identity for North Carolina wines with consumers is needed, and progress is being made here as well. Wine enthusiasts do not yet recognize that many North Carolina wines are receiving national recognition through various awards programs. North Carolina also recently has received national publicity in the country’s largest media markets.

North Carolina wines need more shelf space in grocery stores and need to be included in greater numbers in North Carolina restaurants. We need to produce more qualified industry professionals within the state, although the importation of experts from California, New York, and other states has been a plus for the state and the industry. We also need more funding for viticulture research.

If North Carolina wine lovers are interested in promoting North Carolina wines, they can order and buy Tar Heel-produced wine or ask for it in grocery stores and restaurants that respond to customer demand. North Carolinians can tour more wineries; each is unique, and each experience is different. Residents can attend wine and grape festivals and give North Carolina wine as gifts as a way to introduce quality wine to others.

To learn more about North Carolina wineries, visit visitncwine.com, subscribe to the North Carolina Wine Journal or join the North Carolina Wine of the Month Club at info@nc-wineclub.com. Most wineries also have their own Web sites, and many have wine-of-the-month clubs.