Open Access Kent State (OAKS)

Robert Gottesman (1918-2000), owner of Paramount Distillers as well as Meier’s, Mon Ami, Firelands and Lonz wineries, was responsible for leading the resurgence of the wine industry in the early 1970s.

In 1994, he was inducted into the Ohio Agricultural Hall of Fame and was a founding member of the Ohio Wine Producers Association. He was also instrumental in initiating legislation that created the Ohio Grape Industries Committee.

Sources: Ohio Wine Industry Honors Founding Fathers with the Creation of the ‘Ohio Wine Hall of Fame’ Press Release from the Ohio Wine Producers Association (2001), and Ohio Wine Producers Association Hall of Fame website.

Nicholas Longworth (1783-1863), recognized as the person most responsible for bring winemaking to the Buckeye State, was the first inductee to Ohio Wine Hall of Fame.

Ohio owes the rich heritage of its wine industry to Longworth, whose passion for growing native grapes and producing wine in the Cincinnati region led to the development of the Ohio wine industry in the 19th century. Longworth’s vineyards and winery produced more wine than any other in the country.

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 well-known poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

Sources: Ohio Wine Industry Honors Founding Fathers with the Creation of the ‘Ohio Wine Hall of Fame’ Press Release from the Ohio Wine Producers Association, and Ohio Wine Producers Association Hall of Fame website.

Dr. James Gallander, born in Peoria, Illinois in 1937, earned both a bachelor's degree in 1960 and doctoral degree from Ohio State University in 1964 in food technology. He began his career at Ohio State University in 1963 as an instructor at the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC) at Wooster. He received the rank of full professor from the department in 1972 and developed the center's enology program.

Working with Dr. Garth Cahoon, an OARDC professor also inducted into the Ohio Wine of Fame in 2001, Gallander helped to plant the first hybrid grapes on the Wistar Marting farm in Clarksville. This event marketed the beginning of the ‘modern’ Ohio grape-wine industry.

Gallander has authored hundreds of studies on food science and enology, has organized the Ohio Wine Competition for many years, and has served as the advisor to the Ohio Wine Producers Association. In 1985, he also received the award of merit from American Wine Society, a non-profit, educational, consumer-oriented organization for those interested in learning more about all aspects of wine.

Sources: Ohio Wine Industry Honors Founding Fathers with the Creation of the ‘Ohio Wine Hall of Fame’ Press Release from the Ohio Wine Producers Association (2001), and Ohio Wine Producers Association Hall of Fame website.

Dr. Garth Cahoon (1924-2012), a native of Delta, Utah, 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 at Riverside from 1953 to 1963 before coming to Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC) in Wooster as an associate professor in horticulture. Promoted to full professor in 1967, in 1983 he was named the assistant chair of the department. Professional assignments in India, Somalia and the Caribbean broadened his knowledge of small fruit horticulture.

As professors, Dr. Garth Cahoon and Dr. James Gallander, an OARDC colleague inducted in the Ohio Hall of the Fame in 2001, taught and inspired a whole new generation of winemakers in the techniques of growing grapes and making wine. Both were instrumental in the creation of the Ohio Wine Producers Association and the Ohio Grape Industries program.

Sources: Ohio Wine Industry Honors Founding Fathers with the Creation of the ‘Ohio Wine Hall of Fame’ Press Release from the Ohio Wine Producers Association (2001), and Ohio Wine Producers Association Hall of Fame website.