Lehigh Valley AVA
The Lehigh Valley AVA is an American Viticultural Area located in the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania. The AVA includes portions of Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, Schuylkill, Carbon, and Monroe counties. The area includes the towns from Jim Thorpe to Easton, portions of the Schuylkill Valley, the Brodhead Creek watershed in Monroe County, and part of the Swatara Creek watershed to the west.
The wine region includes of vineyards, planted to several Vitis vinifera and French-American hybrid grape varieties. The climate of Lehigh Valley has been compared to the cooler climates of central or northern Europe, favoring the production of French-American hybrid grapes, especially Chambourcin. 15 to 20 percent of the wine produced in Pennsylvania is made from grapes grown in the Lehigh Valley AVA.
The region has a humid continental climate and is located in hardiness zones 6b and 6a.
