Pioneers of the Southeastern New England American Viticultural Area (AVA)

In one of my first blogpots in 2011, I wrote about the Southeastern New England AVA. This blogpost was quite sparse in details and it wasn't until this year, when my husband and I were looking into the early vineyards in Stonington, that he located two articles that fleshed out when the AVA was formed and who the pioneers were that persevered to see that the AVA came to fruition.
An AVA is important because it allows both vintners and consumers to attribute characteristics such as quality and reputation to wine made from grapes grown in a particular area of geographic origin. According to the TTB regulations, an AVA is “a defined grape-growing region having distinguishing features” which are described in 27 CFR part 9.
In order to petition for a new AVA, a petitioner must meet the following regulatory requirements:

• Name Evidence
Name Usage
Source of Name and Name Evidence

• Boundary Evidence
• Distinguishing Features
Climate
Geology
Soils
Physical Features
Elevation

• Maps and Boundaries Description
Maps
Boundary Description

The initial petitioner of the Southeastern New England AVA was Mr. James Mitchell, of Sakonnet Vineyards, Little Compton, Rhode Island. In 1983, Professor Everett R. Emino of the University of Connecticut College of Agriculture and Natural Resources and Mrs. Hugh P. Connell, co-owner of Crosswoods Vineyards Winery also provided additional information and justification for the extension of the boundaries of the initially proposed Southeastern New England AVA based on the similarity of the Connecticut coastal region's terrain and climate.

• Name Evidence
→Name Usage - The name "Southeastern New England" is descriptive of the land adjoining the coastal bodies of water in eastern Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts south of the Boston area.
→Source of Name and Name Evidence - considerable precedence exists for applying the name "Southeastern New England" to this area, and it has been used by the New England River Basins Commission to describe the proposed area.

• Boundary Evidence
• Distinguishing Features
→Climate - proposed area is part of that area shown on U.S. Weather Service climatic division maps as the coastal climatic divisions of Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts.
→Geology
→Soils
→Physical Features
→Elevation

• Maps and Boundaries Description
→Maps
→Boundary Description - the area includes New London County, Connecticut east of the Mystic River; all of Rhode Island except- most of Kent and Providence Counties; and all of southeastern Massachusetts east and south of the Norfold-Bristol County Boundary, the Amtrak (ex New Haven) mainline, and the Neponset River. All offshore islands between Boston and the Mystic River, including Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, are included as part of this viticultural area.

Here is what the map of the Southeastern New England AVA looks like:²

I am just reminded that our foray into grape growing and wine making owes much to the early pioneers who had a vision of what our area could become.
Update: This year makes 40 years since the Southeastern New England AVA was established!
References:
1. Federal Register, Vol.48, No. 151, Thursday, August 4, 1983.
2. Wine Regions of the World, Map of Southeastern - New England AVA.