Pontchartrain Vineyards

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pontchartrainvineyards.com
Pontchartrain Vineyards was founded in 1991, by winemaker, John Seago, with the goal of creating quality wines that appeal to the culture, cuisine and sensibilities of Southeast Louisiana. Pontchartrain Vineyards is the only winery in the state producing table wines exclusively from traditional bunch/wine grapes.

Planting began at Pontchartrain Vineyards’ 34.5 acre vineyard site north of Covington, in the fall of 1991. The location is approximately 140 miles north of the Gulf of Mexico and 20 miles north of Lake Pontchartrain in the first hills arising off the flat coastal plain of south Louisiana. The vineyard is approximately 150’ above sea level and has well drained, sandy loam soils from the Savannah and Ruston series of the soils of the upland terraces. Pontchartrain Vineyards, which is a registered trade name of Distinctive Wines of Louisiana, Inc., was formed in 1992.

The planting of the first 5.5 acre block was completed in the spring of 1992 and the vineyard’s first harvest resulted in a modest 200 cases of wine from the 1993 vintage. Beginning in the fall of 1994, these 200 cases of wine were marketed exclusively to fine restaurants in New Orleans and on the Northshore.