![When a man from Vaud set out to bring his knowledge of wine to North America… Illustration by Marco Heer.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/titel-dufour-300x225.jpg)
The first commercial winery in the United States – established by a Swiss immigrant!
In 1796, Jean-Jacques Dufour emigrated from the Lake Geneva region with the stated aim of becoming a successful winegrower in distant America. The Swiss grower founded the colony of Vevay, Indiana, which did indeed manage to produce wine.
![Vevay in the state of Indiana has just under 2,000 inhabitants. It’s been a very long time since wine was last produced there.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/vevay-usa-300x222.jpg)
![Franco-English negotiations in North America, 1757. Perhaps a sip of good wine would have brought more consensus…](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/montcalm-226x300.jpg)
![Share certificate in John James Dufour’s “First Vineyard” and his “Kentucky Vineyard Society”.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/anteilsschein-300x248.jpg)
Tasting for the President
![Said to have seen potential in Dufour’s wine: Thomas Jefferson, third President of the USA.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/prasident-jefferson-248x300.jpg)
![John James Dufour’s application to the US Senate to purchase land northwest of the Ohio River, 1802.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/antrag-senat-1802-197x300.jpg)
![Winemaker Dufour also became an author shortly before his death, recording his knowledge for posterity.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/vine-dresser-dufour-192x300.jpg)