Today, Tug Hill Vineyards in the North Country unveiled the wines from its first vintage, continuing the trend of new wineries opening in unlikely places. I had the honor of uncorking the first bottle.

            First, some basic geography: "Tug Hill" is a very large geographic region well north of Syracuse and southeast of Watertown. It lies on the eastern end of Lake Ontario, the easternmost of the Great Lakes, explaining why the region is famous for copious amounts of "lake effect" snow each winter (up to 16 feet) combined with temperatures that this year reached -32F.  Forget "cool climate" viticulture; this is cold.

             Lewis County is somewhat inland, to the east, a region of gently rolling hills, dairy farms, lots of maple syrup producers, and a steady wind which feeds 195 gargantuan wind turbines along a path 12 miles long and 4 miles wide, providing local power independent of Middle East oil.  It's also home to Mercer's Dairy, the business that decided to save a failing dairy cooperative by making the world's best ice cream and then branched out to make Mercer's Wine Ice Cream which is now marketed around the world.  In other words, it's a place inhabited by tough, determined, entrepreneurial people who simply won't give up.

             I first met Mike and Sue Maring a couple years ago on a cold, bone-chilling spring morning at the request of my indomitable friend Michele Ledoux (Cornell Cooperative Extention, Lewis County) to help guide the Marings through the labyrinthan laws, regulations and licensing procedures involved with opening a winery in New York State.  We met in the framed shell of an open building--no walls or windows deflecting the cold winds--surrounded by the mud and materials typical of construction projects. 

             The long-time owners of a successful nursery and landscape business, they shared their creative vision of a multi-faceted business that would attract all kinds of people for all kinds to reasons.  I was impressed with their vision, but especially how well they did their homework.

              They had already planted 10 acres of vines--not with Riesling or Cabernet Sauvignon, but with Tundra-surviving "Minnesota" varieties like Frontenac and Marquette which withstand 40 below temperatures and make some very nice wines. They located their main facility overlooking State Route 12, the major thoroughfare in the region, and built it into the sloping hillside for energy efficiency.  

              They had industry veterans Dr. Richard Vine and Ellie Butz consult about the layout of the separate production facility (and spillover tasting area); got grants to help finance equipment acquisitions and marketing; decided to offer a nice selection of other New York wines as a convenience for consumers and to support the industry; and created a great venue for banquets and weddings (33 already booked for this year).

             Their 30 years of landscaping are evident as you approach the vineyard, winery, and surrounding grounds, which are eye-catching and meticulous.  They also planted their vineyards in front of the winery, sloping to the higway and overlooking a broad valley, so tasters and diners can enjoy a wine country vista.

            The striking wood-frame building fits right in with the landscaping.  Inside the top entrance is a tasting bar and huge dining area with a spacious stone fireplace, supplemented by an upstairs level and a screened-in porch.  Below is the "Wine Cellar" with lots of New York wines, including their own, and a nice array of gifts, leading out to a beautiful brick patio with bistro tables and chairs.  Their "Wine Down After Hours" event each Thursday afternoon encourages people to come and chill from 4 to 8pm while enjoying a glass of wine with local foods.  And they offer a Sunday Brunch on the screened-in porch or in front of the fireplace.  In other words, instead of having a restaurant for unpredictable walk-ins, they wisely scheduled their meal offerings for specific times, providing much more control over food costs and staffing.

               Grapes are not the sole fruit at Tug Hill. There are also three acres of U-Pick golden and red raspberries, and five acres of high bush blueberries, which are also used to make wines. In fact, the family involvement includes Sue's sister Dale as winemaker, her husband Nick as marketer, and Mike and Sue's daughter Crystal who designed the eye-catching labels for the different wines. 

               Today, Tug Hill Vineyards is the only winery in Lewis County, but I'm convinced that Mike and Sue Maring's vision and vitality will lure others into the business, making this area an unlikely but vibrant "wine country".  (www.tughillvineyards.com).  In the meantime, they work cooperatively with the closest wineries in the Thousand Islands region, a good example of how one winery's vision has now spawned a region.

               There are now more than 300 wineries in 50 of New York's 62 counties, including Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens as well as rural areas like Tug Hill.  In fact, there are now more than 40 wineries in "Other" parts of New York State besides the traditional wine regions.  The next new opening, at least to my knowledge, will be in the fast-growing Niagara region next month.  Statewide wine industry growth is a great trend--but hard to keep up with. 

 Riesling Month in the Finger Lakes

           Officially, it starts tomorrow, but in fact it's been going on for a month or so: Riesling Month in the Finger Lakes.  May, that is.

               This tradition began years ago as "Finger Lakes--A Riesling to Visit" lauched by the Finger Lakes Tourism Alliance and its Executive Director, Alexa Gifford (now Executive Director of the New York Wine & Culinary Center in Canandaigua).  The idea was to devote a month to promote the region's "signature" grape and wine with special events, colorful flags, web sites, and much more.

               Now the promotion is orchestrated by Finger Lakes Wine Country Tourism Marketing Association in conjunction with the Finger Lakes Wine Alliance, and the combination of activities has grown, particularly with the availability of social media to help spread the word.  The month-long activities include a Riesling to Visit Passport, special events, affordable packages for accommodations and transportation, restaurant and winery promotions, attractions and shops and, as the grand finale, a "Virtual Riesling Hour" on May 26 where people everywhere can enjoy Finger Lakes Riesling while they twitter and tweet about them.  For that specific event, visit www.RieslingHour.com.

               For more information on the overall promotion, visit www.RieslingRocks.com.

Direct-to-Consumer Trends

          The best sale most wineries can make is directly to the consumer--at the tasting room, at a farmers' market, on line, or some other way.  Why?  Because the winery keeps 100% of the transaction, rather than having to discount its wine by 33% if sold directly to a retailer or restaurant, or by 50% to a distributor/wholesaler (who then sells it to multiple retailers and restaurants).  Every method has its place, depending on the size of the winery.

             Direct-to-consumer (DTC) sales are growing strongly in the U.S.--up 14% in volume and 16% in value last year--but they still represent only about 1% of total sales in the country.  The Wine Market Council recently released its "2010 Winery Direct Sales Snapshot Poll", which as always includes some interesting findings.

             "Buying direct" for many people means at a winery tasting room (not via the other methods), which offers the major advantage of allowing the sampling of many different wines before selecting those they'll buy. They also expect winery prices to be lower than normal retail prices, which is usually NOT the case because wineries do not want to undercut and alienate their retail accounts.

              Reasons for not buying directly from wineries include a feeling that the local retail sources offer sufficient choices and, especially among the young "Millennial" generation, the aversion to paying shipping costs on top of the wine price.  Laws governing direct shipment are essentially understood by a slight majority, but many still were unaware (and who can blame them--they just want to buy a product they love!)

               Wine clubs (where you sign up and automatically get shipped wines from the winery on a regular basis) are most popular among younger consumers and "core" wine drinkers; and the major reason for dropping a wine club was having no input into which wines are shipped (which the winery decides).

               The Wine Market Council, headed by President John Gillespie, is the most important source of market research available to industry members.  www.winemarketcouncil.com.

               The big cloud on the horizon for DTC this year is escalating gas prices which could both keep tourists from visiting and also drain the funds they might otherwise use to buy wine.  We'll see.                    

Whoops!

            Last weekend when listing the Gold medal wines from the Pacific Rim competition, somehow I omitted Hazlitt 1852 Vineyards 2009 Gewurztraminer and the nonvintage Cabin Fever.  Happily, congenial winemaker Tim Benedict called to let me know.

              He mentioned that the Cabin Fever (along with a Silver for the immensely popular Red Cat) are wines produced at the Widmer Wine Cellars facility which Hazlitt purchased and transformed last year.  His point: You can make good quality wines in a large facility.  Indeed.