Coyote Moon Strikes Gold Again

                  Last Sunday, I called Coyote Moon Winery owner Phil Randazzo to tell him that his River Run, a Catawba-based rose wine, just took Best Rose at the Long Beach Grand Cru International Wine Competition in southern California.  Coyote Moon also took Gold medals for Brianna and La Crescent, joined by three Silvers and five Bronzes for other wines.

               Shortly after I hung up, I received the results from the New York Wine and Bar Show competition run by Anthony Dias Blue, who also chairs the terrific San Francisco International.  Guess what: River Run also got a Gold there, and Coyote Moon's Naked Chardonnay (unoaked) not only Golded but was also rated Best Chardonnay of the competition.  (Millbrook Vineyards Chardonnay from the Hudson Valley also won a Gold medal.)

               Today, the Thousand Islands winery is celebrating its second anniversary with a "Howl at the Moon Festival", and they certainly have reason to do celebrate.  In its brief life, Coyote Moon has won a slew of medals in many competitions for all kinds of different wines, including the "Minnesota varieties" which grow so well in that cold climate.

                Coyote Moon's success is reflective of that unlikely wine region's growth.  At this time of year, the Thousand Islands--named after all the islands, large and tiny, in the St. Lawrence River that flows from the Great Lakes into the Atlantic Ocean and serves as the border between the U.S. and Canada--is a virtual paradise.  The days are long, the river is warm, and the tourists are dropping their money everywhere.

               January is different from July.  It gets cccccooooold up there, and certainly the only grapes that could survive are the extremely cold-hardy Minnesota varieties which generally can withstand winter termperatures of 40 below zero.  Years ago, Steve Conaway took a gamble and started the Thousand Islands Winery, and now several others have followed, along with many grape growers in the region. 

              The North Country region is also home to several important public officials like Agriculture Commissioner Darrel Aubertine, Senate Agriculture Committee Chair Patty Ritchie, and Assembly Agriculture Committee Ranker Ken Blankenbush.

               New York's grape and wine industry used to be regional, with grapes and wine produced in only a handful of counties.  Now, 51 of 62 counties have wineries, and the Thousand Islands region is a great example of how that helps the local economy.

               By the way, the "Howl at the Moon Festival"--with 20 food vendors, live music, draft beer, and much else--is priced at a whopping $3 dollars, with anyone under 21 free.  www.coyotemoonvineyards.com.

          Governor Andrew M. Cuomo has signed legislation that will reduce regulatory burdens, increase productivity, and enhance marketing opportunities for New York farm wineries.

             The multifaceted legislation grew out of recommendations of a New York State Wine Grape Task Force involving many industry members and convened by the Department of Agriculture & Markets under then-Commissioner Patrick Hooker, with excellent coordination by Jackie Moody-Czub, then a deputy commissioner and now Assistant Secretary for Agriculture and Markets for Governor Cuomo. 

              The actual bill was initiated by current Comissioner Darrel Aubertine and sponsored by Senators Catharine Young of the Lake Erie/Chautauqua grape and wine region, always a strong supporter of the industry; Senator Patricia Ritchie of "North Country" and the new Chair of the Agriculture Committee; and Assemblyman Robin Schimminger of Buffalo who chairs that chamber's Economic Development Committee.

              A key provision clarifies that "satellite" or "branch" stores of wineries are now formally considered extensions of the wineries, not as separate entities, making it much simpler to open them around the state and also more economically viable by being able to sell the same items as the winery tasting room.  Wineries may have up to five such stores anywhere in the state.

               Another key clarification involves "custom crush", which will encourage more small wineries to enter the industry by ensuring that they may contract with existing wineries to produce their wines, which also means more efficient asset utilization by those wineries.

               Direct interstate shipment of New York wines to out of state consumers, allowable since 2005,  has been impeded by burdensome reporting requirements that have now been eliminated, requiring wineries simply to maintain their reports on-site and provide them to the State Liquor Authority only upon request.

               Charitable event restrictions have also been lifted so that, instead of being limited to just five events per year, a winery may obtain one annual permit and simply notify the State Liquor Authority of the events it supports.

               These changes and others enhance New York State's business climate for the wine industry, and reaffirm the awareness of public officials of its importance as an economic engine.  There are certainly many other steps which could be taken, especially in terms of  simplifying and expediting the licensing process, but the changes in this bill are most welcome. 

               We thank Governor Cuomo, Commissioners Hooker and Aubertine, Assistant Secretary Czub, Senators Young and Ritchie, and Assemblyman Schimminger for their leadership in making New York State a better place to do business.

Hudson Valley: Crazy for Cassis 

            Until 2003, growing currants was banned in New York, but legislation that year allowing their cultivation has led to a new cottage industry in the Hudson Valley, as recently reported by edible Manhattan. 

           Clinton Vineyards' Ben and Phyllis Feder sparked the trend with a rich, dark, luscious cassis that made an elegant Kir Royale when blended with their Seyval-based sparkling wine.  Since then, several other wineries--Brookview, Hudson-Chatham, Tousey, and Warwick Valley--have followed suit, producing their own verions of the elixir.

            The article, titled, "Message in a Bottle: The Currant's Second Coming", estimates that 12,000 bottles of cassis will be sold this year, with more expected next year, making the Hudson Valley the nation's #1 producer of cassis.  The Hudson Valley has also spawned lots of great micro-distillers whose fine products are proudly sold in the Big Apple to the south.

            The Hudson Valley is a historic wine region, with roots in the early 1800's, but a renaissance is now underway with exciting new products rounding out the region's portfolio.

Free Run...

             Beer Buddies are popping up all across New York State in the form of new microbreweries similar to farm wineries and interested in creating "beer trails" like the wine trails that have so successfully led to the growth of tourism and the wine industry. 

               Not long ago, New York had just five brewers (mostly large), but now there are 73 craft breweries, with at least 30 more in the planning stages.  Just like farm wineries, they are small businesses that stimulate new investment, new jobs, new tourism, and new taxes.  And their products are really good! 

               We are happy to work with Dave Katleski and his colleagues at the New York State Brewers Association to show New Yorkers just how good beer (and wine) can be--when it's right from their own backyard. 

               The New York Wine & Culinary Center in Canandaigua proudly features many New York micro-brews and products from New York micro-distilleries along with New York wines from throughout the State. It's all good.

               New Jersey Wineries, which now number about 50, and making some really good wines, but are also battling the liquor lobby for the basic right to sell their wines directly to consumers, which is the lifeblood of any small winery anywhere. 

               When the U.S. Supreme Court in 2005 ruled that direct interstate wine shipment must be both ways (into and out of a state, rather than just intrastate), most states including New York "leveled up", allowing intra- and interstate shipments to the benefit of their industries and consumers.  "Joisey", by contrast, said no shipping by anyone, to anyone, anywhere, depriving local wineries of important sales, and consumers of choice.  After a regulation allowing wineries more tasting rooms was struck down, the wine industry is taking another run at open shipping, but as always the wholesalers are doing everything possible to block it.

               The economic absurdity of all this--for wineries, consumers, and the state itself--was spelled out in a terrific Newark Star-Ledger piece by Orley Ashenfelter, a Professor of Economics at Princeton University as well as president of the American Association of Wine Economists.

               Why do we have to keep fighting these battles for the baisc right to sell our product?  We wish our NJ colleagues well.

               Crop Insurance is a very important part of survival for grape growers, who are subject to the same vagaries of nature as other farmers without the same protection from disaster.  Fortunately, New York's Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is taking up the cause. 

               A member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, Senator Gillibrand has contacted the United States Department of Agriculture to urge a leveling of the playing for grape growers with that of other commodities by changing several of the current regulations.

               Senator Gillibrand is also the host of the annual "New York Farm Day", a showcase of New York wines, foods, and restaurants in the Senate's Edward Kennedy Caucus Room that will occur on September 20 this year.

         "Experiencing great wine without great food is experiencing only half the pleasure."

                                                        --Michael Mondavi