Sights, Smells, and Sounds of Fall

                Fall in New York State is a feast for the senses--sight, smell, taste, and sound--unlike no other season.

              In the vineyards from Long Island to Lake Erie, the canopy of grape leaves is lush and green, sheltering and feeding the ripening grapes of all types and colors.  In the Finger Lakes and Lake Erie regions, the aroma of Concord grapes perfumes the air with a gorgeous fruity scent.  Grape growers and winemakers pace the vineyards, taking measurements of sugar, acid and pH but most importantly tasting the grapes for flavor development, while tourists sample last year's (fabulous) vintage in the tasting rooms.  And in the wine cellars, as Glenora's Gene Pierce points out every year, the fermenting juice in tanks bubbling away sounds like a symphony of life.

               The magic of fall extends well beyond the grape and wine industry, with all kinds of other crops--apples, pears, cabbage, corn, pumpkins--gracing the fields and farmstands with a rainbow of colors and cornucopia of flavors, the culmination of a year of toil, investment, and hope for good weather.  In most New York regions, this year's weather has been good to great, but many of our agricultural colleagues in the Hudson Valley region have suffered tremendous loss, and they could use our help.

                Fall in the Finger Lakes brings another kind of magic: trust.  As we drive around the region, there are small family farmstands everywhere with all kinds of fresh produce.  In most cases, there is no attendant--they are in the fields harvesting--so you just take what you want and leave your money in a lockbox.  It's an old-fashioned concept called the honor system. 

                Wouldn't it be nice if that permeated our society?

             New York Farm Day on Tuesday, hosted by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, was the biggest and best ever, a tasteful reminder that New York is a major farm state and that farming is a major part of New York's economy.

             The first Senator in the door was John McCain, joined by several others as well as a host of Representatives from the House side, key staff, and members of the Administration--an RSVP crowd of about 500 during the two-hour reception. 

              In her remarks, Senator Gillibrand reminded everyone that New York makes some of the best wines, produces some of the best foods, and has some of the best restaurants in the country--and deserves to be kept squarely in mind when agricultural policy is being shaped.

              Fortunately for us, she serves on the Senate Agriculture Committee, and prior to Farm Day convened a meeting of her Agricultural Advisor Committee where she outlined her current initiatives (including disaster relief for New York farmers, and immigration reform) and invited input from all of us in attendance.

               Since its inception in 2002, first hosted by then-Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, New York Farm Day has become the most popular reception on Capitol Hill.  Is it the wine...the food...the restaurants?  Yes, all of the above.  But it's mostly because the people who make the wine, grow the food, and create the dishes are there to present them.  It's not just another catered event.

               Senator Chuck Schumer, New York's senior Senator, was a key part of the event as well, and has been a great advocate for agriculture and the New York wine industry, most recently in working to resolve delays in wine label approvals.

                This year was the 10th anniversary of New York Farm Day, and a memorable one indeed. We'll be back next year.

Red Newt, Wiemer in Top 100

                 Red Newt Cellars and Hermann J. Wiemer Vineyard have been ranked among the Top 100 wineries in the world by Wine & Spirits magazine, and both will be present at a mid-October gala tasting in San Francisco featuring the world's top wines and unveiling the magazine's Winter Issue which will contain all the details.

             This is a big honor for these wineries, and for the Finger Lakes wine region, which has had other Top 100 winners in previous years as well.  Among major consumer publications, Wine & Spirits has been by far the most attentive to New York wines, which frequently receive ratings of 90 or above.  Both wineries are on Seneca Lake, with Red Newt on the east side and Hermann J. Wiemer on the west.

 A Gust of Sun Winery Opens in Niagara

           New York's newest winery, A Gust of Sun Winery & Vineyard, held its grand opening celebration last Saturday featuring local everything--wine, food, music, and art.  Owned by Erik and Shane Gustafson, the vineyard and winery are located on 10 acres in the Town of Cambria. 

                 Among others attending the official ribbon cutting was Senator George Maziarz, a strong supporter of the New York wine industry.  More information: www.agustofsun.com.

                 Watch for more new wineries in the coming weeks.  We're now up to 309 (and counting), with wineries in 52 of New York's 62 counties--truly a statewide industry.

            Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee did little damage to most New York grape and wine regions, but the Hudson Valley was a sad exception, especially in the famous Black Dirt Region with some of the earth's most fertile soil.

               Some of our wine industry colleagues--Hudson-Chatham, Palaia, and Whitecliff--reported significant damage and setbacks to this year's harvest, but nothing compared with the total losses suffered by people like onion farmers Chris and Eve Pawelski in the Black Dirt Region.  I saw Chris at Farm Day, where he described their situation and the challenges they face--including not being able to get disaster relief because FEMA funding is being held hostage to political gamesmanship in Washington.

               Happily, the Administration of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, including Agriculture Commissioner Darrel Aubertine, has been proactive since even before Irene hit, and with several other government agencies and private organizations like New York Farm Bureau have provided a lot of information and assistance.

               There are also private sector disaster relief initiatives, like "Dine Out Irene" on Sunday at many New York City restaurants, as well as our own Red Newt Bistro, where proceeds for the dinner go to helping farmers who normally participate in Greenmarkets.  There is also Warwick FarmAid, which is holding a fund-raising concert.  For more information about the scope of the problem and ways to help, visit these links:

http://warwickfarmaid.com

http://warwickinfo.net/farmaid/index.html

http://www.bozarts.com/news/latest/438-black-dirt-region-farms-flood.html

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Warwick-Farm-Aid-2011/267801303249802

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckeoUt_LT3E

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJOzsWs5IOA

               Any help is most welcome.