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March 10, 2012
New York Drinks New York, a brighter business climate, more New York Gold coming soon, and lots more happening in wine country.
Cheers!
Jim Trezise |
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New York Drinks New York--Sold Out! | | |
This weekend and Monday mark the last major activities of our "New York Drinks New York" promotion, starting with a series of in-store wine tastings by New York winery owners and wine makers in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens. At these events consumers can not only taste the wines but also meet the people responsible for producing them, while the stores get the benefit of additional sales.
Tomorrow, representatives from the 38 participating wineries will spend the afternoon visiting various wine stores, primarily in Brooklyn, to get a first-hand understanding of the market environment in New York City compared with the rest of state. At the end of the day, we will all enjoy a celebratory dinner in Chinatown.
Monday features the "Grand Tasting" at Astor Center, beginning with a special afternoon session exclusively for the press and trade, followed by the consumer portion from 5:30 to 8:00. The evening event has been sold out for some time, a sign of the "buzz" about New York wines in the Big Apple.
While there, we'll be watching for the "NYDrinksNY" taxi top ads that are on 200 cabs throughout March. For more information: www.nydrinksny.com. |
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Shaping the Business Climate--Continued | | |
Last weekend I wrote about the importance of the business climate for growing the grape and wine industry. This week there are two great examples from Albany.
Governor Andrew Cuomo is proposing legislation creating "farm breweries" patterned after "farm wineries" which began with the Farm Winery Act of 1976. The purpose is to encourage the use of New York agricultural products (hops, barley, wheat) as well as the development of new small businesses and tourism. The proposal also includes provisions similar to the 1984 "winery deregulation" legislation initiated by former Governor Mario Cuomo such as allowing on-premise restaurants, tastings, and the sale of related products.
Those two laws, and a few others throughout the years, stimulated the growth of our industry from 19 wineries in 1976 to 319 today. This has meant new investment, new jobs, new tourism, and new taxes so that our industry now generates more than $3.76 billion of economic benefits for the State of New York every year.
But what do farm breweries have to do with wine? For one thing, this legislation will allow farm breweries to sample and sell New York wines, and farm wineries to sample and sell New York beers--a great convenience for consumers. It also, importantly, exempts farm wineries, breweries, and distilleries from an onerous wholesale tax filing requirement that has been in effect for the past few years. Finally, the micro-brewers (and micro-distillers) are our colleagues in agriculture, so anything that helps grow these industries is good for all.
A separate piece of legislation sponsored by Senator Patty Ritchie and Assemblyman Bill Magee, who chair the Agriculture Committes in their respective chambers, would significantly reduce farm-based taxes, fees and regulatory burdens. Typical provisions include a refundable investment tax credit, exemption of farm wineries from sales tax reporting (but not from paying the tax or keeping records), and reduction of registration fees for agricultural plated trucks.
Not all farmers are grape growers, but all grape growers are farmers, so all of this will help our industry. And enlightened legislation like this doesn't just happen: It is to a great extent because of great work of New York Farm Bureau, of which every grape grower and winery should be a member.
Meanwhile, this week Scott Osborn of Fox Run Vineyards (and President of the New York Wine Industry Association) testified at a hearing on the next Farm Bill, and its importance to "specialty crop" sectors like the grape and wine industry. And next week we'll be in Washington to meet with our Senators and Representatives on national issues.
If we want to affect the business climate, we gotta be there. |
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Free Run... | | |
New York Gold will almost certainly flow soon from Sonoma, where the International Eastern Wine Competition was held last week. Sponsored by Vineyard & Winery Management and ably run by Linda Murphy, this year's competition included wines east of the Rockies (i.e., none from our west coast friends). I had the pleasure of judging along with wine makers Peter Bell (Fox Run), Steve DeFrancisco (Glenora), and Johannes Reinhardt (Anthony Road) as well as colleagues from other states. While we don't yet know the results (probably this week), we do know that a Dry Riesling from somewhere is Best of Show, as well as Best White Wine and Riesling Champion. It might be from New York, but it could also be from Colorado, Michigan, or Ohio where fine Rieslngs are being made as well. Drum roll..... Next up, in a couple weeks, is the great Finger Lakes International Wine Competition which benefits Camp Good Days and Special Times
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New wineries just keep popping up throughout the State, with 319 currently licensed and another 10 licenses pending. In addition, there are 52 winery satellite stores, with one pending. Even during the worst of the recession the industry grew strongly, and the growth is accelerating. Before you know it, we'll be over 400.
Finger Lakes Rieslings were featured alongside German Rieslings last week when Manhattan restaurateur and Riesling aficionado Paul Grieco offered a comparative tasting and seminar at the massive Prowein trade show in Dusseldorf. Paul and others staffing the International Riesling Foundation booth also applied Riesling tattoos to more than 2,100 attendees, who became like walking advertisements for the world's most noble white wine. The IRF booth and staff promoted Summer of Riesling 2012 which will take place from June 21 to September 22. Meanwhile, Teresa Knapp, Bob Madill and others offered a broader selection of New York wines in our "Uncork New York" booth.
Noiret, a new red wine grape variety created by Cornell University, got a nice plug in Dan Berger's Vintage Experiences, following his tasting of a Noiret wine at the International Eastern Wine Competition last week. His description: "The variety is based on fruit not unlike violets and fresh berries, a note of black pepper, and a texture that is tart but not tannic--sort of the polar opposite of so many West Coast Reds." This is the type of open-palatedness that has typified Dan Berger for decades: He's not a snob, and is always open to new varieties, aromas and tastes regardless of a grape's pedigree. That's also one of the things that makes his Riverside International Competition so great.
"Wall of Beer" will be unveiled by Casa Larga Vineyards next Saturday during their St. Patrick's Day festivities at the winery. The "wall" will feature beers from all over New York State, with a focus on products from the Finger Lakes Beer Trail and Finger Lakes Cheese Trail. Located high atop a hill with a view of the Rochester skyline, and just minutes away from the region's largest shopping mall, Casa Larga is a popular destination for wine, weddings, and now beer. For more information on next weekend's festivities, visit www.casalarga.com.
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"It takes a lot of beer to make good wine."
--Chris Stamp, Winemaker at Lakewood Vineyards
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