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Nail-biting weather patterns this spring have a lot of growers with fingers and toes crossed, at least for the next few weeks. Weather varies by region, of course, with different effects, but in most areas the unseasonably warm weather in winter and early spring caused concern about early bud development and vulnerability to cold snaps--which have occurred recently, accompanied by some significant snow on April 23!. Happily, at least so far, visible damage in the Finger Lakes appears minimal, though the Lake Erie region apparently suffered to a greater extent. There are still a few weeks to go before we can vitually eliminate a late freeze as a factor in this year's crop development.
Long Island Sustainable Winegrowing project which I mentioned last week is a great program, and I apologize for a typo in the web site for more information. It should be www.lisustainablewine.org. And it's worth visiting. Congratulations again to our Long Island colleagues for taking this initiative.
Finger Lakes Wine Challenge and Tasting, a key part of the "May is Riesling Month" celebration, will take place on Friday, May 11 from 5 to 8 pm at the Doubletree Inn just outside of Rochester. The event will will include a special blind tasting of wines from 21 participating wineries, with the person getting the most correct answers winning an "instant wine cellar" of Finger Lakes winery gift certificates valued at over $1,000. The evening will also include a Grand Tasting. Tickets are $45 in advance, $65 at the door, with more information available from Stephanie Jarvis of the Finger Lakes Wine Alliance(sjarvis@fingerlakeswinecountry.com.) or at www.flxwinechallenge.com.
Microclimate is a new wine bar in Geneva, NY (38 Linden St.) that specializes in comparing Finger Lakes wines with others from around the world, with specific flights (mostly based around varietals) changing during the course of the year. Right now the focus is on Rose wines. For more information, call 315-787-0077 or on Facebook go to http://facebook.com/MicroclimateWineBar.
Resveratrol found on the skins of grapes and in red wines has long been known to have certain health benefits, particularly cardiovascular, but a new study in the Journal of Biological Chemistry suggests that another substance in red wine wine (piceatannol) may prevent fatty foods from becoming body fat, with small doses causing a 20% reduction in conversion and larger doses up to 80%. Piceatannol is found in berries, grapes, and red wine, but its greatest concentrations are in passion fruit! So have some passion fruit with your red wine.
30,000,000 million bottles of Riesling in the U.S. market now bear the International Riesling Foundation's IRF Riesling Taste Profile on their back labels, making it easier for consumers to know the taste of the wine in the bottle--Dry, Medium Dry, Medium Sweet, or Sweet. Riesling producers from many states and countries now use the Taste Profile, but New York (primarily the Finger Lakes) has the most by far. For more information and to sign up for a free electronic newsletter, visit www.drinkriesling.com.
Dessert du Vin Glace, a.k.a. Wine Ice Cream, is now being enjoyed by our neighbors to the north, thanks to a distribution agreement between Mercer's Dairy and Chanel Desserts Nutri-Pro Corporation of Quebec.
Mercer's Wine Ice Cream was conceived at New York Farm Day 2003, hosted by then-Senator (now Secretary) Hillary Clinton, when visitors poured their samples of New York ice wine into their cups of ice cream. Mercer's Marketing Director Roxaina Hurlburt and I looked at each other, and the lightbulbs lit. I then sent her samples of six different types of wine, she and her colleagues developed a special process, and a market that didn't previously exist suddenly exploded. Today, several luscious flavors are being sold around the world--France, the Netherlands, Dubai, China, and elsewhere.
This year's New York Farm Day, hosted by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, will be on Wednesday, September 12. Who know what might come out of that?
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