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NIAGARA WINE, the official magazine of the Niagara Wine Trail USA, will soon be launched to promote the Niagara wine region as a world-class destination.
The Niagara Wine Trail USA was created in 2002 and has quickly grown to 16 wineres and 1 cidery, with additional members expected later this year. The region historically was a large grape and wine area, but had a significant lapse in production a few decades ago, only to rise again recently.
The new semi-annual magazine will showcase the diversity of the wineries as well as other attractions in the region most famous for one of the world's great wonders, Niagara Falls. Niagara Wine will have free distribution throughout Buffalo, Niagara and Rochester along with other tourist destinations throughout New York and Ohio. For more information about the Niagara Wine Trail: www.niagarawinetrail.org.
2010 MERLIANCE, a merlot blend from an organization with the same name on Long Island, will be unveiled at a "Merlot Confidential" event on June 7 at Raphael, which will also feature other merlot blends along with barrel samples from the 2012 vintage.
The 2010 vintage was blessed with virtually perfect growing conditions, and has been hailed as the best ever on Long Island. The 2010 Merliance is a blend of 100% merlot from all six Merliance members: Clovis Point, McCall Wines, Raphael, Sherwood House Vineyards, T'Jara Vineyards and Wolffer Estate Vineyard (which now encompasses The Grapes of Roth as well).
The June 7 event will also include a vertical tasting of Merliance wines from the 2006 to 2010 vintages, as well as signature hors d'oeuvres provided by Raphael. Tickets are $40 per person at www.longislandmerlot.com/topsecret.
HUDSON VALLEY WINE MARKET, the first wine boutique and eventual e-commerce site specializing in Hudson Valley wines, will have its grand opening on Saturday afternoon, May 11 in Gardiner, NY.
Millbrook Vineyards & Winery, Warwick Valley Winery & Distiller, and Whitecliff Vineyard will offer complementary tastings at the event. Perry Goldschein, a former lawyer and consultant who now owns the shop, offers wines from other regions around the world but is eagerly promoting the growing size and reputation of the Hudson Valley as a fine wine region. www.HudsonValleyWineMarket.com.
HYATT HOTEL in Rochester, where we held Viticulture 2013 in February, has learned that featuring New York wines is good for their business.
When we were planning this huge conference and guaranteeing hundreds of room-nights to the Hyatt, our own Jennifer Cooper suggested that they could do a much better job of featuring New York wines. While skeptical at first, management finally decided to give it a try.
This week, two months later, a Hyatt sales representative stopped in our office to say that their increased selection of New York wines has provided a real marketing advantage, especially with potential conventions that want the "local product". In fact, the wine list was the first thing that a representative from a large organization wanted to see before they even talked about the possibility of having their conference there. Who was it? New York Farm Bureau.
HIGH POINTS AND NICE WORDS keep coming to New York wines, with Sparkling Pointe 2003 Brut Seduction earning 90 points in the current Wine Spectator, while Red Newt Cellars 2011 Circle Riesling also got a 90 from Wine Enthusiast along with a "Top Shelf" designation.
Meanwhile, this week British wine writer Jancis Robinson of London's Financial Times praised Finger Lakes Rieslings and Long Island wines in general in a column spinning off a new book, American Wine, which she wrote along with California wine writer Linda Murphy, a great advocate of all American wines. The book also has a very nice (and long) section on New York as a fine wine state.
ECONOMIC IMPACT of the Finger Lakes grape and wine industry is featured in a newsletter from the New York State Department of Labor. Written by Kevin Jacks, the article starts with a great quote from the New York Time's Eric Asimov ("Really, if you haven't tried any wines from the Finger Lakes in recent years, you're missing out."), and then highlights the various ways in which our industry is a major economic engine. Read it at http://www.labor.state.ny.us/stats/PDFs/enys0313.pdf.
Of course we've known that for years, with studes to prove it, and I'm delighted to report that we will soon be launching an updated and expanded economic study which, hopefully, will be done by the end of this year. The last one, based on 2008 data, showed that our industry generates annual economic benefits to the state exceeding $3.76 billion, a number that undoubtedly has increased with the accelerating growth of our industry throughout the State.
Thanks to State Senator Patty Ritchie and Assemblyman Bill Magee, we now have the resources to sponsor a study based on 2012 data AND to include the economic impact of other "farm-based craft beverages" (micro-brews, spirits, and cider).
Stay tuned for the results.
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