September 8, 2013

             Taste NY visits wine country--again!, Harvest is here, Farm Day is coming, New wineries score big, Great ink for Long Island and Finger Lakes, and much more happening in New York Wine Country.

             Cheers!          

             Jim Trezise

               "Taste NY"  has become a  regular wine country feature, most recently yesterday when Lieutenant Governor Bob Duffy led a large delegation of New York City trade and media representatives to the Hudson Valley Wine & Food Festival at the Dutchess Country Fairgrounds.  Less than a month ago, Governor Andrew Cuomo hosted a similar group of about 200 trade, media, and public officials around the Finger Lakes for the "Governor's Cup Wine Tour", and two weeks ago he attended the Harvest East End celebration on Long Island.

               Yesterday, Lieutenant Governor Bob Duffy (who lives about a mile from me, also on the shores of Keuka Lake) accompanied the New York City restaurateurs, retailers, and media representatives on a special MTA train featuring New York wines, and welcomed everyone to a fabulous Taste NY reception of local foods and beverages created by Great Performances.  He also announced this year's Best of Show wine in the annual Hudson Valley Wine Competition, Millbrook Vineyards 2012 Tocai Friulano, and in accepting the award owner John Dyson gave an entertaining history of the Hudson Valley wine industry and the I Love NY tourism program, which he started decades ago and Governor Cuomo has revived.

                 The Hudson Valley Wine & Food Fest has grown in 12 years from one small tent on an isolated farm to a major event in a great location which now, like the Finger Lakes Wine Festival, includes wineries from throughout the state, along with various food producers and craft vendors.

                  Taste NY today travels to Buffalo Bills' stadium where Governor Cuomo will host a Taste NY tailgate party.  Hey, while we're at it...why not the Super Bowl? 

          There are many sure signs that the annual grape harvest is starting--the shorter days, cooler nights, ripening fruit, gigantic grape harvesters plying the vineyards, and the flatbed trucks laden with large wooden bins brimming with grapes on the way to processors. 

          But another important and welcome sign is the weekly e-newsletter, "Veraison to Harvest", created by Cornell Cooperative Extension to keep growers and processors fully up to date on conditions in the vineyards, and on ways to ensure maximum quality.

           The quality of New York wines has multiplied in recent years, and a major reason is the combination of research by Cornell scientists and communication by professionals at Cornell Cooperative Extension throughout the State.

           John Martini (Anthony Road Winery) and I both sit on the Board of the National Grape and Wine Initiative, a strategic planning group for national research priorities, and our colleagues from California and many other states are both amazed and envious about the relationship our industry has with this world-class institution.  In fact, there are some huge California wineries which send money to the New York Wine & Grape Foundation so we can get them (and New York wineries) the best possible research through Cornell.

             Veraison to Harvest, which we help to fund, has weekly updates from around the state based on field testing by the regional CCE experts.  In addition to submitting their narrative, they collect precise measurements of berry weight, % Brix, pH, titratable acidity, and yeast assimilable nitrogen.  What?!  Those things may mean nothing to you and me, but they mean a lot to growers and wine makers.

              This year's first edition appeared on August 30, reporting that so far this year looks much more like 2011 than 2012, which was the earliest harvest on record.  The early ripening varieties are being picked, but the real crunch will come toward the end of September and beginning of October.  In addition, the prospective crop was so huge this year that many growers cut off tons of grapes so the remaining fruit would be able to ripen fully and produce some great wines.  (Google Cornell Veraison to Harvest newsletter to get the latest.)

                Quality is a team effort--the growers, the wine makers, and our colleagues at Cornell--and this is a championship team indeed.

              In 10 days, Senators, Members of Congress, Administration officials and their senior staffs will be savoring the bounty of New York agriculture at the mega-popular New York Farm Day hosted by our own Senator Kirsten Gillibrand.

              Email RSVP's have been arriving by the dozens each day in Jenn Cooper's inbox, including pleas from people not on the invitation list who have heard about it from friends or simply through the Capitol Hill buzz around Washington's hottest reception.

               Many of our loyal partners will be offering samples of their beverages or foods, and we are also excited to welcome several newcomers as well: Brooklyn Brewery, Brooklyn Winery, Kings County Distillery, and 61Local, a Brooklyn restaurant serving only New York foods and beverages (and yes, we're featuring a special Brooklyn section this year because, in fact, all these businesses use New York farm products); Bilinski Sausage and Hawthorne Farms from the Capital region; Empire Brewing from Central New York; Climbing Bines (brewery with their own hops), Finger Lakes Distilling, and Java-Gourmet (coffee roasters) from the Finger Lakes; and Fiveand20 Spirits from the Lake Erie region .  A full list of exhibitors and their tasteful offerings will be coming soon.

                We thank Senator Gillibrand for hosting New York Farm Day, our fellow sponsors for making it possible, and our exhibitors for donating their time, travel, and product to show official Washington that New York is an awesome farm state.

                 Not so long ago, new New York wineries were a suspect lot based on the quality (or lack thereof) of their wines in their start-up years.  No longer, at least for two new wineries that have hit the ground running--fast.

                 21 Brix Winery (www.21Brix.com), in the Lake Erie region, so far this year has won 33 Gold, Double Gold, Best of Class, or Best of Category medals in major competitions, with its 2011 Vidal Ice Wine winning Best of Class at both Indy and Pacific Rim, along with Best Dessert Wine at Amenti del Vino, while its 2012 Chardonnay won Best of Category at Atlantic Seaboard and the Ellatawba took Best Rose at Long Beach.  21 Brix makes a broad range of wines from Native American, French-American, Cornell, and classic European grape varieties, all of which have won top prizes, demonstrating quality across the board.  In addition, young winemaker Kris Kane (a super nice guy) was recently cited by California-based trade publication Wines & Vines as one of America's top 100 wine makers.  It also helps that the superb quality grapes come from one of the region's oldest and best vineyards (225 acres), Olde Chautauqua Farms owned by Kris's parents Michael and Marion Jordan, whose other son Brian also is part of the team.

                  Coyote Moon Vineyards (www.coyotemoonvineyards.com), in the Thousand Islands region, makes wine fun as well as good.  Since its opening three years ago, Coyote Moon has won over 600 medals, and this year has already won 32 Gold or above in major competitions.  Virtually all of Coyote Moon's wines are made from the relatively new, extremely cold-hardy "Minnesota varieties" like Brianna and LaCrescent (both white), Frontenac and Marquette (reds).  They took Best of Class for La Crescent, Fire Boat Red, and Casa Papa Red at San Francisco Chronicle; LaCrescent at Long Beach;  Brianna at U.S. National; and Island Mama and Razzle Dazzle Raspberry at Riverside. Their Marquette and Twisted Sister won Best of Category at Atlantic Seaboard.

                    Owner Phil Randazzo is a veteran marketer from other businesses who understands the value of "branding" and establishing a reputation for quality.  In the wine business, entering good wines into serious wine competitions is one major way, especially since it is highly unlikely that the three major consumer-focused wine publications would seriously review new and unfamiliar varietals like Brianna and Marquette, while the trade publications have already done so.  Entering competitions requires an investment--but it also provides a great return.

                     Coyote Moon, like 21 Brix, is a family affair, with Phil's artist wife Mary the label designer, son Tony the general manager, daughter Lori the outside events manager, daughter Kristina (Randazzo) Ives the public relations and marketing manager, and her husband Christian Ives the wine taster an food pairing expert. In addition, both Coyote Moon and 21 Brix also make wine fun, from the fanciful names of their wines to their colorful labels, a giant pink elephant in front of the 21 Brix winery (for whom some wines are named), the howling coyote symbol at Coyote Moon, which also hosts a never-ending series of special events.  They're a breath of fresh air from the snobby ambiance so common in the wine industry.

                 Yesterday's Wall St. Journal has a fabulous article by Jay McInerney titled, "The Other Bordeaux Lies Closer to Home", and featuring the North Fork of Long Island and several of its top wineries.  A subheadline summed up the article's content: "Once lauded for its whites and roses, Long Island's North Fork delivers some very good reds".

                  Specific wineries mentioned as examples included Bedell Cellars (Merlot), Shinn Estate (red blends), Paumanok (Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc), and Pinot Noir from McCall Wines (winner of our Winery of the Year award at the New York Wine & Food Classic).

                  Another great quote: "The wines from Long Island keep getting better and better."  Indeed.

                   In addition, today's New York Times (Long Island section) has a great article by Howard G. Goldberg, who contributes a frequent "Long Island Vines" column.  This one, with mouth-watering descriptions of the wines, focused on Malbec, and recommended those wines from Ospreys Dominion, Shinn Estate, Lenz, Bedell, and Raphael.  Grill a steak and you're all set.

                   Wine & Spirits magazine's October edition has a great article, "Finger Lakes Road Trip" by Adrian Murcia (who toured the region as part of our NY Drinks NY program).  Wine & Spirits has been a major supporter of New York wines for several years, with dozens of scores 90 and (mostly) above, and this article continues the trend.  Case in point: a 93 to Sheldrake Point 2012 Finger Lakes Pinot Gris.

                    The unique "terroir" of the Finger Lakes is described, as well as the wines and philosophies of winemakers from Ravines, Forge Cellars and Red Newt, accompanied by a description of noted grower Sam Artesinger.

                     USA Today online also had a great piece by Holly Howell, "New York's Finger Lakes Wine Trails", which described the popular Cayuga, Seneca, and Keuka lake trails as well as Finger Lakes Distilling and Muranda Cheese.  Great coverage for a great region.

                      In short, the word is getting out!