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December 14, 2013
Great Harvest, Winning Wines, New Wineries, "New York Drinks New York", New York Farm Day, Taste NY Events...
2013: Another Great Year
As we near the end of 2013, there's lots to look back on, and much to look forward to. While there are still 17 days before we break out the bubbly on New Year's Eve, it's not too soon to celebrate one of the best overall years in recent memory.
o The 2013 vintage turned out very well despite ups and downs during the year, with large quanity and superb quality across virtually all grape varieties and regions.
o Top awards went to over 700 New York wines in major international competitions, along with 60 rave reviews of wines rated 90 or above in major consumer publications.
o 32 new wine producers were licensed so far this year, bringing New York's total to 354, with at least 13 still pending.
o "New York Drinks New York" has raised the profile (and sales) of New York wines in New York City.
o "New York Farm Day" hosted by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand in September was bigger and better than ever.
o "Taste NY" events throughout the year and the State have highlighted New York wines, other beverages, and foods
Vintage 2013
The weather during 2013 varied greatly by season, with some concerns going into the fall that the harvest might be good but not great. Happily, September and October changed that in most regions, and especially on Long Island.
In 2012, warm weather all year resulted in the earliest harvest in memory--about three weeks ahead--while 2013 was on a more normal timetable. A common adage among grape growers is that "a small crop gets smaller, and a large crop gets larger" than the estimates, and that's exactly what happened this year. In fact, the crop was so large that many growers had to purposely thin out their vineyards--dropping grapes on the ground--so the remaining grapes could ripen sufficiently to make quality wines and grape juice. Even then, some grapes didn't find a home.
In terms of quality, Long Island benefited from an unprecedented string of warm, sunny weather in the fall, resulting in superb quality grapes comparable to those from 2012 and 2010. With the exception of the Lake Erie region, which had some significant rains during harvest, the other regions also benefited from favorable fall weather patterns.
Bottom line: Both grape growers and wine makers were very happy with 2013, which means consumers should be happy in 2014 when the new wines are released.
Awards and Accolades
New York wines continued to wow wine competition judges and wine magazine reviewers, gaining unprecedented recognition in 2013--including being featured at the Presidential Inauguration Luncheon in January.
In international wine competitions, New York wines received 106 "Best" designations, from "Best of Show" (of all wines in a competition) to "Best of Category" (white, red, rose, sparkling or dessert) and "Best Varietal" (chardonnay, riesling, merlot, etc.). Add to that 120 Double Gold medals (requiring unanimity among judges) along with 490 Gold medals, plus 60 scores of 90 or above, and it was a very good year indeed--776 top awards.
Keuka Spring Vineyards topped the list of major awards, with its 2011 Riesling winning Best White Wine (out of about 2,000) at the huge San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, while its 2012 Riesling won our coveted Governor's Cup award ahead of more than 850 others. McCall Wines took the other major award, Winery of the Year, for consistent quality of many wines across the board.
Dr. Konstantin Frank Vinifera Wine Cellars 2012 Dry Riesling was the Best of Show wine of any type at the U.S. National Competition, while Chateau Frank Celebre took Best of Show Sparkling Wine at the New York World Wine & Spirits Competition. For the year, the Dr. Frank/Chateau Frank combination won more than 130 Gold medals or above, topped only by the Swedish Hill/Goose Watch/Penguin Bay group with 139.
21 Brix Winery from the Lake Erie region was another big winner with Best of Show Wine honors for its 2011 Vidal Ice Wine at the International Eastern Wine Competition, and Best Rose for Ellatawba at the Long Beach Grand Cru event.
Sparkling Pointe 2008 Blanc de Noirs from Long Island won Best Sparkling Wine at the International Eastern Wine Competition and the New World International Wine Competition, both in California.
Sheldrake Point Winery 2012 Late Harvest Riesling was rated "Best American Riesling" at the Canberra International Riesling Challenge in Australia, where it has won similar awards in past years.
In terms of point scores, the highest this year went to Treleaven 2011 EIS Late Harvest Riesling from King Ferry Winery (95) and Knapp Vineyards Winery & Restaurant 2011 Vidal Blanc Ice Wine (94), both from the World Wine Championships.
But certainly the highlight of the year was having Bedell 2009 Merlot from Long Island and Tierce 2010 Finger Lakes Dry Riesling as the official wines of the Inaugural Luncheon in the Rotunda of the Capitol in January. Thanks to Senator Charles Schumer, the wines were accompanied by an array of New York foods, and the entertainment also reflected a strong New York theme. A bonus: the Inaugural wines were cited in media around the world. New York wines have come of age.
For the best holiday wine shopping list, visit the Awards and Accolades section of our web site, which you may search by winery, type of wine, or competition.
A few New York wine industry people also received special recognition during the year, with the IntoWine blog naming Fred Frank of Dr. Frank Wines and Kris Kane of 21 Brix Winery in their top 100 most influential winemakers. http://www.intowine.com/top-100-most-influential-us-winemakers?page=0,1. Vineyard & Winery Management magazine conducted a survey among the industry to determine "The 20 Most Admired People in the American Wine Industry", who included Anthony Road wine maker Johannes Reinhardt and Yours Truly (though I think that was a mistake!) http://www.vwmmedia.com/magazine/current_issue.asp.
354 and Counting...
So far during 2013, 32 new winery licenses have been issued by the New York State Liquor Authority, with 13 others pending, and these numbers don't include the 9 satellite stores and 54 branch offices which are essentially remote tasting rooms for wineries. We are grateful that the New York State Liquor Authority has significantly expedited the license approval process, so some of the "pending" licenses may in fact be active by the end of this month.
In addition, the new wineries are scattered throughout the State in many different counties and regions, including some that until recently were never associated with grapes and wine. From being a largely regional industry not long ago, the wine industry has become virtually statewide--with 55 of New York's 62 counties now boasting wine producers (including Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens). (A "Wineries by County" map is available at www.newyorkwines.org.)
One of the services we provide at the New York Wine & Grape Foundation is essentially serving as an "incubator" for new wineries, with web-based information on licensing, business plans, grape varieties, and much more, supplemented with personal help as needed. There's even a special web site where you can get a satellite-based view of New York State and explore specific areas as potential vineyards based on location, slope, soil type, and decades of temperature readings (www.nyvineyardsite.com).
NYS Beverage Shop is another fabulous new service--a "one-stop shop" for all kinds of questions and answers--that grew out of the Governor's Wine, Beer & Spirits Summit in the fall of 2013. Sam Filler, whom I call "the answer man", fields questions on all kinds of topics, consults with the appropriate government agency, then promptly gets back with the information needed. Located within Empire State Development, Sam has done a great job providing a real service to the industry to help it grow faster.
The growth in new wineries has been accelerating, which we expect to continue in the future, and each new one means new investment, new jobs, new tourism, and new taxes for the State of New York. In 2008, the grape, grape juice and wine industry generated $3.76 billion in economic benefits for the State of New York (see the "What's in a Bottle of Wine?" mini-poster on our web site).
In January, we expect to unveil the results of a new, updated economic impact study based on 2012 data, and which for the first time will also include beer, spirits, and cider. Stay tuned for some impressive numbers!
"New York Drinks New York"
That's the name of a major New York wine tasting for media, trade and consumers last March, but in a broader sense describes a major initiative we have launched to promote New York wines in New York City.
Thanks to a grant from the Genesee Valley Regional Market Authority supported by the New York State Department of Agriculture & Markets, we have been able to work with a superb, small Manhattan agency, First Press Public Relations, on a very creative "exchange program" introducing New York City to New York State, and vice versa.
Basically, we bring New York City wine writers, sommeliers, and wine store managers to the various wine regions to get a first-hand understanding of their geography, people and wines. Then we bring representatives of the participating wineries into New York City for a thorough market orientation as well as networking opportunities.
There were other aspects of the program as well, starting with fascinating and illuminating market research ("What does New York City think of New York wines?"); media relations; targeted advertising; and the mid-March wine tasting at Astor Center which drew an unprecedented throng of media, trade, and enthusiastic consumers. We'll be repeating that success in a few months.
New York City is the most competitive wine market in the world, and we get no breaks as New Yorkers: we've got to earn our place in the sun just like everyone else. Ya gotta be there, and now we are.
In fact, we now have a 10-second ad running 18 times a day on a 26 x 28-foot screen near Times Square with the theme, "When in New York, Drink New York!" Our friends at edibleManhattan magazine published a great piece about it at http://www.ediblemanhattan.com/drink/beverages/wine/just-time-new-years-eve-partying-new-york-wine-big-screen-times-square/.
Cheers!
"New York Farm Day" Rocks
It may be an annual event (since 2002), but somehow New York Farm Day gets bigger and better every year.
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, who thankfully is a very active member of the Senate Agriculture Committee and a great advocate for our industry, hosts the event and clearly has the respect of her Senate colleagues as well as members of the House, who enjoy the great food and beverages produced in New York. The food ranges from Long Island oysters to Chobani yogurt, New York apples and Mercer's Wine Ice Cream; and the beverages include wine, spirits, beer, cider, grape juice, apple juice and, of course, milk.
The purpose of New York Farm Day is to tastefully educate official Washington that New York is a major farm state whose needs should be considered when shaping agricultural legislation like the (now-stalled) Farm Bill. There are many receptions on Capitol Hill, but Farm Day is one of the hottest tickets for a very simple reason: It's not just great food and great wine, but it's served by the people who actually produce these products (not some caterer).
We (especially Jennifer Cooper) orchestrate Farm Day in close coordination with Senator Gillibrand's staff, which is absolutely top notch in all respects. We also know that the 600 or so people who show up are the ones we want (involved with policy) because it's an invitation-only event and they RSVP to us at the New York Wine & Grape Foundation. This year we also made sure that all attendees received a special flash drive with all kinds of information about New York agriculture.
We look forward to Farm Day 2014 in September.
"Taste NY" Hits the Road
Last spring, Governor Andrew Cuomo unveiled a new "Taste NY" program focused on promoting New York State's agricultural bounty in all its forms, from seafood to fruits and vegetables, dairy products, maple syrup, and of course the great farm-based craft beverages like wine, beer, spirits and cider. Since then, it's been a whirlwind of events and activities, with the "Taste NY" theme and banners appearing all across the State.
The PGA Golf Championship in Rochester in early August, which drew hundreds of thousands of people from around the world, featured a great "Taste NY" tent--air-conditioned, no less--which was filled with wall-to-wall people for six days. As usual, most were surprised to learn that New York grows and produces so many fabulous foods and beverages.
The Governor's Cup Wine Tour came right after, with Governor Cuomo hosting a day-long tour of wineries on Seneca Lake for over 200 people, many from New York City who had never been to the region before. The day was capped off with the Governor actually presenting our Governor's Cup award to Len and Judy Wiltberger of Keuka Spring Vineyards.
"Taste NY" also appeared at a tailgating event at Bills Stadium in Buffalo; the Hudson Valley Wine & Food Festival; an upscale boutique hotel in Manhattan; a New York Food & Wine Festival on the Hudson River; and various other venues. On deck: The Super Bowl!
Supplementing the events is an attractive web site (www.tasteny.gov), as well as extensive TV and print advertising that are still running through the end of this year. And now there's even a Taste NY store selling wines and other products at LaGuardia airport, with additional stores planned for JFK and Grand Central Terminal.
It's sooooo great to finally have this type of support.
Happy Holidays!
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