December 21, 2013

             Finger Lakes welcome newbies, Taste NY stores open, Hudson Valley gets press, Long Island has "epic vintage", Lake Erie winery scores big, the ice wine harvest is over, and TC3 is on a roll.  Phew: lots happening in New York wine country.

             Happy New Year!          

             Jim Trezise

                 It may be hard to recall, but not so long ago Napa Valley was largely an unknown wine region which, like Rodney Dangerfield, didn't get no respect.  No longer. 

                 The famous "Judgment of Paris" blind-tasting of 1976, where California wines dominated French wines judged by French tasters, certainly got the attention of the French wine industry, including luminaries like Baron Philippe de Rothschild who partnered with Robert Mondavi on the iconic Opus One  winery.  Top French Champagne producers like Maison Louis Roederer, Domaine Chandon and Domaine Mumm also took notice, invested in California, and profited from their ventures.  Most recently, Jean-Charles Boisset acquired several top California wineries to add to his family's superb collection of Burgundian producers.

                  In Oregon, many wine producers proved that their state was fertile territory for the notoriously fickle heartbreak grape, Pinot Noir, enticing famed Burgundy producer Joseph Drouhin to join the parade with an Oregon branch of his family business.

                  The syndrome is common: Pioneers in a region, through years of trial and error, failures and successes, prove that a wine region has great potential, which then attracts other serious wine people from other regions, which in turn elevates the region's reputation even further.

                  That is now happening in the Finger Lakes.

                  About 10 years ago, Nancy Irelan and her husband Mike Schnelle chose the Finger Lakes as the place to plant their vines and pursue their dream: Red Tail Ridge Winery on the west side of Seneca Lake.  Nancy has a Ph.D in Viticulture & Enology and was the research and development director of a huge California winery before moving east to make her own wine with grapes grown by Mike.  While still small in production, their winery quickly drew widespread attention due to the diversity and quality of wines as well as the "green" LEEDS certified facility.

                    This year, Domaine Leseurre opened on the east side of Keuka Lake, where Sebastien and Celine Leseurre were married in 2012.  Sebastian is from France's Champagne region, where his family has been making wine for six generations, while Celine is from the Pyrenees in southwest France. They have worked at wineries in other parts of Europe, Australia, and New Zealand before choosing the Finger Lakes as the place where they wanted to create their own.

                     One of California's most iconic winemakers and globe-trotting wine consultants, Paul Hobbs, will also be joining the Finger Lakes family in partnership with a winery from Germany's Mosel region, famous for its elegant Rieslings.  After making some scouting missions with a team of aides, he has selected a vineyard site near the south end of Seneca Lake--and has enrolled his daughter in the Cornell Viticulture & Enology program.

                      And the world's Top Sommelier, Christopher Bates, who already makes wine from Finger Lakes grapes for his Element brand, is moving to the Finger Lakes to open a top-flight restaurant, using his years of experience as an Executive Chef at high-end boutique hotels to highlight the great wines and foods of the Finger Lakes.

                      This is a 50-year overnight success.

                      Before the visionary Dr. Konstantin Frank planted Riesling and other classic European grapes high above Keuka Lake, the conventional wisdom was that these delicate varieties could not withstand the cold winters.  Wrong--if you did it right.

                      Other iconic winemakers like Hermann J. Wiemer also devoted themselves exclusively to vinifera varieties, particularly Riesling, and now virtually all of the 120 wineries in the region produce one or more Rieslings.  In the "Awards and Accolades" section of www.newyorkwines.org, which is searchable by type of wine, Riesling is clearly the dominant variety for top medals and scores.  The reason this newsletter so often reports on Finger Lakes Riesling is not because we promote it more, but rather because that's what others are talking and writing about.

                      The Finger Lakes is very fortunate to have many incredibly talented winemakers too numerous to mention, as well as the spontaneous collaboration among them that has continually improved the quality of the wines.  If imitation is indeed the sincerest form of flattery, they are well deserving of it.   

               "Taste NY" now has a presence at LaGuardia (LGA) airport, with a wine-focused store that officially opened this week when Lieutenant Governor Robert Duffy cut the ribbon at the Grand Opening.

                Not to be upstaged, John F. Kennedy (JFK) got its own "Taste NY" store on the same day, with both stores featuring about 200 food and beverage products that will rotate over time.

                Both stores are operated by Brooklyn Oenology, a farm winery based in the Williamsburg area of Brooklyn, which since it opened many years ago has carried other New York wines and beverages, as well as local foods--so it's a natural fit.  A 2011 law signed by Governor Andrew Cuomo allows farm wineries to have up to five "branch offices"--essentially off-site tasting rooms--anywhere in the State.

                These stores provide a great opportunity for travelers to learn about New York wines and buy them, whether they're arriving or departing, at New York City's major travel hubs.  More than 25 million people passed through LGA alone in 2012, and 11,000 work at the airport, so there's a built-in customer base.  There is also a Taste NY store at McArthur Airport on Long Island, with others to open in 2014 at other airports, transportation hubs and train stations including Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan.

                 These incredible exposure and sales opportunities are all part of the Taste NY program Governor Cuomo announced last spring, which has been going strong ever since.

                Hudson River Region has been in the news a lot lately, with a glowing Wall St. Journal piece about Hillrock Estate; Hudson-Chatham Winery's appearance on the Food Network's Farmhouse Rules show; a feature on Aaron Burr Cidery in Town & Country magazine; a huge feature on the Shawangunk Wine Trail in edible Hudson Valley magazine; and Whiskey Advocate magazine's mention of Ralph Erenzo (Tuthilltown Spirits) as one of the 10 most influential people in the spirits business.

                 In addition, the "Fall in Love With Hudson Valley Wine" campaign featured more than 100 events attracting more than 16,000 people, concluding with the Pride of New York Harvest Fest in Albany.

                 Merliance, the organization dedicated to promoting Long Island Merlot and Merlot-based blends, has issued a detailed analysis of the (superb) 2013 grape harvest. This year was lauded as the "best red vintage to date" and described by Wolffer Estate wine maker Roman Roth--a totally reliable source not given to hyperbole--as an "epic vintage".

                 After a late spring that was the wettest on record, the summer weather dried the vineyards with a long stretch of sunny days, and the third driest fall ever was the crowning touch for producing grapes of extraordinary quality.

                 Just as Finger Lakes wineries are promoting Riesling as the region's "signature" grape and wine, the members of Merliance believe that Merlot, whether as a varietal or wine or the dominant grape in a blend, can help put Long Island on the world's wine map.  Each year the member wineries--Clovis Point, Lieb Cellars, McCall Wines, Raphael, Sherwood House Vineyards, T'Jara Vineyards, and Wolffer Estate Vineyard--collaborate on producing a blended wine called Merliance which reflects the character of the vintage.

                  I'm confident the 2013 Merliance will be awesome, and just wish I didn't have to wait so long to savor it.    

                 Johnson Estate Winery from the Lake Erie region recently got some great ratings from the World Wine Championships (91 for 2012 Ice Wine of Vidal Blanc, and 90 for 2012 Ice Wine of Chambourcin) as well as in the World Value competition: 92 for Freelings Creek 2012 Semi-Dry Riesling Reserve; 91 for Freelings Creek 2012 Sweet Riesling Reserve; and 90 each for 2012 Freelings Creek Dry Riesling Reserve and 2012 Chamourcin.

                 Ice Wine Harvest for 2013 is now over--for the second time this year.  In the last couple months of 2012, the weather stayed so warm that the grapes which grew that year couldn't be harvested until January 2013, so the recent hand-pickings of grapes frozen on the vines this fall are essentially the second batch for the year.  In any case, regular ice wine producers like Casa Larga Vineyards and Knapp Vineyards were very happy with the frozen fruit they harvested, which bodes well for some luscious dessert wines.  

                 TC3, short for Tompkins Cortland Community College in Dryden, has launched an innovative and exciting "Farm to Bistro" program that includes a working organic farm, a culinary center called "Coltivare" in Ithaca, and courses on the missing link: wine marketing. 

                  For decades, our industry has been strong in viticulture and enology training, thanks primarily to Cornell and more recently Finger Lakes Community College, but very weak in marketing education, which is crucial.  And after all, if you don't sell the wine, you won't have the money to make any more.

                  Brandon Seager, formerly part of the Red Newt wine making team, is the Instructor of Wine Marketing under the guidance of Susan Stafford, who chairs the Hotel and Restaurant Management and Wine Marketing Programs.  We met with them this week, as well as college President Carl Haynes, and look forward to working with them in the future.

                 Sparkling wines are a traditional part of New Years Eve, but why wait until then to break out the bubbly?  For one thing, they're great as aperitif wines, as well as with all kinds of hors d'oeuvres, desserts, and even some main courses.

                 Sparkling Pointe on Long Island won Best Sparkling Wine at our New York Wine & Food Classic, and Chateau Frank has been a big winner in major competitions this year, but there are lots of other New York wineries that produce some great festive bottles.

                  Visit the "Awards and Accolades" section of www.newyorkwines.org for your holiday wine shopping list.

                   A Votre Sante!