March 8, 2014

             New York--the Farm State, Wolffer Rose rocks, minimizing winter woes, new Gold wines, roadside farm market wine sales, and more from New York wine country.

             Cheers!          

             Jim Trezise

                Every fall, we have the pleasure of working with Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and her awesome staff to produce "New York Farm Day" in the most elegant and historic room on Capitol Hill.  Farmers and processors from all over the State offer their products to members of Congress, the Administration, senior staff, media and trade, tastefully reminding them that New York is a major farm state.

                The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently released the 2012 Census of Agriculture preliminary results, including some interesting statistics on New York agriculture. There are now 7.18 million acres on 35,538 New York farms, and the value of agriculture products sold totaled $5.42 billion, a 23% increase over 2007.  At the 2013 Farm Day, we gave each attendee a special flash drive loaded with New York ag stats, which we will now update so they have the latest information to keep New York in mind when shaping agricultural policy.

                The grape, grape juice and wine industy is an integral part of New York agriculture, and we fully enjoy working with our friends in the other sectors--beer, sprits, and cider, as well as dairy, apples, maple syrup, seafood, and others.  The magic of Farm Day is to have all these great people and products in one place at one time. It's the hottest ticket in Washington!

                 But before that, take some time to enjoy Maple Weekends on March 22-23 and 29-30.  They're sort of the maple producers' equivalent of wine tasting tours, but for a limited time only.

                These free, festive events will take place at more than 100 locations statewide, where maple producers show visitors how maple syrup is produced in sugarhouses, going through the process from tree to table, and explaining everything from tubing to the evaporation process.  And of course there will be opportunities to taste maple goodies. 

                 New York is America's #2 maple producer, accounting for 18% of the nation's output with 574,000 gallons in 2013 from 2.2 million taps, the largest number since 1949.  In winter, I often cook blueberry buckwheat pancakes, using all local products (Penn Yan is the buckwheat capitol of the world) adorned with pure New York maple syrup.  It doesn't get any better than that!

                 For a list of events, visit www.mapleweekend.com.

          It's official: Wolffer Estate Dry Rose won a Diamond Award at the Japanese International Wine Competition, one of only 20 wines out of 1,922 so honored.  It received a Double Gold, designation as Best Rose, an a nomination as best accompanying wine for Suchi and Chinese food.  This is a huge honor which has already drawn attention not just to Wolffer, but to New York as a winegrowing region. Congratulations to Roman Roth and the whole Wolffer crew.  For more: http://www.sakuraaward.com/en/index.html. 

        "Discover Dry Rose" is also the theme of a two-month promotion which began March 1 with 21 Finger Lakes producers participating.

          The region is best known for its Rieslings and other aromatic white wines, but can also turn out some stunning dry Roses from a variety of different grape varieties.  The program involves special tastings and promotions at the participating wineries, as well as social media and Rose release parties.

           In addition, a new line of wines--Kelby James Russell Wines--produced at Red Newt Cellars (where Kelby is the winemaker)--debuted with none other than a Dry Rose.

           For more information on the promotion: www.DiscoverDryRose.com.    

             Swedish Hill Winery, Goose Watch Winery, and Penguin Bay Winery--all owned by the Peterson family--took home a total of six awards from the recent Monterey Wine Competition.  Platinum awards went to Goose Watch Golden Spumante and Swedish Hill 2012 Vidal Blanc; a Double Gold to Penguin Bay Maroon Four; and Gold medals to Goose Watch Classic Cream Sherry, Swedish Hill Blanc de Blancs and 2012 Riesling. 

             USDA Disaster Declaration was requested Friday by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, a member of the Agriculture Committee, in response to the potential damage to the 2014 grape crop and vines resulting from the severely cold winter in certain upstate regions.

             Earlier this week we organized a conference call with the Senator's staff, the Department of Agriculture & Markets, and Cornell Cooperative Extension to create a specific plan for assessing the potential damage and seeking assistance in different ways to minimize the impact on growers, wineries, and the industry as a whole. On the federal level, a disaster declaration can expedite federal assistance to damaged farmland through prompt access to the financial assistance they need to recover.  We are also working with our industry colleagues in Ohio and Michigan, which have also suffered significant damage, so their Senators may follow suit and form a coalition.

              On the State level, a law permits licensed farm wineries (which must use 100% New York-grown grapes in normal years) to purchase out-of-state grapes or juice of a particular variety (e.g., Riesling, or Merlot) if the Commissioner of Agriculture & Markets issues a ruling that there is at least a 40% reduction in that variety available from New York vineyards in a challenging year like 2014.  Our partners at Cornell Cooperative Extension will expedite their sampling of bud and vine damage in various regions to provide the best estimate on a timely basis. 

               Some perspective: For the Lake Erie, Finger Lakes, and some other upstate regions, 2014 will no doubt be a challenging year.  But we've been here before, exactly a decade ago when a severe winter in 2004 reduced the size of the crop and even killed some vines.  Still, the industry made some great wines from the 2004 vintage, carefully nurtured their vines and replanted when necessary, and ultimately continued to grow. In addition, some good news is that the 2013 crop was huge, with great quality fruit, so the wineries' tanks are brimming with fine wines that will guard against a shortage.

                Meanwhile, our friends in California are dealing with a very severe drought which, in my view, is a far more serious problem than a cold winter.  It's all a reminder that, first and foremost, wine is farming.                              

                 Roadside Farm Markets in New York may now apply for a license to sell wine, thanks to a new law which allows them to buy and sell wines from up to two wineries within 20 miles of the market.  This will allow visitors stocking up on their fresh produce and processed products to grab a bottle of wine to have with their meal as well.  To my knowledge, New York is the first state to allow this, but hopefully more will follow.  It's just so civilized!

                  The New York State Liquor Authority, which has become incredibly responsive to our industry, has put the license application (which costs jut $100) on their web site.  http://www.sla.ny.gov/system/files/Roadside-Farm-Market-Application-030714.pdf.

                 "Nothing more excellent or valuable than wine has ever been granted by the gods to man."

                                                                   --Plato