May 23, 2015

LA Gold, the tourists are coming!, Brooklyn beer in Brussels, and more from New York wine country.

Cheers!

Jim Trezise

More New York Gold from LA

The Los Angeles International Wine Competition, held last week in Pomona, CA, once again yielded lots of medals (74) for New York wines, including 13 Bronze, 30 Silver, and 31 Gold, of which 7 also received Best of Class honors.

Gold/Best of Class went to Chateau Frank 2009 Blanc de Blancs and 2009 Blanc de Noirs; Chateau Lafayette Reneau 2013 Barrel Fermented Chardonnay; Dr. Frank 2013 Riesling Reserve; Penguin Bay 2013 Vidal Ice Wine; Swedish Hill 2014 Cayuga White, and 2014 Blue Waters Rose.

Other Gold medals were awarded to Black Willow 2013 Bare Cat Blush; Chateau LaFayette Reneau 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon and 2014 Late Harvest Riesling; Dr. Frank 2013 Semi-Dry Riesling; Goose Watch 2013 Cabernet Franc Rose; Keuka Spring 2014 Gewurztraminer (Dynamite Vineyard), 2014 Gewurztraminer, 2014 Dry Riesling, 2014 Riesling (Humphrey's Vineyard), 2014 Semi-Sweet Riesling, and 2014 Vignoles; Lamoreaux Landing 2013 Riesling (Round Rock Vineyard) and 2014 Dry Rose; Mazza Chautauqua Cellars 2013 Riesling (Faulkenhauser Block); Penguin Bay 2014 Dry Riesling, and Percussion; Silver Springs Don Giovanni Wines Cabernet Sauvignon; Thirsty Owl 2008 Vinte, 2013 Diamond, and 2014 Pinot Noir Rose; Wagner Vineyards 2013 Dry Riesling, 2012 Semi-Dry Riesling, and 2013 Riesling Select.

Elsewhere, Wine & Spirits magazine named four Finger Lakes wines to its Top 100 Values of the Year list ($15 or under): Chateau LaFayette Reneau 2012 Late Harvest Riesling; Fox Run 2013 Rose of Pinot Noir; Knapp 2013 Barrel Fermented Chardonnay; and Red Newt 2013 Circle Riesling.

Casa Larga Vineyards received 91/Best Buy ratings from Beverage Testing Institute for its 2014 Vidal Blanc and Vineyard Hill Riesling

Next up, in mid-June, is the awesome San Francisco International Wine Competition.

Summer is Here: Ca-ching, ca-ching!

Yesterday the population of Penn Yan at least doubled as carloads of weekenders from nearby cities--Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Binghamton, Corning--flocked to Keuka Lake for Memorial Day Weekend. On Tuesday, most of them will be gone, but this weekend still marks the annual onset of the peak tourist season in wine country across the State.

That's a good thing because our industry would not exist in its present form without tourists who visit the tasting rooms and leave some money behind, The vast number of New York wineries are small, and the direct-to-consumer sales where they keep 100% of the transaction make their existence possible. As they grow larger, they have to expand through winery-direct sales to restaurants and retailers, or through wholesalers, but in doing so have to reduce their share by a third to a half.

Other than the era of $4 gas, wine country tourism has been growing steadily, if slowly in some years, to well over 5.5 million tourists visits each year. Still, there are significant challenges having to do with growth. New York now has more than 400 wineries in 59 of the State's 62 counties, with very strong growth in recent years That's great!

But in the traditional regions like the Finger Lakes, the many new wineries are diverting tourists from the pioneering wineries that got everything going in the first place. In other words, the growth in tourists has not equaled the growth in wineries, not to mention the craft breweries and distilleries that are popping up all over as well.

In short, we need to boost tourism so all the businesses, old and new, can get a bigger piece of a bigger pie. And we have a couple programs in the works to do that.

Free Run...

NY Farm Viability Institute was created years ago as a central organization to assess potential research projects in various areas, and to fund those showing the most promise for benefiting New York agriculture. The latest round includes 21 projects totaling $1,539,324, with the money provided by the State of New York, and specific projects grouped under improving operational practices; fostering industry-wide innovation; incubating new ideas; marketing; and developing human capital. In addition to a project involving grapes, other areas ranged from honey bees to cows and Chinese medicinal herbs! www.nyfvi.org.

Senator Charles Schumer once again spoke out for the New York grape industry, this time asking Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to provide funding for the Federal Grapes Genetics Lab in Geneva. Research is a vital part of our industry's success, and the quality of the research depends not only on the scientists but also the facility. The existing one is outdated and in disrepair, so a new one is needed with state-of-the-science equipment. As always, we appreciate the Senator's support, and hope the funding will be approved.

It's always great to find New York beverages in unlikely places, like Dr. Frank Gewurztraminer in the "Cowboy Ciao" restaurant (actually quite good) in the Phoenix airport. But even more surprising was when I went to the ManhattnBurger restaurant in Brussels, Belgium (beer country!) and found Brooklyn Beer. Not only did they have it, they featured it with great point-of-sale materials. I emailed Steve Hindy, the brewery owner, to tell him of my surprise and delight. Also, FYI, the burger and fries I had there were the best I've ever had anywhere. And the wait staff all wore black t-shirts that said, "There's a New Yorker in every city." Yup