September 12, 2015

Great ratings, a lost friend, the harvest begins, a great Farm Day, and more from New York wine country.

Cheers!

Jim Trezise

Great Ratings and Rave Reviews

Wine Enthusiast magazine recently found a number of New York wines that it particularly liked, starting with several Sauvignon Blancs from Long Island's 2014 vintage; scores of 90 went to Channing Daughters (Mudd Vineyard), Paumanok, Raphael (First Label), and Wolffer.

In the 2014 Rose category, Paumanok Dry Rose rated 91, with 90's going to Anthony Nappa Anomaly, Channing Daughters Rosato and Sculpture Garden Rosato, and Wolffer Summer in a Bottle Rose.

Scores of 90 for Cabernet Franc went to Lucas 2012 Limited Reserve and 2010 Limited Reserve, as well as Shaw 2013 Reserve Unoaked.

Elsewhere, Coffee Pot Cellars 2013 Chardonnay received a 90 rating in the Wine Advocate; and Hermann J. Wiemer Vineyard got a rave review by sommelier Thomas Pastuszak in the on-line version of Wine & Spirits, titled, "Riesling Thoroughbreds from New York's Finger Lakes"

Goodbye to a Gentle Giant

Jim Finkle, who passed away a week ago, was a gentle giant in the wine industry--in New York, nationally, and internationally. But even better than his many professional accomplishments, he was a world-class nice guy, and a very dear friend to me and many others.

Jim worked for Constellation Brands (or its predecessors) for over 30 years in positions of ever-increasing responsibility, most recently as Senior Vice President for Public Affairs until his retirement a year ago. He served on Boards of Directors for many diverse organizations, and was Chairman of several, including the New York Wine & Grape Foundation for three years and WineAmerica for at least two.

But Jim's crowning accomplishment was the rescue of FIVS from near death more than a dozen years ago. Originally known as the Federation International des Vins et Spiritueux (International Wine and Spirits Federation) based in Paris, FIVS was about to disband. At the "Renaissance" meeting in Canandaigua, Jim quietly but passionately convinced his colleagues from throughout the world that the organization was too important to let die--so they said, OK, you take it over!

Which he did, among his many other responsibilities. With gentle persuasion and patient diplomacy, he convinced FIVS members to operate on the basis of consensus rather than a traditional voting system, which strengthened its position in the eyes of important governmental organizations with which it interacts such as the International Organization of Vines and Wines, World Trade Organization, World Health Organization, and many others. FIVS quickly became a highly respected voice for the international wine industry as its members from over 25 countries adopted Jim's vision of collaboration and unity. FIVS has quietly made a huge difference which many people in our industry have never seen or really understood

Jim was the ultimate diplomat. He saw the big picture before anyone else, and patiently educated us to see it as well. He was a top executive at one of the world's largest wine companies, but never dominated. He was a good speaker, but an even better listener. And he genuinely cared about other people, no matter who they were.

For many years, I had the pleasure of lunching with Jim at least once a month and often more frequently. He was the only person I know who had more horror stories about business travel mishaps than I do, and we talked about the idea of just getting together some afternoon with a bottle of wine and a tape recorder and recounting them all, then co-writing a book called, "The Pain and Suffering of Frequent Fliers", to be sold at airports worldwide. A guaranteed best-seller!

I know of no one who did not truly like Jim Finkle. He was always upbeat, kind, and interested in whoever he was talking to. And he always left people feeling better and happier than before he had arrived.

Jim Finkle was a beautiful man, and he remains a beautiful soul. We send our condolences to his wife Nancy and children Robby and Betsy.

Free Run...

New York Farm Day this week in Washington, DC was an absolute smash, with a huge crowd of Washingtonians enjoying the great wines, beer, spirits, cider, grape juice and milk accompanied by apples, bread, seafood, charcuterie, cheeses, duck, yogurt, maple, honey, chocolate, wine ice cream, and so many other delights grown or made in New York.

The North Country area is always a sweet treat with Mercer's Wine Ice Cream, Moser's Maple Mini's, Roes Family Maple Straws, Country Pantry Tri-berry Jam, Philadelphia Cream Cheese, and Gunnison Lakeshore Orchards Sweet Tango Apples. Another special treat this year, participating for the first time, was Li-Lac Chocolates from New York City--just fabulous!

The event's host, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, brought her young sons Henry and Theo, who had a blast cruising the room and sampling the fare. Prior to the reception, the Senator met with her Agriculture Advisory Committee to get suggestions of how she could help, which she always does.

Special thanks to Jennifer Cooper of our office, who organizes the entire event, and to volunteers from Women for New York State Wines who help to staff it. It also would not be possible without our generous sponsors, and of course all the exhibitors who supply the product and people that make Farm Day the best reception on Capitol Hill.

"The Grape State of New York" is the title of an hour-long special that Time Warner Cable will be airing in late October, with a week's worth of stories leading up to the feature attraction. I've been working with them for a couple months, and they've been all over the state shooting footage and interviewing industry people. The feature will be shown in all TWC markets at 9 pm on Saturday, October 24 and 6 pm Sunday, October 25. We greatly appreciate their interest.

Rooftop Reds is the name of the world's first rooftop vineyard--and it happens to be right in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. This was a dream of Devin Shomaker, a recent graduate of Finger Lakes Community College's viticulture and enology program, and is scheduled to be open to the public sometime this month.

Perfect Staycations is the name of a feature on the MSN travel guide, and among the nine cited was the North Fork of Long Island. The Harborfront Inn in Greenport and North Fork Table were cited for lodging and dining, along with several wineries for visits: Croteaux, Kontokosta, Mattabella, Old Field, and Shinn Estate. The theme: You don't have to go to Europe or California to enjoy a great wine country vacation; just look in your own backyard.

2015 Grape Harvest is now underway, and as always there have been, and will be, twists and turns along the way. A reporter recently called and asked me what the crop will be like this year, and I told him to call me in November.

Veraison to Harvest is the great weekly e-newsletter produced by Cornell Cooperative Extension each fall to keep growers, winemakers, and others up to date on what's happening in the vineyards and cellars. In virtually all regions, the recent spell of hot, dry weather has changed the outlook considerably, and especially the timing; what once looked like a tardy harvest has turned into an early one, which is good news for a number of reasons.

While there will be some crop reduction of some grape varieties in some locations due to winter cold and a late spring frost, overall things look quite promising. The next two months will be the defining period on how things turn out.

We are proud to financially support Veraison to Harvest along with the Lake Erie Regional Group and Geneva Experiment Station. It is a great service to our industry.

Words on Wine...
"Wine is the divine juice of September." --Voltaire