Posts Tagged“new york”

North Country Passing – Rob McDowell

North Country wine growers and cold climate viticulture lost a visionary, sharp witted, friend, colleague and sometimes antagonist when Rob McDowell passed away earlier this month on December 13th. Rob grew and operated Purple Gate Vineyard in Plattsburgh and was one of the first people to dedicate serious efforts to the propagation of cold hardy hybrids in the Lake Champlain Valley of New York. Rob was a founding member of the local wine community and shared generously of his knowledge at site visits, meetings and workshops, with locals and visitors alike, some who would go on to become growers and winemakers…

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The Spirits of Volunteerism

Early last month a story broke in California about a small winery that had been subject to hefty fines levied by state labor authorities for the use of willing volunteers, and then fined again during their process to try and mitigate the unintended wrong. This has prompted conversations across the industry and across the country as wineries and their advocates look to their own state laws to see what kind of risks they might be exposed to. Hans Walter-Peterson in the Finger Lakes has mentioned the situation in recent issues of the Finger Lakes Vineyard Update newsletter, and we are recently…

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AVA in the ADK?

Conveying a sense of place has become a real priority for fine wine, no matter where in the world it is grown. Wine has the responsibility of not only needing to taste and smell good, but for afficianados and for marketing purposes it is expected to also serve as a reliable ambassador for its region of origin. It’s supposed to mean something when you see a unique place name on a bottle’s label, and before long it just might mean that it is coming from New York’s North Country. Producers way upstate have worked together and an AVA application has…

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A Toast to the Adirondack Coast Wine Trail and Others

Reports of veraison are finally beginning to arrive from the North Country, and after such wet weather, both the sunshine and this growth stage are welcome news.  It’s not just the grapes that are growing in upstate New York though — so are the wine trails. Recent legislation makes the Adirondack Coast Wine Trail an official part of the New York State Highway map. It’s just a little trail across sixty-six miles of road, linking seven wineries and cider houses, but it is a major development milestone for a new region that adds to the diversity of wine growing in the Empire State.…

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Cape Winery Sprouts in the Thousand Islands

The official opening of the Cape Winery in Cape Vincent, NY is not until Memorial Day, but a recent springtime Saturday “soft opening” saw over a hundred people in the tasting room, more than a dozen cases of wine leave the premises in the hands of happy consumers, and folks joining the infant “case club.” The current version of the New York State Wine Regions map shows expanded areas all around the state, and this latest opening already asks for those boundaries to be expanded even more. Situated on a spit of limestone-based land that has Lake Superior on one…

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The 2010 Growing Seasons Starts Early in New York

By Lenn Thompson, Editor-in-Chief Photo courtesy of Whitecliff Vineyard & Winery Is this picture bud break? I'm not sure — I always think of bud break as when full, immature leaves separate from the bud and unfurl. By that definition, this would be bud swell, but it barely matters — the 2010 growing season is underway in New York. Yesterday, I stopped at Roanoke Vineyards on the North Fork and their vines looked much the same… the buds were extremely swollen but I didn't see any separation. I've heard that Shinn Estate Vineyards and Benmarl Winery have experienced official break,…

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Pinot Noir in New York: It Takes Location, Expression and Passion

3 Pinot Noirs and 1 Merlot: The New York Cork Report 2009 Red Wines of the Year By Lenn Thompson, Editor-in-Chief Photos by Morgan Dawson Photography Is pinot noir the next great red for upstate New York? Given how difficult pinot noir is to work with in the vineyard — especially in cool-climate regions like New York — as well as in the cellar, it may seem a silly, easy-to-answer question. But the New York Cork Report Wines of the Year tasting back in January resulted in pinot noir winning three out of four regional flights. Merlot taking the Long…

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Leaf Pulling and Canopy Management: Let the Sun Shine In

Buried grapes in the research vineyards at Cornell Orchards, Ithaca, NY (left) and grapes more fully exposed to the sun at Peconic Bay Winery, Peconic, NY (right) By Tom Mansell, Science Editor As I checked my Twitter feed over the past few days, I noticed lots of tweets about the upcoming harvest from winemakers and growers.  See the following from Lucas Vineyards winemaker Jeff Houck and Fox Run Vineyards owner Scott Osborn: Apparently many places are doing some post-verasion leaf removal, as recently discussed on this site. It got me thinking about what's actually happening inside the grape when all…

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Notes on Ravines and Wolffer at I Drink NY Astor Place Event

By Sasha Smith, New York City Correspondent Photo by Sasha Smith A few weeks ago I attended the first annual Winebow "I Drink New York" event at Astor Wines featuring Ravines Wine Cellars, Wolffer Estate Vineyards and Millbrook Vineyards. I focused on Ravines, which I knew little about (aside from the fact that Lenn's a fan) and Wolffer. A brief dispatch: A good wine is like a good thriller: it should hold your attention throughout and finish with a surprise. The Ravines Wine Cellars 2007 Dry Riesling fulfilled both criteria. The wine has a mineral and citrus fruit purity that’s…

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Sneaking NY Wines Into the Lineup

By Evan Dawson, Finger Lakes Correspondent Few things put a hop in my step like a tasting of cabernet franc from around the world. Before heading out to Wine Sense, an excellent wine shop on Rochester's Park Avenue, I noticed that the tentative tasting list did not include any New York cab franc. The shop's owner, Kristin Vanden Brul, is a strong supporter of New York wines, and I called to ask if I could bring a bottle to taste blind. She happily agreed; it's rather common at Kristin's tastings for enthuastic guests to bring a bagged bottle from their…

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