Tom over at FERMENTATION had written an interesting, observant post on the state of the wine industry in terms of innovation’s progress…and those things that hold it back.

Definitely worth a perusal as we head into the new year.

New York winemakers, in general, and Long Island winemakers more specifically are definitely not on the leading edge of innovation — particularly in packaging. To my knowledge, no one locally is using screwcaps  yet (too expensive up front) and. I doubt you’ll see boxes or bags of wine anytime soon either, though I can think of a couple producers who would probably do well putting their sweetish blends in them.

Sometimes I have to remind myself of the relative youth of the Long Island wine region. It’s just a couple years older than I am, so I have to be patient. I think, in time, there will be some innovative stuff happening.

For now, much of the interesting innovation is happening in the fields, where people are constantly learning and experimenting with different clones, varietals, organic/biodynamic processes and the like.

It’s a fun time to be "in" the Long Island wine industry…and it’s something I’m thankful for.