By Jason Feulner, Finger Lakes Regional Correspondent

I encourage followers of the New York winery scene to check out this article by Syracuse Post-Standard writer Don Cazentre. For some time, wineries in the frozen hinterlands north of Syracuse in the Thousand Island region, the Tug Hill Plateau, and the Adirondack foothills have been making a brazen attempt to grow a significant amount of grapes using cold-hardy hybrids developed by Cornell and the University of Minnesota.

This article focuses on the operations in the Thousand Islands region and specific varieties developed by the University of Minnesota.

Formerly, these wineries relied heavily on grapes sources from vineyards throughout the state. Now, they are attempting to cement their own regional identity.

The article contains quotes from some usual sources that exhibit the "come one, come all" mentality of winery expansion in the state. The number of wineries in New York (wow!), and the rate of growth is mentioned as well.

While I think it's great that people are following their entrepreneurial dreams, I'm also aware that the issues of saturation and identity always come into play when we are talking about expansion of the New York wine industry. Has it come to pass that we can no longer talk about the "New York" industry because it is too globular and diverse to warrant a specific description?

What are your reactions to this article and some of its implications?