Now that the New York Cork Report has expanded to cover New York’s North Country wine region, it makes sense to take a look at the important and most-planted grapes. Over the next few months, we’ll look at some of the more promising grapes, starting with La Crescent. La Crescent is an inter-specific hybrid bred by Peter Hemstad and James Luby at the Minnesota Horticultural Research Center, and is one of four very promising varieties patented and released by that project in the last 15 years. The new vine has been available since 2002, but the story of its development…
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North Country Viticulture Education
Two educational events of interest to North Country viticulturists and winemakers, are being held this week, and come shortly after a series of dormant pruning workshops held in the Lake Champlain Region. A day-long vineyard and winery planning workshop will be held on Wednesday May 4 in Herkimer County. On Tuesday May 8, the next installment of the Northern Grapes Project webinar series will be accessible to anyone who registers. Details for both events can be found below. Over the past couple of weekends, volunteer pruning and informal training was completed at the Cornell Baker Farm Trial Vineyard in Willsboro,…
Cornell to Fill North Country Trial Vineyard Tech Position
Just in from the Cornell Cooperative Extension Northeast NY Commercial Fruit program, is announcement of an open position at the cold hardy hybrid wine grape trial vineyard in Willsboro, NY. I’m well acquainted with the vineyard, having volunteered there for a few years, and I’m deeply connected to the area, due to family ties, and a lifetime of summers in the town. Were I in a different place in my life now, or if this was 15 years ago, I would not even be sharing this information. Rather I would be doing everything I could to assume the position myself,…
An Introduction to Wine in New York’s North Country
New York State, like most fine wine regions in the northern hemisphere, lies between the hallowed latitudes of 30 and 50 degrees, where macroclimates that are potentially conducive to the cultivation of wine grapes exist. Though local topological and meteorological factors have traditionally limited the places where fine wine is grown in New York, those boundaries are pushed and re-written by a new revolution in the vineyard. Most consumers of wine made in New York, are familiar with the Finger Lakes, Long Island and the Hudson River Valley areas. Those more in tune with the industry may also know about…
New York Cork Report Adds Trzaskos, Expands Coverage into Northern New York
By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor The goal here on the NYCR is to cover every corner of the New York wine, beer and spirits world. While we don’t have someone on the ground in every region — most notably the Hudson River Region and Lake Erie wine country — I think we do a pretty good job accomplishing our goal. I’ll be honest about it too — I hadn’t even considered Northern New York as a true wine region. Not yet, anyway. But after speaking with our new Northern New York Correspondent, Todd Trzaskos, a few times, I’ve gotten an…
Op-Ed: “Expectations for New York Wine Are Higher Than Ever – Are We Ready?” Jim Silver, GM, Peconic Bay Winery
In a 2004 speech on his educational programs, President Bush decried the “soft bigotry of low expectations” by the opposition party. The worthy phrase resonated with many. I wondered about such expectations in regard to New York wines, and how our wine industry would react if a mirror were held up to its wines and the reflection said “it’s great…for what it is…” That stinging phrase, “for what it is…” is the comment that sinks and supplants the “world class” argument every time, and I’ve tried to count how often I’ve heard it over the years. As if further…