Posts Tagged“grapes”

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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Tasting for Terroir in Cold Climates

Harvest is closing in fast and winery tasks are in high gear, whether it be crush pad prep or the bottling of last year’s vintages. From large producers to little amateur outfits like our own, the story is the same as one season rolls quickly into the next, and what comes in through one door must pass out another and make room in between. While I was bench testing blends for the 2013 whites, I got to thinking about a very interesting and informative cold-climate tasting from earlier this summer, when it seemed like we still had all the time…

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New Cornell Grapes Named and Released. NYCR Reader Submission Chosen.

The Lilac Ballroom of the Riverside Convention Center in Rochester, NY filled quickly earlier this week for a late morning session of the Viticulture 2013 Conference, where the commercial names for two new wine grapes released from the Cornell breeding program were to be announced. White wine grape NY76.0844.24 will now officially be called “Aromella“, and the red grape NY95.0301.01 will be recognized as “Arandell“. Over 1100 suggestions from around the globe had poured in after the request for assistance was publicized last year, first here in the Cork Report, and then as picked up by other news outlets. Horticulture Professor Bruce Reisch…

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“My” Vineyard on the Adirondack Coast

The Cornell Cooperative Extension cold-hardy cultivar trial vineyard in Willsboro, NY, on the western shore of Lake Champlain, sits in a place of true natural beauty, and is home to a number of grape varieties that have been bred for disease resistance, and tolerance of extreme cold to points well below -25F.  Willsboro is also my own home stomping ground, which is where reporting on this place becomes admittedly a bit challenging.  Objectivity is obscured by my associations with the place, which are as long and deep as the lake itself. I was dipped in Willsboro Bay for the first time…

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Cornell University Workbook Helps New York and Northeastern Growers Go Green

We all know, green/sustainable/biodynamic/organic vineyard management is one of the hottest topics in the wine world these days. But how can the uninitiated get on the road to greenness? Cornell University and the Cornell Cooperative Extension have just released a new workbook to help grape growers in New York and the Northeast. The 125-page self-teaching workbook, "New York Guide to Sustainable Viticulture Practices," offers guidance in evaluating and adopting the best management practices for minimizing environmental impacts, reducing economic risks and protecting worker health and safety. Topics include: soil management to reduce erosion, runoff and leaching; use of integrated pest…

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Long Island Mid-Harvest Report

Last year’s grape harvest was remarkable both for the hot, dry conditions that lasted all summer long and the almost twenty inches of rain that was dumped on the East End over eight days right in the middle of harvest. White grapes were largely unaffected because they had already been picked, but many of the Island’s red grapes weren’t so lucky. That rain completely decimated some producers to the point where they didn’t make red wines last year at all. Others escaped mostly unscathed and have made some tremendous wines. There will be less 2005 red wine on shelves once…

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Rain. Rain. Go Away.

Last October, in the midst of Long Island grape harvest, we received over 17 inches of rain in an eight-day period. Most of the white grapes had already been picked (thankfully) but some wineries lost some of their red grape crops. In fact, a couple lost it all and didn’t make red wine in 2005. With rain, sometimes heavy rain, over the past several days, you can’t blame vineyard managers, winemakers and winery owners for being a little nervous. And, after a forecasted respite tomorrow, the remnants of Hurricane Ernesto arrive this weekend, bringing more rain. It’s only the end…

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