Posts Tagged“vignoles”

By Evan Dawson, Finger Lakes Editor This is apparently a controversial or surprising thing to say, but I'll say it anyway — the writers and editors for this blog like hybrid wines from New York state. I have voluntarily purchased vignoles. I have consumed an entire bottle of Cayuga without convulsing. I do not believe that hybrids cause sterility, senility or loss of agility. There is, however, plenty of room for hybrids to improve. One way that some local wineries are trying to get more mileage from their hybrids is by going with a much dryer style. That's the plan…

I think that Vignoles, a French-American hybrid grape, gets a bum rap. Sure maybe Ravat 51, as it is often called (J.F. Ravat was the creator), probably does its best work in late harvest/dessert-style wines. Take high sugar and natural acidity and add tight clusters that make it susceptible to noble rot and you have a grape well suited to sweet dessert wines that are well balanced and even complex. But Vignoles isn't a one-trick pony. While it's true that Vignoles is never going to have the elegance, delicacy or grace of a well-made riesling, this Keuka Lake Vineyards 2007…