New York Cork Report

The Most Important Store in the State: Buzz Growing for Empire State Cellars

By Evan Dawson, Managing Editor

It is unusual for a single wine store to become such a focus for an entire state. More unusual still when the store is not located in New York City. Since returning home from the Wines of the Year weekend on Long Island, no fewer than three wine industry professionals from the Finger Lakes have asked me, "Did you go to Empire State Cellars?" Or, "What was it like?" Or, "Was it as cool a place as I'm hoping it is?" They are intrigued by the idea of the only wine store in the state that offers exclusively New York products.

This is more than the story of a wine store in Riverhead, Long Island. Lenn has covered the opening of Empire State Cellars already, and the store is the supplier for the new and expanded Empire State Cellars Wine Club. Rather, this is a look at an experiment. And, to be frank, it's an experiment that the New York wine industry desperately needs to succeed.

That's because there is doubt about whether the locavore movement ought to include wine. Empire State Cellars is not at the heart of the locavore movement, but it will serve as a crucial kind of test: Will consumers gravitate toward New York wines, and will they keep coming back? Lenn has written extensively about the local movement in restaurants. Wine Spectator's James Molesworth wrote about the disconnect between local food and local wine last summer, concluding, "It's time for sommeliers and retailers to show some support for the efforts of these growers."

Success at Empire State Cellars has the potential to reach far beyond its store walls. Restaurants will notice. Other stores might be moved to increase their focus on New York wine. Success begets success.

It's early, but there are good signs. Jim Silver, who has brought the store from vision to brick-and-mortar reality, has invited winemakers from across the state to pour their wines and engage customers at weeknight and weekend events. Some events are inevitably sparsely attended, but that's to be expected for a new venture.

However, some events are exceeding expectations by any measure. Recently, Arrowhead Spring Vineyards from Niagara held what owner Duncan Ross calls "one of our best events ever, anywhere" at ESC. Consider that: A small winery from the far corner of New York state goes to the opposite end of the state, eight-plus hours by car, and blows the doors off. Duncan and his wife Robin were thrilled with the turnout -- and the quality of the interaction.

"The customers were fantastic," Duncan tells me. "We had a record crowd for our tasting, which made us feel so welcome. And it certainly made the long drive worthwhile. We had lots of great questions and interaction during the tasting."

The event offered Duncan and Robin a chance to see the store up close after hearing the hype. They were not disappointed.

"Just to be surrounded by so much great New York product was inspiring," Duncan says. "The layout of the store was superb, with educational materials and a wonderful tasting bar. The staff is obviously passionate about New York wines. It was a lot of fun talking with them."

That last point is key. Silver has worked hard to ensure a knowledgeable staff well versed in wines from all New York wine regions. On my visit, I was equally impressed. One employee smiled and told me, "One customer walked around for ten minutes before finally asking, 'Where are the Chilean wines?' But they're open to our suggestions, and we've already seen repeat business."

Peter Bell, winemaker at Fox Run Vineyards in the Finger Lakes, also made the trek to Riverhead on a recent weekend. "I loved the place," he says. "There is a great vibe there. They're obviously dedicated to the love of wine without being stodgy." More winemakers are preparing to visit this month: Red Newt Cellars will be pouring tomorrow, Atwater Estate Vineyards on Saturday, Dr. Frank on the March 17, and Peconic Bay on the 22. (Silver is the General Manager at Peconic Bay.)

From a purely aesthetic standpoint, the store is remarkable. It's among the nicest wine stores I've ever visited. Even more exciting is the fact that ESC offers hard-to-find wines; you can buy Hargrave Vineyard wines from the 1980s or you can pick up the sold-out Bloomer Creek Rieslings from the 2009 vintage. The options are almost overwhelming. This store is not about boosting New York; it's about promoting quality wines, period.

But Silver has to be a pragmatist. He won't offer Kendall Jackson Chardonnay, but he offers Red Cat, and it has already become a top seller. Perhaps Red Cat will be a bridge to finer New York wines, but at the very least, it will be a bill payer.

Ultimately, Empire State Cellars will only succeed if the local clientele embraces the concept while the rest of the state continues to support the effort. There are no sure things in business. The industry is wise to support this store. After all, many people have wondered if such a store were possible. In Riverhead, we're finding out.

An Introduction to Wine in New York's North Country

Unidentified variety, at the Cornell Trial Vineyard, Willsboro, NY

By Todd Trzaskos, North Country Correspondent

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 Niagara and Lake Erie. Much of the state has shown remarkable gains in quality during the last few decades due to intrepid folk who championed the planting of traditional European varieties, at the edge of possibility.

There are new, more challenging regions emerging now too. Low winter temperatures, below zero degrees Fahrenheit, often meant certain death to buds and roots alike, among Vitis Vinifera plantings, until specific and safe mesoclimates were identified. That all important winter-kill bar has now been pushed lower, through concerted breeding efforts and resultant grape varieties, to allow more northerly exposed areas, and their equally determined inhabitants, to make fine wine on the frontier, where the viticultural climate moves from cool to cold.

In New York's north country, a number of growers are busy putting vines in the ground -- and wines in the bottle. This is, no doubt, a nascent effort. There are a handful of wineries in each of the three most active north country areas, with new vineyard acreage expanding, and additional bonded facilities scheduled to come online within the next eighteen months. 

While many people in New York City refer to 'upstate' as Westchester and Dutchess counties, we are talking about way upstate -- where in some cases, you really can see Canada. Specifically, these regions are: the Upper Hudson River Valley, ranging north of Albany to Lake George; the western shores and lowlands of the Lake Champlain Valley; and the Thousand Islands Region, around Watertown and the St. Lawrence Seaway.

People in these areas have been, for the last several years, quietly and steadily identifying promising sites, and making use of newly developed interspecific hybrid vines, that can survive, thrive, and regularly bear quality fruit -- despite exposure to winter low temperatures down to -40 F. 

Recently, the USDA posted a multi-state grant of $2.5 million to the "Northern Grapes Project". The intent is to provide vineyard, winery and sales research support, to expand local markets for cold hardy cultivars. A recent Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) newsletter states that the efforts of local organizations, growers, winemakers, and volunteers, have collectively put North Country New York on the radar of the major land grant institutions.

A projected short-term outcome of the Northern Grape Project is to see a doubling of wine production and sales within the next five years as the area is expected to transform from a "non-traditional" grape region into NY's newest wine country.  There is certainly no shortage of interest, as this year, the "CCE-Cold Climate Grape Email List" has grown to over 100 subscriptions.

My interest is more than casual or academic. A family trip through the Finger Lakes in 1976, caused me to wonder quite clearly why vineyards and wineries did not exist in our own neck of the woods. That trip planted a seed of curiosity that has become deeply rooted, in my own sense of place. The urge to make wine started early, but lacking the appropriate context, wine appreciation seemed the rational path, and so 25 years of pulling corks provided the backdrop for the next stage of personal evolution. When the Cornell trial vineyard project spun up six years ago, in the Champlain lake shore town where our extended family congregates, it was a very exciting prospect. Volunteering there has provided invaluable educational exposure to the vines, relationship opportunities with growers and winemakers all over the northeast, and allowed me to harvest fruit for making my own wines at home.

A couple of those varieties are already moving to the forefront:

La Crescent, the progeny of muscat, with citrus, apricot and honey notes, done in a mineral-driven dry style, reminiscent of some rieslings. 

Marquette, grandchild of pinot noir, with cherry flavors, good body, acidity and light tannins that can present like a nice gamay. 

Even as a neophyte vintner, with a low interventionist approach, we have been suitably impressed with the wine quality that can be achieved. Having sampled numerous styles of wines from all over the world, it can be said with fair objectivity, that early products from the northern reaches, are on par with many commercial wines. This is not merely "cellar palate" talking, as these wines have been shared with a number of professional makers, importers, and retailers, all of whom first showed pleasant surprise at the aromas and flavors, and then asked incredulously, "you said this came from where!?"

These northern endeavors face the same infrastructure and production challenges that any wine production region does, and they also have to contend with entrenched anti-hybrid consumer biases, as well as the relative obscurity of their locations.  Even with the hurdles, it is clear that this movement is here to stay. With a long history of pioneer viticulture in New York, it would seem that it is just a matter of time before the new frontier is acknowledged in its own right.

It is an educational opportunity for all of us, to see the birth and development of a new wine region, so we will be periodically bringing stories and news of New York's North Country. There are still unknowns, which will take some time to sort out, such as creation of a comprehensive survey of vineyard areas, acreage, and varieties planted. Studies need to be done to determine the pairing of vine to sites and soil types, as well as what vine maintenance regimes are most beneficial to crop size and quality. 

Of the people taking these first steps, who will succeed, and who will be paving the way for those that follow their lead? In the near term, we will plan explore the geological aspects of these newly broken grounds, take a closer look at the new grape varieties involved, and meet some of the New York fine wine lovers, who are choosing to grow, where no-one has grown before.