The Story of New York State Wine, as Told Through 7 Grapes
From Finger Lakes Rieslings to Long Island Merlot, the grapes in New York State reflect the region’s challenging growing conditions. [...] Read More... The post The Story of New York State Wine, as Told Through 7 Grapes appeared first on Wine Enthusiast.
Adversity breeds innovation, so they say, which is exactly why so many grape varieties grow across New York State. The latest count by the New York Wine and Grape Foundation? 134.
Most of the Northeastern state’s wine regions are regulated by bodies of water—including the 11 Finger Lakes, the Hudson River or, in Long Island’s case, the ocean—and experience a short growing season with high disease and pest pressure due to wet, humid summers. Varieties must be capable of ripening quickly but be hardy enough to survive the state’s frigid winter and unpredictable spring and autumn.
New York boasts some of the oldest “American” and “French hybrid” varieties (the former are native to the U.S., the latter are crossings of natives with European varieties), and also some of the newest: cold-hardy hybrids—some of which are less than a decade old—bred at Cornell University in the Finger Lakes, home to one of the nation’s leading grape-breeding programs.
After being maligned for decades, hybrids are enjoying a renewed measure of respect recently. But it’s still Vitis vinifera—a European species of grapevine—that put this Northeastern state on the world wine map.
Ever since pioneering Ukrainian immigrant Dr. Konstantin Frank first plonked Vinifera vines into Finger Lakes soil in the 1950s, New York’s wine growers have been experimenting with countless varieties from across the Atlantic ever since.
Here are seven varieties especially happy dotting the Empire State’s rolling hills and shorelines.
Riesling
No other grape variety has defined modern New York winemaking as Riesling has. It is the most planted Vinifera variety, proliferating the state’s largest wine region, the Finger Lakes. Over 950 acres of Riesling are planted here.
Along the temperature-moderating shores of Seneca, Cayuga, Keuka and the other digit-shaped lakes, Riesling bears resemblance to its German forebears thanks to its racy, acidic and zippy flavors, but walks to its own multi-rhythmed beat.
Dry styles can be lean and mineral-driven; rich and fruity; or poised and age worthy. They’re especially successful when fermented on native yeasts. Off-dry styles are common too. The odd delicious sparkler crops up, as does intensely sweet-but-still fresh dessert wine made from botrytized grapes or frozen on the vine or in the winery.
Chardonnay
Despite being the most-planted white variety in Long Island and the second most-planted Vinifera variety in the Finger Lakes and Hudson River regions, Chardonnay is still somewhat of a forgotten stepchild in New York State.
Increasingly, however, producers are taking it more seriously. In Long Island, the best Chards balance peach and melon characters with slippery texture and saline acidity. And a range of excellent Chardonnay-based sparklers are crafted across the state.
Vidal Blanc
Vidal Blanc—which squeaks in just behind its French hybrid counterpart, Seyval Blanc, in terms of plantings in both Hudson River and Finger Lakes—is a 95-year-old crossing of Ugni Blanc (called Trebbiano in Italy) and another hybrid, Rayon d’Or.
Known for its ability to withstand the climatic challenges of the Finger Lakes, Vidal tends towards honeyed floral aromatics and is made in a range of styles, from sparkling to dry and fresh to off-dry to sweet. It’s one of the key ice wine varieties.
