New York Wine & Grape Foundation

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Author: New York Wine & Grape Foundation

The mission of the New York Wine & Grape Foundation is to promote the world-class image of New York grapes and wines from our diverse regions to responsibly benefit farmers, producers and consumers through innovative marketing, research, communication, and advocacy.

Fox Run Vineyards Welcomes New Head Winemaker

craig hosbach

Fox Run Vineyards, one of the most prominent wineries in the Finger Lakes, has announced the appointment of Craig Hosbach as its new head winemaker effective September 1. Hosbach, 44, […]

Lakewood Vineyards Releases Sidekick Session Spritz

Just in time for summer Lakewood Vineyards is releasing its first-ever session wine, Sidekick. Taking a page out of the session beer playbook, easy-drinking session wines have been gaining popularity […]

New York Wine & Grape Foundation Unity Awards Announced, Winners to be Honored at B.E.V. NY Conference

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The New York Wine & Grape Foundation (NYWGF) is pleased to announce the winners of the prestigious 2022 Unity Awards. The Unity Awards were created in 1990 as a way for the community to recognize, encourage, and celebrate cooperation among grape growers, wineries, researchers, retailers, and others to advance the entire industry.  Honoring the longstanding and bold spirit of our community members and their numerous achievements, NYWGF is proud to continue the 30-year tradition of celebrating industry leaders and champions. 

VineBalance 2022: Version 2 Released

The NYWGF is pleased to announce the release of Version 2 of VineBalance 2022 as the latest edition of New York’s statewide code of sustainable winegrowing. “I am humbled by […]

NYWGF Releases Revised Global Messaging RFP

The New York Wine & Grape Foundation would like to thank those who showed interest in this important project! In response to the myriad of questions and proposals that were […]

New York Wine & Grape Foundation Partners with Crush Wine Experiences on B.E.V. NY Conference and New York Wine Classic Awards Events

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The New York Wine & Grape Foundation (NYWGF) is pleased to announce a new partnership with Crush Wine Experiences to elevate the B.E.V. NY Conference and New York Wine Classic Awards Ceremony in 2022. To accomplish its mission and meet industry need, NYWGF leads important educational and promotional events each year. Scheduled to take place from March 29th, 2022, through March 31st, 2022, B.E.V. NY is the annual grape and wine conference presented by NYWGF, Cornell’s Finger Lakes Grape Program and the Enology Extension Laboratory. B.E.V. NY will be a hybrid event, with March 29th being held in-person (Rochester, NY) and virtually, and the subsequent days being held virtually. 

New York Wine & Grape Foundation issues RFP for 2022 Grape and Wine Research

For 35 years, NYWGF has annually distributed funds to projects that provide the New York State wine and grape industry with short-term solutions and long-term strategic directions. Click here to explore previously funded projects.

The Research Committee of the Board of Directors now welcomes new proposals for 2022. Proposals will be due by January 24th, 2022.

VineBalance 2022 Virtual Workshop Series Announced

Join Chris Serra, a leading expert in sustainable winegrowing certification, as we workshop a selection of new objectives introduced in the VineBalance 2022 update. Growers are invited to practice scoring their […]

NYWGF Sustainability Program Offers Soil Health Scholarships

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The NYWGF Sustainability Program is pleased to offer scholarships to the Advanced Soil Health Virtual Certificate Course offered by the Cornell University Soil Health Program. This online course will take place December 4th – 11th from 8am to 11:30am and will include live sessions with soil health experts on December […]

JamesSuckling.com Publishes Review of New York Wines

James Suckling

Penn Yan, NY, September 21st, 2021 – Over 30 wineries participating in the New York Wine & Grape Foundation (NYWGF) International Export Program were invited to submit wines for review by JamesSuckling.com last Spring. JamesSuckling.com is […]

NYWGF Issues RFP for Comprehensive New York Wine Course & Reference Guide Update

New York wines are now worldwide. They are increasingly available in the international markets of Canada, Europe, and Asia and information about the wines, and our grower community, is frequently sought after by global trade, media, and consumers wanting to learn more about our exciting, up-and-coming region. NYWGF is seeking a consultant to complete a comprehensive technical review and update of the guide, provide copy editing for tone and voice and, finally, core educational modules to serve global trade and consumer audiences.

The Triple Bottom Line of Vineyard Sustainability

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How do we measure the sustainability of the New York wine and grape industry? In sustainable agriculture, performance is measured using the “triple bottom line” framework. In addition to financial […]

The Atlantic Seaboard Wine Association Announces 2021 Competition Winners

The Atlantic Seaboard Wine Association (ASWA) held its 16th annual wine competition on August 14 and 15 at the Marriott Tysons Corner, VA. This year’s Best of Show wine, Fox Run Vineyards 2019 Reserve Riesling, was selected from thirty Best of Category Winners. ASWA’s Wine Competition is the largest in the nation, focused exclusively on East Coast wines. This year our judges evaluated 484 diverse wines made in the eastern US.

The newest winery on Cayuga Lake, Six Eighty Cellars, now open!

Six Eighty Cellars, the newest winery on Cayuga Lake, has recently opened at 3050 Swick Road, Ovid.  The owners of nearby Buttonwood Grove Winery, Melissa and Dave Pittard of Skaneateles, were seeking to purchase additional vineyard acreage when the former Toro Run Winery became available for sale.  Attracted by the well maintained vines and wide array of classic grapes, as well as its proximity to their other facilities, they seized the opportunity to establish a second brand.

Future VineBalance Updates to Address Biodiversity and Social Equity

The first layer of this analysis evaluates the broader categories of sustainability addressed by each program to identify what all programs have in common, where VineBalance exceeds other programs, and where it falls short in addressing certain priorities. The categories of sustainability that all three programs share are soil health, water conservation, and pest management. One area where VineBalance goes deeper that other programs is pesticide management. For example, VineBalance includes questions about the security of pesticide storage, certified applicator supervision, and the recyclability of pesticide containers. Key areas where VineBalance falls short include management strategies for biodiversity and worker health and safety.

NYWGF Announces Sustainability Program Mission Statement and Objectives

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The New York Wine & Grape Foundation is pleased to announce the release of a Mission Statement, Vision Statement and Objectives for our new statewide sustainability program. These guiding statements were collectively developed by our Grower Sustainability Advisory Committee and Sustainability Program Manager.

Experience! The Finger Lakes® Named As One Of The Top 5 Wine Tours In The Us

Experience! The Finger Lakes®, based out of Ithaca NY, in the heart of the Finger Lakes region, today announced that it has been recognized as the 4th Best Wine Tour in the United States. Nominees for the USA TODAY 10Best award for Best Wine Tour were chosen by a panel of wine and travel experts consisting of journalists, industry professionals, and broadcast personalities. Twenty nominees from around the country were presented to the public in July. Online public voting took place over 4 weeks, and winners were announced publicly on August 13st.

NYWGF Announces New Sustainability Committees

The New York Wine and Grape Foundation is pleased to announce the formation of our new Grower Sustainability Advisory Committee and Technical Review Committee. These two committees will work together with our Sustainability Program Manager to establish our statewide sustainable winegrowing certification program.  

Chris Serra to Lead VineBalance Update

This week marked the official start of our VineBalance update project, which was awarded to Chris Serra, Executive Director of LIVE. Chris is a great fit for this project with 14 years of experience leading an internationally recognized third-party certification in sustainable winegrowing for Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. Chris consulted on the development of Long Island Sustainable Winegrowing (LISW) and has been instrumental in providing guidance on other certification efforts, including one for the Great Lakes.

New York Wine & Grape Foundation Releases 2020-2021 Annual Report

Today, the New York Wine and Grape Foundation released their Annual Report for the 2020-2021 State Fiscal Year. The Annual Report provides a summary of the Foundation’s operations and accomplishments during the fiscal year. The report also includes information on the amount of funding designated for applied research and the types of research conducted; and the amount of funding designated for promotion, and the effectiveness of the promotional program.

New York Wine and Grape Foundation to Update VineBalance for Statewide Sustainability Program

The New York Wine & Grape Foundation is developing a third-party certification for sustainably farmed grapes and wine. The purpose of the RFP is to provide high level strategic and structural recommendations for certification design based on sustainability best practices, while balancing the small-scale and independent nature of New York’s wine industry. The ideal candidate will be experienced in East Coast climate and agriculture, viticulture and enology, international standards of sustainable winegrowing, and environmental certifications deployed by other agricultural industries. The VineBalance RFP is available here and responses are due by June 30, 2021.

Finger Lakes Wine Festival Postponed to July 8-10, 2022

Watkins Glen International today announced that the Finger Lakes Wine Festival originally scheduled for July 9-11, 2021 has been postponed to July 8-10, 2022 due to New York State COVID-19 guidelines. Ticketholders will automatically receive a credit for the full amount of their Finger Lakes Wine Festival purchase, plus an additional 20 percent of the total amount paid for those experiences, in their Watkins Glen International account by May 5.

Governor Cuomo Announces State Will End Food and Beverage Service Curfew

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This announcement on food and beverage service and catered events builds on the Governor’s recent measures to further re-open the economy amid a steady decline in New York’s COVID-19 positivity and hospitalization rates. On April 26, Governor Cuomo announced that spectator capacity at large-scale outdoor event venues, including professional and collegiate sports and live performing arts and entertainment, will increase from 20 to 33 percent beginning May 19. This increase will coincide with the previously announced increase in large-scale indoor event venue capacity. Social distancing, masks, health screenings and all other State health and safety protocols remain in effect.

New York Wine & Grape Foundation Seeking Nominations for Board of Directors

Every May the New York Wine & Grape Foundation (NYWGF) Board of Directors meets to elect members of the industry to board seats with expiring terms. The term of office for directors is three years and there are currently 21 members of the Board of Directors. Thirteen (13) board seats are statutorily mandated by the law that created NYWGF in 1985, and there are eight (8) at large board seats. NYWGF aims to establish a Board comprised of Directors representing a diversity of regions, business sizes and models, demographics, and functional expertise.

Buttonwood Grove Winery announces addition of Carmela Barbagallo as Director of Wholesale Sales

photo of Carmela Barbagallo

Buttonwood Grove Winery is excited to announce the addition of Carmela Barbagallo to their team as Director of Wholesale Sales. Her focus will be on increasing wholesale distribution in New York and Ohio, and creating distributor relationships in additional states to broaden distribution channels. Additionally, she will work with partner organizations such as the New York Wine and Grape Foundation and Finger Lakes Wine Alliance to broaden Buttonwood Grove’s participation in multiple marketing programs.

New York Wine and Grape Foundation Welcomes Renowned Climate Scientist Dr. Brenda Ekwurzel to Give Climate Change Presentation to East Coast Wine Community

How is climate change affecting us today and over our lifetime? These are important questions for the wine and grape community to ask. Climate change has the potential to impact everyone in the wine supply chain from vineyard managers in the field to consumers enjoying a glass. Join us to learn the science behind climate change, discover the potential of climate-smart farming, and reflect on the importance of supporting sustainable winegrowers for future generations of New York wine.

Top Awards Announced from the 2021 New York Wine Classic

Last night, the New York Wine & Grape foundation announced the top winners of the 35th annual New York Wine Classic, a nationally recognized competition highlighting the best of New York’s wine. Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul made the announcement during a special live virtual event.  This year, the Governor’s Cup, the most esteemed award given at the Classic, was presented to Pindar Vineyards for its 2019 Dr. Dan’s Signature Collection, Gewurztraminer from the Long Island region. In addition, Paumanok Vineyards from Long Island was presented with the ‘Winery of the Year’ award.

The New York Wine & Grape Foundation Announces “Best of Class” from the 2021 New York Wine Classic

Known as “The Oscars®” of New York wine competitions, the Classic is organized by the New York Wine & Grape Foundation. New this year, NYWGF partnered with the Beverage Testing Institute (BTI) to judge wines submitted from across New York state. A total of 1 Platinum, 138 Gold, 355 Silver, and 104 Bronze medals were awarded by BTI’s trained sensory panel comprised of beverage directors, sommeliers, top bartenders, retail buyers and educators.

USDA Offering Two Webinars in March for Beginning Farmers in New York State

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To institutionalize support for beginning farmers and ranchers and to build upon prior agency work, the 2018 Farm Bill directed USDA to create a national coordinator position in the agency and state-level teams for four of its agencies – Farm Service Agency (FSA), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Risk Management Agency (RMA), and Rural Development (RD).

Lift black voices, and more ways to celebrate Black History Month

To continue to raise awareness of black voices in our community, and to give you more ways to celebrate Black History Month, we encourage you to check out the resources below. A particular note for winery and growers, The Oregon Wine Board has promoted the free Starbucks “To Be Welcoming,” series to their community, and they are hosting thoughtful seminars on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at the upcoming 2021 Oregon Wine Symposium.

B.E.V. NY Presents: Keynote Speaker, Jancis Robinson

Jancis Robinson holding a wine glass

Voted the world’s most influential wine critic in polls in the US, France and internationally in 2018, Jancis views herself as a wine writer rather than a wine critic. She writes daily for JancisRobinson.com and weekly for the Financial Times. She is founder-editor of The Oxford Companion to Wine, co-author with Hugh Johnson of The World Atlas of Wine (4.7 million copies sold just before the 8th edition was published in October 2019) and co-author of Wine Grapes, each of these books recognised as a standard reference worldwide.

January Fireside Chat with Sam Filler & Special Guests

Glass of wine against cozy fireplace background, hygge concept.

Our Fireside Chat in January was focused around the New York Grape Growers. Topics include an update on new Grower Membership Tiers and the benefits provided within each. We also talked about NYWGF’s new marketing campaign roll-out plan. We welcome you to share your ideas on how we can best shine a spotlight on New York’s growers.

Electronic Filing Now Available for Alcoholic Beverage Tax Return

New York State recently updated the Alcoholic Beverage Tax Return to allow for electronic filing beginning with returns due January 20, 2021. NYS has created the MT-456 which replaces the MT-50 but remains very similar in the required information needed and added fields that can be filled in electronically. Please note- you will first need to save the form to your computer before you begin filling in information, or else the data you input will not save.

New Member Benefit: Finance, Accounting & Tax Resources

To assist our members with critical questions about tax planning, inventory accounting, general accounting, excise tax/TTB issues, sales tax, and more the New York Wine & Grape Foundation is pleased to offer a new benefit for Members, in partnership with Mengel, Metzger, Barr & Co. LLP. Beginning in December 2020, members will have access to financial and tax guidance in webinar form, as well as through individual consulting for their specific needs provided via a 60-minute one-on-one session.

One-on-One Coaching with Sandra Hess & DTC Wine Workshops Consulting Agency

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As a reminder, for NY Drinks NY participants, virtual workshops will be supplemented by an individual coaching session with a member of the DTC Consultant Network, led by Sandra Hess. Each winery will be provided with a 1.5 hour online coaching session to address a challenge or opportunity of their choice. Network consultants work to ensure your team uses the ideal blends of tools, talent and technologies to achieve direct to consumer wine sales success.

Year-end Planning and Current Hot Topics

We are happy to be welcoming Anthony Sandonato from Mengel Metzger Barr & Co. LLP back for our annual tax & finance year end webinar. During this session Tony will help clarify any continued confusion that still exists in relation to Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans, and loan forgiveness issues. We will also explore year-end tax planning and inventory strategies, and learn some tips for 2021 planning in light of COVID-19’s continued financial impact.

Hudson Valley Wine tasting Passport is here!

Kick-off 2021 with a self-guided wine tasting tour through Hudson Valley wine country. The Shawangunk Wine Trail’s Hudson Valley Wine Tasting Passport is the perfect choice for local and regional wine enthusiasts to enjoy a variety of the finest wines produced in the Hudson River region and to discover new favorite’s along the way!

New York Wine & Grape Foundation issues RFP for Grape and Wine Research

For 35 years, NYWGF has annually distributed funds to projects that provide the New York State wine and grape industry with short-term solutions and long-term strategic directions. Click here for a list of previously funded projects.

The Research Committee of the Board of Directors now welcomes new proposals for 2021. Proposals will be due by January 25th, 2021.

Meadowdale Farm Winery Wins Gold!

selection of wines from Meadowdale Farm Winery

Meadowdale Farm Winery’s Ice Cider has been awarded a Gold Medal in the recently completed 2020 New York International Wine Competition.

The winery is located at Black Creek Farm on Fryer Lane in Altamont, NY. The New York International Wine Competition also named Meadowdale Winery the “New York Ice Cider Winery of the Year” for 2020.

We took the 21-Day Racial Equity Challenge

By now you may have heard that thousands of individuals and hundreds of local organizations have joined together to take a community-wide 21-Day Racial Equity Challenge. The New York Wine & Grape Foundation is dedicated to learning and taking action to create an equitable community for all, so over the past month, our staff has committed to furthering our understanding of power, privilege, supremacy, oppression, and equity with the help of the United Way of Greater Rochester.

Happy Thanksgiving!

On this Thanksgiving Eve we want to take the opportunity to express how thankful we are for the continued support of the amazing wine and grape community here in New […]

Halloween Candy & New York Wine Pairing

Whether you steal a piece when no one’s looking, or you go full-tilt with a bucket all to yourself, we know you’re going to be digging into some Halloween candy this weekend. While you’re enjoying the sweet treats, we invite you to add a glass of your favorite New York wine! We know candy and wine isn’t exactly a traditional pairing… but why not have a little fun in the spirit of the season? We’ve listed some ideas to get you started, featuring the winners of last years New York Wine Classic.

Hosmer Winery Featured in Wine & Spirits Top 100

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Hosmer Winery’s Rieslings receive recognition in both Top 100 Wines of 2020 and Top 100 Best Buys of 2020. Hosmer Winery is known for its wide portfolio of estate-grown Rieslings. In the most recent Special Issue of Wine & Spirits, not one, but two of Hosmer’s Rieslings are recognized in their Top 100 series.

New USDA Survey to Measure Areas for Improvement

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WASHINGTON, Aug. 7, 2020 – WASHINGTON, August 7, 2020 –The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced a new annual survey of farmers, ranchers and private forestland owners. The survey […]

Sea Scallops Stir Fry

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This month’s recipes are inspired by the fantastic seafood and duck available on Long Island. Choose Local F.I.S.H. (Fresh. Indigenous. Sustainable. Healthy), an initiative of the Cornell Cooperative Extension Marine […]