The recent 2024 New York Vineyard Report has inspired a lot of excitement among the circle of individuals who get giddy pouring over data on grapes. It may not be a large group—but it is a passionate one! It has also raised some interesting questions about the present and future of grape growing—and wine consumption—in New York. One of those questions: who’s planting Turan, Feteasca Neagra and Gamay Noir grapes.
For anyone who has grown, produced, or sipped wine grown and made in the Empire State in the past decade, the notion that New York can make world-class wine feels like old, if not patently the-sky-is-blue-obvious, news. But for less lucky wine enthusiasts who have not had the pleasure, New York wine still often feels up-and-coming. But that is set to change, now that winemakers, subregions and the New York
New York is home to an expanding network of certified sustainable vineyards dedicated to minimizing environmental impact, ensuring economic stability, and safeguarding worker health and safety. This certification is awarded through the New York Wine & Grape Foundation’s (NYWGF) Sustainable Winegrowing program. Vineyards that achieve certification, along with wineries producing wines made from at least 85% certified sustainable grapes, are authorized to display the Sustainability Trustmark at their vineyards and
Image courtesy of Doyle Vineyard Management. At the heart of the Finger Lakes wine industry stands Doyle Vineyard Management, a testament to resilience, creativity, and commitment to community. Founded in 2009 by Matt and Carre Doyle, the company arose during a moment of great uncertainty, but it has grown into a pillar of sustainability and a champion for viticulture and education. The Doyle story began at a crossroads. In 2009,
The New York Wine & Grape Foundation (NYWGF) is pleased to announce the release of the 2024 New York Vineyard Report. This report marks the beginning of a two-year initiative aimed at re-establishing benchmarks for accurate data on vineyard acreage across the state. In this effort, NYWGF has collaborated with Agency 29, Ag Access, and Deep Planet LLC to evaluate vineyard acreage through direct grower reports and advanced machine learning
Wagner Vineyards. Image courtesy of Rima Brindamour There’s no life like the wine life during the harvest season—especially one as auspicious as 2024’s appears to be. From the Hudson Valley to the tip of Long Island, up to the Finger Lakes and through the Niagara Escarpment to Lake Ontario, growers and winemakers found no rest, but plenty to look forward to in this harvest, a relief after a few challenging
Far be it from us to play favorites with grape varieties, but it’s impossible to ignore the Empire State’s emerging star grape, Cabernet Franc. Riesling hogged the headlines and the critical acclaim in the state for decades, but thanks to a delicious cocktail of developments—including improved clones and viticultural techniques, and the auspicious pairing of grape and terroir—Cabernet Franc is now able to begin to compete with Riesling for star
Rich Olsen-Harbich began pioneering sustainable winegrowing techniques decades before it was cool. “This Sustainability Award really validates what we’ve been doing at Bedell Cellars since 1980,” Olsen-Harbich, winemaker at Bedell Cellars, notes. “Sustainability is a zero-sum game. It is a pathway that you walk on, without an end in sight. You always want to find a way to be even more sustainable.” The New York Wine & Grape Foundation created
Dawn and Bob Betts of Betts Farms LLC The usual “surprised but pleased” reaction that most people admit to having when presented with a major accolade doesn’t quite sum it up for Dawn and Bob Betts. “We were shocked,” Dawn says of learning that she and her husband Bob won the John Brahm III Grower award for their pioneering work with grapes at Betts Farms. “It’s the Wine & Grape
NEWS RELEASE, November 28, 2023Contact: Doug DeCroix, WNY Heritage, [email protected] Baideme, Grape Discovery Center, [email protected] John Thomas Slater, [email protected] Three Achievements in the Chautauqua-Erie Grape Belt: “Celebrate the past and look to the future.”Westfield, NY – November 19th was a busy day at the Grape Discovery Center. Located in the heart of the world’s largest Concord grape-growing region, the Center played host to two celebrations—the release of a new and unique
Hybrid grapes are seen by many as the store-brand version of real-deal grapes. Sure, they have some notable benefits: they’re generally less expensive, and in many ways just as good as the name brand versions. But they don’t have the cache, street cred and long history of their Vitis vinifera counterparts. But in New York—and other regions of the Northeast and Midwest where real-life growing conditions often fail to be
UK wine podcast Interpreting Wine has published a new series exploring New York Wines from a fresh perspective. The series of seven episodes switches focus from winemaking towards grape growing. Episodes feature 1:1 conversations with six principals from Finger Lakes wine companies. The series also features Sam Filler and Justin Jackson of the New York Wine and Grape Foundation, discussing the new Sustainable Winegrowing Vineyard Certification. See below for more
Geneva, N.Y. – Stil-Bène, Inc., of Geneva, and Westfield Maid Cooperative, of Portland, were the grand prize winners of the first New York Concord Grape Innovation Awards, a business competition aimed at stimulating innovation and development of new products and markets for one of New York’s largest and most historic grape industries. The prizes were awarded Friday, December 9, at Cornell AgriTech in Geneva, where 12 finalists from across the
Let’s explore the vineyards together through the lens of six “Unsung Grapes” of New York State! You may discover a new favourite! In my chats with the producers of each wine we’ll look at the factors that go into choosing what varieties to plant; a grape’s suitability for New York terroir; their viticultural pros and cons; and – if these varieties have a future in New York State? Away we go!