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Field Notes

News and Updates from the New York Wine & Grape Foundation

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unity awards presented by the new york wine and grape foundation

2024 Unity Award Nominations Process Announced

New York Wine & Grape Foundation November 20, 2023

Awardees Honored at B.E.V. NY Conference, Donations Made on Winners’ Behalf to New York Nonprofits NYWGF is pleased to provide our community with the opportunity to recognize the champions among us once again. You are invited to submit your nominations for the 2024 Unity Awards. The Unity Awards were created in 1990 to recognize, encourage, and celebrate cooperation among grape growers, wineries, researchers, retailers, and others to advance the entire industry. Our industry has a

A Holiday Roundup Featuring New York Wines

New York Wine & Grape Foundation November 16, 2023

Wine Pairing Suggestions for Holidays and Every Day! With a world of choices for your holiday (and every day) table, why would someone choose a New York State wine over seemingly more well-known wines and regions? We answer with a consistent bold response and replace that question with… Of course, New York! Here are just a few reasons why. New York is different. People might not know that in one corner we’re surrounded by the ocean. In

The Continuing Work of Reducing the Need for Chemicals in New York’s Vineyards

Kathleen Willcox and Robin Shreeves November 7, 2023

Vineyards today are a far cry from their manicured, perfectly-trimmed-and-green predecessors of yore. In the 1960s, you were likely to glimpse neat rows of vines with pristine rows of soil between them—not a weed or cover crop to be seen. Chemicals seemed to be the answer to better wine growing. Herbicides destroyed the weeds that competed with the vines for water. Insecticides got rid of critters that wanted to use the vines and the grapes

New York Sustainable Winegrowing Program Enrollment Open for 2024!

New York Wine & Grape Foundation November 2, 2023

  The New York Wine & Grape Foundation’s Sustainability Program is pleased to announce that registration for the 2024 Program Year is Open! The New York Sustainable Winegrowing program is a comprehensive program that includes educational events and resources as well as an official certification process for vineyards who are seeking to advance their environmental, social, and economic sustainability. Certification is based on VineBalance – a workbook based on science backed regionally defined standards, as

How Wine Clubs Help Producers Boost Their Bottom Line and Build Community

Kathleen Willcox and Robin Shreeves October 19, 2023

Direct-to-consumer (DTC) sales are increasingly becoming important for small and medium-sized wineries; in many cases, wine clubs are foundational to sustained DTC success. The classic distribution model, amid widespread consolidation, is no longer viable for most wineries. Distributors have been merging and consolidating for decades now. Currently, two distributors account for more than half of all wine sales in the U.S. Meanwhile, the number of wineries across the country are increasing. Today, there are more

New York May Have a New Vineyard Sustainability Certification But Sustainable Efforts Are Nothing New in the State’s Vineyards

Kathleen Willcox and Robin Shreeves October 17, 2023

Sustainability is more than a buzzword for the vintners of New York State. Although there is no legally binding definition of “sustainability,” for the purposes of the New York Sustainable Winegrowing program, sustainable farming entails not just the way a vineyard is farmed, but a system of farming that can be maintained and supported over time. In a vineyard where the same soil nourishes plants year after year, environmental sustainability is imperative. Earlier this year,