When you make great wine, several elements—many beyond any one person’s control—must come together in a particularly auspicious way. Weather, climate and terroir have an outsize impact on the quality of a wine. But so do decidedly uncelebrated links in the winemaking chain. And by that we mean: interns. In challenging winegrowing regions like the Finger Lakes, where the weather is more unpredictable and capricious than most other places, the
Farmers are more in tune with what’s happening to the climate than anyone else because they depend on the whims of the sun, sky, and earth for their bread and butter. Winegrowers are perhaps even more watchful of subtle shifts and changes to the climate, simply because one bad hail storm, or a difference of a few degrees in temperature during the growing season, can doom a harvest. (Too cold,
PLEASE NOTE: Revised Timeline & FAQs NYWGF would like to thank everyone for the overwhelming interest in our recent Global Messaging RFP. We have compiled and consolidated them all, to the best of our ability, in this document. We encourage you to read it thoroughly before submitting your response. Please note, as this document did take longer than expected to complete, NYWGF has pushed back the proposal deadline to November
When it comes to the Finger Lakes, Christopher Bates doesn’t mince words. “If we want to progress as a wine region, we need to stop growing good fruit and start growing phenomenal wine,” he said on a New York Wines panel earlier this year. Christopher is one of only 269 Master Sommeliers worldwide, and runs F.L.X. Hospitality with his wife, Isabel. The executive chef and winemaker’s portfolio of businesses includes
Sebastian Hardy’s favorite book is titled The Obstacle is The Way. He often listens to audiobooks or podcasts for a mindful way to unwind after his busy days making wine. Colleen, his business partner and wife, smiles as he talks about it being good motivation. It’s clear she also buys into the concept of making the obstacle the path forward. And of course they do–in a pandemic their business depends on it.
A good rule of thumb – if it grows together, it goes together. A French wine has a high likelihood of pairing successfully with a French cheese! (Assuming you don’t forget about BALANCE.) These things share terroir – a sense of place! With that in mind, I tried to offer an American artisan cheese suggestion when it fits, four of which hail from the Empire State. I also considered the ancestral home of each grape and their local pairings!
I’ve always liked rocks. As a child growing up on Long Island, I had a rock “garden” in the backyard, and trips to the mall were highlighted by a visit to the store Natural Wonders where I’d spend my pocket money on a new gem stone for my collection that was kept in a secret hiding spot in my bedroom. When Fluorite came home with me? Big day. I remember being a very self satisfied eleven year old for knowing the difference between igneous, metamorphic and sedimentary rocks before it was taught in science class. I like the thrill of the “hunt” for the right rock. Maybe I was just overly influenced by the adventures of Indiana Jones? Stones were my long lost artifacts.
In March 2020, one week before the Coronavirus pandemic shutdown, Jenny Menges was on a press trip in London. She was there with the New York Wine & Grape Foundation, representing Hermann J. Wiemer Vineyard, where she’s the Director of Operations. “No job is perfect,” she smiles, “but this one is pretty close.” For Jenny and the rest of the team, working at Wiemer is more than a job. It’s more like an extended family, and she was eager to get home to it.