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. And why? New York has an array of AVAs and wine-growing regions, including the Finger Lakes, Long Island, the Hudson River Region, Lake Erie, Upper Hudson and the Niagara Escarpment. The range of growing conditions, temperatures and soils found across the Empire State automatically invites diversity. But still. Feteasca Neagra?
Modern Hybrid Grapes Are on the Rise
Ben Riccardi, winemaker and business manager at Osmote Wine in the Finger Lakes, says that he has been experimenting with modern hybrids in a bid to create extraordinary wines that are easier to farm sustainably in the vineyard.
Riccardi planted two acres each of Marquette and Aromella last year—his first foray into vineyard management.
“I have around 15 plantable acres, and these are my first vines,” Riccardi says. “I went with them because they’re disease resistant and I already had a market for these grapes.”
Osmote offers a popular red Pet-Nat made with Marquette in the blend and a single varietal Marquette. For clients, Riccardi has produced Traminette, which is Aromella’s parent grape and similar in characteristics, but more disease resistant.
“Both of my first blocks are planted up and down the slope of the hill for better wind penetration and airflow to minimize fungal risk,” Riccardi says. “These varieties were also planted as own-rooted, so after the first establishment year, I won’t have to hill up for the vines for winter cold protection. This will also minimize erosion risk.”
Riccardi says that he sees a much more open market for different varieties.
“I see Cabernet Sauvignon being ripped out all over the world, particularly in Australia and California,” he says. “I think the dominance of only a few key varietals is coming to an end.”
Underutilized Vinifera and Hybrids That Echo Classic Vinifera
New York is probably best known on the world stage for producing fantastic wines from vitis vinifera grapes like Riesling and Cabernet Franc, but other producers are planting lesser-known vitis vinifera and finding farming and commercial success with them.
Husband and wife winemaking duo Jim and Kathy Baker co-founded Chateau Niagara to make “classic Bordeaux-style wines with a sense of this place,” Jim explains.
But along the way, they tasted a Saperavi wine from McGregor Vineyard, and that changed everything. The grape, which primarily grows in the country of Georgia and the Caucasus, is noted for its dark fruit flavors, spice and earthy notes. It is, in many ways, a Bordeaux-like variety that just happens to grow much better in Niagara than, say, Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot.
“We wondered what Eastern European wines and grapes were out there, and if they could be successful here in our cool climate,” he says. On the promise of Saperavi’s quality, and Chateau Niagara’s terroir, the Bakers became one of the six original growers of the grape here in the East. The pair also planted the Hungarian grape Turan, and began producing a complex Hungarian-style Bulls Blood wine from Cabernet Franc, Blaufrankisch, Turan and Saperavi.
“We have also planted another exotic Eastern European red grape called Feteasca Neagra,” Jim says. “This is an old Romanian vinifera variety that is resistant to both cold and drought conditions that thrives on soils with good drainage, and ripens very well here in Niagara, coming in about the same time as our Cabernet Franc.”
Osprey’s Dominion, in Peconic, Long Island, is also adjusting the focus on classic European varieties, aiming for the same results with slightly hardier grapes.
“We are currently working on replanting some of our Sauvignon Blanc after it was hit hard with late frost in the spring,” says consulting winemaker Robin Epperson-McCarthy. “We are paying close attention to the Suffolk County Cornell cooperative vineyard and the research Alice Wise is doing with hybrids and new varieties.”
Varieties like Sauvignon Kretos and Sauvignon Rytos are being considered as replacements, because they are more frost-tolerant with similar flavor profiles.
“By planting more sustainable varieties and hybrids, we will have a sustainable domino effect across our entire business,” Epperson-McCarthy notes. “Our proximity to the bays and estuaries means that we have a responsibility not just to the soil, but also to the watersheds.”
Hardier grapes also make for a more predictable harvest, which means steadier sales and greater economic sustainability, which trickles down to the workforce they can support, and the community as a whole, Epperson-McCarthy says.
Allowing New York’s Distinct Terroir To Shine
Choosing a new grape to plant is a serious investment: you’re planting something that you hope will thrive for the next 25+ years, while also being appropriate for the region.
At Quartz Rock Vineyard in the Hudson Valley, proprietors Dan Heavens and Jacqui Ferrari Heavens have worked hard to hone the new varieties they’re planting to current and future needs.
“We want to consistently grow the variety at high quality given the climate, which has been changing,” Dan explains. “Over the past three years, we’ve planted Pinot Noir, Gruner Veltliner, Nebbiolo, Norton and Gamay Noir.
They chose the grapes with confidence in the grape’s viability in their climate, and the quality of wine they thought they would produce.
Terry Bates, director of the Cornell Lake Erie Research and Extension, is heartened by the trend of looking to the climate before broad market desires.
“Growers are gravitating toward varieties successful in other similar climatic regions, which has not always been the case,” Bates says. “Varieties popular in Northern France, Alsace, parts of Germany and other eastern Europe countries are getting a stronger look than more familiar Mediterranean vitis vinifera varieties.”
