Outside of New York, the Trickle of Interest in NY Wines... is Building? A Story from Virginia

By Evan Dawson, Managing Editor

There is nothing particularly groundbreaking about this story, and yet the very fact that it happened at all is important. It is important to the Finger Lakes, and Long Island, and New York state in general.

It's rather simple, really: A couple in Richmond, Virginia walked into a wine shop called The Wine Cellar and asked for a Finger Lakes riesling. In particular, owner John Witherspoon -- a blogger himself, a good friend of ours and a recent participant during TasteCamp 2010 -- says they wanted wine from the Anthony Road Wine Company on Seneca Lake.

"They had just had an Anthony Road wine, through friends and family," John explains. "This was their first time having it, and they were asking about the TBA that Anthony Road made, and how impressive it was that a New York winery made one."

No one knows how often this kind of thing happens across the country every day, or every week, or every month. How often does a couple stop by an Atlanta wine shop, asking for a Long Island merlot? How often does a wine lover catch wind of a New York pinot and pop into his local store in Kansas City? 

Speaking of pinot, Witherspoon says the reputation of pinot from New York seems to be improving. "This couple had heard that pinot noirs were doing well from the Finger Lakes, but they hadn't had any yet," John says. 

Fascinating. You can't help but wonder how each consumer is reached. Regardless, this is the great challenge for New York wine, and these anecdotes paint an optimistic, if narrow, picture. No, it's not like customers are storming their local wine shops in Texas and Maine, demanding the oeuvre of New York wine in one massive purchase. But if consumers are inspired enough to go looking for New York wines, that's a promising sign, small as it may be.

"New York wines are generally less well known," Witherspoon says, adding that historically these wines have been a "hard sell." He finds that an educated wine shop owner can have some success with them: "They are definitely worth carrying."

And with better distribution, shop owners like John Witherspoon will have an easier time helping their customers connect with the wines that have stirred an ember in their curiosity. It's the first step to starting a fire.

Comments

[1winedude]

Prime example of THE most influential wine critic for any individual consumer - the guy in the wine shop; trumps a score any day of the week.

[Evan Dawson]

Yep, dude. And the guy (or gal) in the wine shop needs to bring an open mind. John is a friend, so it's easy to praise him, but part of what makes me love the guy is his sharp palate and his open mind.

[john witherspoon]

In my state of VA - two things play a factor in getting lesser known wines from lesser known regions. One i mentioned above in response to a question from Evan is the distribution factor. If a dist. doesn't or won't carry it - I don't have the ability to put it on my shelf - no matter how much i want to.

The second is that VA is a COD wine/alcohol state. As soon as wine hits my floor I have to pay for it. This makes it difficult for bringing in wines that may be a long shot since I don't have terms 30.60.90 to move the product before I pay for it. So it actually is an investment in the truest set of the word.

[Peter Becraft/Anthony Road Wine Co.]

John, I can give you the details of our distributor in Va. Curious as to which NY wines you may have at The Wine Cellar. Next time I'm in Richmond I am stopping by.

[Lenn Thompson]

John and I have had several email conversations about NY wines in VA over the last couple years (one sparked this post, actually).

John has a great palate and is adventurous in tracking down wines from lesser-known regions. Some of the best VA wines I've tasted were because of his recos.

But who I'd really like to applaud here is the couple who went into their shop, tracked down the owner and asked for the Anthony Road wines.

It's easy to complain about a lack of XYZ wines in your local shop, but not enough people actually take it upon themselves to ask for them.

[1winedude]

Evan - it helps that the guy digs good Cab Franc as well :-).