The Great Northern Migration (of Grapes, That Is)

By Jason Feulner, Finger Lakes Regional Correspondent

I encourage followers of the New York winery scene to check out this article by Syracuse Post-Standard writer Don Cazentre. For some time, wineries in the frozen hinterlands north of Syracuse in the Thousand Island region, the Tug Hill Plateau, and the Adirondack foothills have been making a brazen attempt to grow a significant amount of grapes using cold-hardy hybrids developed by Cornell and the University of Minnesota.

This article focuses on the operations in the Thousand Islands region and specific varieties developed by the University of Minnesota.

Formerly, these wineries relied heavily on grapes sources from vineyards throughout the state. Now, they are attempting to cement their own regional identity.

The article contains quotes from some usual sources that exhibit the "come one, come all" mentality of winery expansion in the state. The number of wineries in New York (wow!), and the rate of growth is mentioned as well.

While I think it's great that people are following their entrepreneurial dreams, I'm also aware that the issues of saturation and identity always come into play when we are talking about expansion of the New York wine industry. Has it come to pass that we can no longer talk about the "New York" industry because it is too globular and diverse to warrant a specific description?

What are your reactions to this article and some of its implications?

Comments

[Thomas Pellechia]

Jason,

You are astute. Reads like a promo piece for the region.

Re, the number of NY wineries, et al: don't you know that wine is a numbers game these days?

Drink and enjoy what you like? That's passe...

[Jason Feulner]

Numbers are numbers, but they are not indicative of many other important qualities.

In my mind, it doesn't matter if New York has 5 wineries or 500. The importact factors are the matters of quality, reputation, and the story that goes into the wine. These factors are what world-respected "regions" are built upon.

For some time, New York has promoted its industry as one state, assuming that the arbitrary political borders also define some sort of wine industry. This setup may have worked when we were talking about the Finger Lakes, Long Island, and a handful of Hudson Valley wineries. Now that it seems like any part of the state with some available soil is fair game, how can we even talk about New York wine?

Heck, maybe cold weather grapes will make some interesting stuff, but once too many variables and differences are put forth I'm beginning to think less and less of New York wine and am focusing instead on the specific regions.

Even with that qualification, a region like the Finger Lakes is simply unwieldly. It's a big region, hard to get around in, and there are so many wineries that no individual can really get to know them all.

[Thomas Pellechia]

Jason,

You are correct. That's why the wine world talks about macro, meso, and microclimates.

You are of course talking up a battle that we may have already lost. Too often, people use the phrases, "Italian wine," "French wine," Spanish wine," New York wine," California wine," as if that is any sort of identification.

A number is about competition, is about pride, is about everything else except the wine.

Did you know that NY is 4th in domestic wine production volume. Now don't you like NY wine even more???

[Jason Feulner]

While I agree that monikers like "Italian" or "Californian" exist to describe a whole swath of very specific wines from specific regions, I think most people are willing to dig a little deeper into those descriptions. Therefore, one easily generalizes about the Californian wine industry, but anyone who has a superficial knowledge can talk about Napa or Sonoma in a somewhat seperate fashion.

In New York, a geographically diverse state that is damn cold in many parts and even snowier in others, that has maritime, continental, and lake climates and everything in-between, what is the purpose of promoting the building wine industry as all New York? Frankly, it seems to mean less and less as time goes by!

[Thomas Pellechia]

Jason,

I don't understand at all what you are saying, re, California. It is also a diverse geographic state. Why would it be easy to generalize about California wine regions?

[Jason Feulner]

What I am saying is that despite the general term "California wines," almost any regular wine consumer can then break down that very large region and show some knowledge and appreciation of certain locales, wines, styles, etc.

All too often, we hear a reference to New York wines with no such categorical breakdown. I've heard "New York wine this," "New York wine that," but all too often I hear little knowledge or familiarity with the distinct regions and wines within in New York. It seems to be painted with a very broad brush!

[Thomas Pellechia]

Jason,

People with a deep passion for wine, and a developed or developing knowledge on the subject tend to forget that the overwhelming majority of wine consumers do not study the subject hardly at all.

When you are in a tasting room or in retail you get to learn what the rest of the consuming world is really like when it comes to wine knowledge.

In fact, part of why I often rail against wine writing is because, essentially, many of us are preaching to our own, known choir. Few wine writers seem equipped to talk to that vast majority that could use simple educational information--and some myth debunking, too...