New York Wineries Included in "Best Wineries" List

Information from Jim Trezise of the New York Wine and Grape Foundation:

"The Daily Meal blog recently ran a piece on the "101 Best Wineries in America," which included seven from New York:

Red Newt Cellars (#42), Boundary Breaks (43), Dr. Konstantin Frank (54), Hermann J. Wiemer (68), Shinn Estate (74), Channing Daughters (86), and Bellwether Hard Cider & Wine Cellars (90).

Not surprisingly given its huge number of wineries, California had the most, with good representation also from Oregon and Washington, but it wasn't so long ago that New York would have been largely ignored.  No longer...and it's great to see."

National Wine Day is Today!!

Grapes at Thousand Islands Winery

Today is National Wine Day.

This is not to be confused with National Drink Wine Day, which is celebrated in February.

Today, May 25, we will celebrate wine and those who make it, especially all those vintners in New York state. New York is the second largest producer of wine in the country after California and New York producers make top notch wine that constantly win national and international wine contests. 

Wine is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented grapes or other fruits -- in fact there are wines made from fruits such as apples, pears and cherries made right in New York state.

So on National Wine Day, enjoy a glass of their favorite wine with dinner, for dessert, with friends, at a restaurant, at home or at a wine-tasting event.

Geneva Winery Wins Governor's Cup

Winners of the 2015 Governor’s Cup wine competition have been announced.

At an award ceremony today in Canandaigua, Ontario County, Lt. Gov..Kathy Hochul presented the 2015 Governor’s Cup to Ventosa Vineyards from Geneva for its 2011 Lemberger, Estate Grown. 

This ceremony followed the state’s first-ever Taste NY Culinary Tour, which provided more than a dozen of the region’s leading chefs and restaurateurs with a first-hand look at the quality and diversity of New York agriculture in the region.
The Governor’s Cup award is a large silver chalice, recognizing the Best of Show or top prize from 910 entries in the annual New York Wine & Food Classic competition, organized by the New York Wine & Grape Foundation. 

In addition, Paumanok Vineyards from Long Island’s North Fork won the Winery of the Year award.
This year's competition included 858 wines, 20 hard ciders and 32 spirits from across the state. The awards were based on blind tastings by 22 expert judges, four from California, 10 from New York, seven from other states and one from France. 

Judges included prominent wine writers, restaurateurs, retailers and wine educators. Judging panels determined the initial awards, with top-scoring wines evaluated by all 22 judges for the Best of Category and Governor's Cup awards.
The Governor also announced the following winners from the 2015 New York Wine & Food Classic competition:
The "Best of Category" awards, all eligible for the Governor's Cup, were:

· Best Sparkling Wine – Goose Watch Winery Pinot Noir Brut Rosé · Best White Wine – Paumanok Vineyards 2014 Semi-Dry Riesling · Best Rosé/Blush Wine – Lime Berry Winery Bunny Bunny Blush · Best Red Wine – Ventosa Vineyards 2011 Lemberger, Estate Grown · Best Dessert Wine – Sheldrake Point Winery 2014 Riesling Ice Wine

The "Best of Class" awards, which are given to Double Gold or Gold medal wines in classes of at least 10 wines, were:

· Best Oaked Chardonnay – McCall Wines 2013 Chardonnay Reserve
· Best Unoaked Chardonnay – Glenora Wine Cellars 2014 Chardonnay
· Best Gewürztraminer – Mazza Chautauqua Cellars 2014 Gewürztraminer · Best Dry Riesling – Dr. Konstantin Frank 2013 Dry Riesling
· Best Medium Dry Riesling – Dr. Konstantin Frank 2013 Riesling, Semi-Dry  
· Best Medium Sweet Riesling – Paumanok Vineyards 2014 Semi-Dry Riesling
· Best Sweet Riesling – Glenora Wine Cellars 2014 Riesling  
· Best Overall Riesling – Paumanok Vineyards 2014 Semi-Dry Riesling
· Best Sauvignon Blanc – Martha Clara Vineyards 2014 Sauvignon Blanc, Estate Reserve
· Best Pinot Gris – Dr. Konstantin Frank 2013 Pinot Gris · Best Other Vinifera White Varietal – Inspire Moore Winery 2014 Rhythm  
· Best Vinifera White Blend – Casa Larga Vineyard 2014 Chard-Riesling  
· Best Traminette – Goose Watch Winery 2014 Traminette  
· Best Hybrid White Blend – Tug Hill Vineyards 43° Lat White
· Best Niagara – Americana Vineyards Crystal Lake
· Best Vinifera Rosé – Kontokosta Winery 2014 Rosé
· Best Cabernet Sauvignon – Osprey’s Dominion Vineyards 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve  
· Best Merlot – Harbes Vineyard 2013 Hallock Lane Merlot
 · Best Pinot Noir – Martha Clara Vineyards 2013 Pinot Noir, Estate Reserve  
· Best Cabernet Franc – Idol Ridge Winery 2012 Cabernet Franc
· Best Lemberger – Ventosa Vineyards 2011 Lemberger, Estate Grown  
· Best Other Red Vinifera Varietal – Standing Stone Vineyards 2013 Saperavi
· Best Vinifera Red Blend – Fox Run Vineyards 2013 Cabernet Franc/Lemberger
· Best Hybrid Red Blend – Raymor Estate Cellars Sunset Red
· Best Fruit – Baldwin Vineyards Strawberry Wine
· Best Cider – Kaneb Orchards St. Lawrence Cider  
· Best Spirit – Black Button Distilling Citrus Forward Gin
· Best Late Harvest – Swedish Hill Winery 2014 Late Harvest Vignoles
· Best Ice Wine – Sheldrake Point Winery 2014 Riesling Ice Wine  
· Best Vinifera Sparkling White – Sparkling Pointe Vineyards & Winery 2005 Brut Seduction, Methode Champenoise

First-Ever Taste NY Culinary Tour
The New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets led the tour, visiting four farms and processors across Yates and Ontario counties.-- Wegman’s Organic Farm (vegetable farm), Hemdale Farms (dairy farm), Climbing Bines (hops farm) and Birkett Mills (buckwheat).
The tour, which was the first of three to be held across the state, kicked off at the New York Wine and Culinary Center in Canandaigua and participants visited four farms and processors. 

At Wegman’s Organic Farm, restaurateurs toured the 5-acre organic vegetable farm that grows about 25 different vegetables and herbs, including cherry tomatoes, leeks, beets, squash, dandelion greens, eggplant, cilantro, basil and parsley, for its restaurant and several Wegmans stores. 

The farm strives to grow the best-tasting varieties and extend growing seasons, making local farms more economically sustainable. 

The group also toured Hemdale Farm, which opened its milking parlor more than half a century ago and today has grown to an 11,000 cow, 21^st century dairy operation. The farm uses 19 automatic, robot milking systems and produces 80,000 pounds, or more than 9,000 gallons, of milk daily.
The tour moved to Penn Yan and visited Climbing Bines Hop Farm, a 1.5-acre site that consists of seven cultivars and nearly 1,500 hills.The farm is dedicated to growing premium New York state grown hops for the local brewing industry and beyond. 

At the final stop, participants visited The Birkett Mills, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of buckwheat products. The mill has over 200 years of buckwheat, soft white wheat, and custom grain milling experience. Throughout the year, finished products are shipped across the United States, Canada and Western Europe.

Two additional Culinary Tours are planned for the coming weeks. A tour will be held on Long Island later this month and in the Hudson Valley in October.

Cuomo Signs Bills Enhancing New York State Wine Industry

This news comes from the office of Gov. Andrew Cuomo:


Bills were signed today that will allow wine to be sold at roadside farm markets and will designate portions of state highways near wineries and vineyards as "Wine Trails."

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said his signing of these bills continue the state's efforts to better market and promote New York wine.

“These new laws will build on our continuing efforts to promote New York’s wine industry across the state and beyond, boosting tourism, local economies and job growth,” Cuomo said. 

“We are increasing market opportunities for local producers and farmers and expanding our wine trails to attract tourists to communities across Upstate New York," he said. "Our state is home to hundreds of wineries that produce some of the best wine in the world, and we want both New Yorkers and visitors to come and enjoy them.” 

The farm markets legislation (S.267/A.1512) will create a new site for New York wineries to sell their products by allowing roadside farm markets to sell wine manufactured and produced by up to two licensed farm wineries, special wineries or micro-wineries located within 20 miles of the roadside farm market. 

The governor also signed four wine trail laws: one establishes a new wine trail; one expands an existing wine trail; one both expands two existing wine trails and changes their names; and one simply changes the name of an existing wine trail.

Wine trails help guide tourists to local attractions, vineyards, and wine tasting rooms, and to experience all that New York’s wine regions have to offer.

There are currently 16 wine trails designated by state law. 

“By allowing New York’s wide variety of quality wines to be sold at roadside farm markets, we are opening another door for this important industry," said Assemblyman William Magee, of Nelson, Madison County, chair of the state Assembly agriculture committee. "This is a measure that will support the growth of local businesses in our communities, and provide an important boost to wine producers across the state.”

New York is home to nearly 500 wineries, breweries, distilleries, and cideries. Producers account for more than $22 billion in annual total economic impact in the state and support tens of thousands of jobs statewide.

The state ranks third in the nation in wine and grape production, has the second-most distilleries, and three of the top-producing 20 brewers in the United States are located in New York.

Time to Harvest Those Grapes and Make That Wine

It's harvest season for vineyards across New York state.

These beauties pictured above are at Thousand Island Winery near Alexandria Bay. The winery owners told me "Our crop is in full bloom and ready for harvest in the end of September. We currently have 10+ acres of vineyards. The grapes we grow are Marquette, Frontenac, Brianna, La Cresent, Mars, and Beta, and more."

According to a report on the grape crop issued Friday by Cornell University, "ripening kicked into high hear this past week, with brix gains ranging from 2 inches to 5 inches and (acidity) dropping by a whopping 3 grams to 6 grams per liter."

The report said ripening is moving so fast on Long Island that some Long Island varieties have caught up or surpassed the 2012 numbers for the same time period.

In the Finger Lakes, the report states harvest is in full swing and moving from variety to variety. There was a scare earlier this week when low temperatures threatened the area.

Grapes for sparkling wines will start being harvested next week, starting with Chardonnay, the report states.

The area is hoping for little rain to be sure to get the harvest in unscathed.

All in all, "the crop is looking very good," said Jim Trezise, president of the New York Wine and Grape Foundation.

Be sure to get out and visit a vineyard and taste some of the great wines made here in New York state.