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New York Wine and Grape Foundation Wine Press
Finger Lakes Region, NY (March 24, 2008) – “AMERICA’S GRAPE COUNTRY” was rolled out this week as a regional brand and logo by a group of organizations in the Lake Erie Grape Region, incorporating the themes of “Heritage, Hospitality, and Health” to describe the 50-mile-long grape region from Silver Creek, NY to Harborcreek, PA along the southern shore of Lake Erie. With a “regional branding” grant provided by the New York Wine & Grape Foundation, the Chautauqua-Lake Erie Wine Trail, the Concord Grape Belt Heritage Association, and the Chautauqua County Visitors Bureau collaborated to unify the regional grape growers, juice producers, wine makers, and tourism promotion agencies around a common “brand” to showcase the region. This is New York’s grape juice region, representing about 65% of the state’s total grape acreage, with 85% of it devoted to Concord grapes on nearly 500 farms. The brand-building campaign will promote the unique history and local flavor of the grape region through a new web site, a map of the region’s natural and cultural history, and a print advertising campaign in major regional and women’s magazines. “Regional branding” is one of our new initiatives this year, giving each distinct region—Long Island, the Hudson Valley, the Finger Lakes, the Niagara Escarpment, and Lake Erie—the opportunity to come up with concepts, slogans, logos, and promotional plans to showcase its uniqueness within the overall “Uncork New York” umbrella. These programs will be described at our Wine Industry Workshop on March 26 in Geneva—a unique opportunity to compare notes and share experiences. Regional branding has also become a hot topic nationally which I’ve addressed as keynote speaker recently in both Minnesota and Maryland, with Ohio next on the itinerary.
MEDIA MENTIONS of New York wines are coming fast and furious, as evidenced by some recent coverage:
FINGER LAKES RIESLINGS got a boost this week as The Wine Spectator’s James Molesworth published two on-line reviews of dry, and semi-dry to dessert style treatments of the noble wine, giving scores from 88 to 85 for 28 different wines. His introduction said that while a recent national overview of many wines from non-west coast states (CA, OR, WA) found relatively few of note, “the lone consistent bright spot was the Finger Lakes region of New York”, and specifically the Rieslings. Anthony Road Winery topped both lists, with Atwater Estate a close second (Dry) or tied (other styles), but both categories included a wide range of producers from throughout the region. He also noted that Riesling acreage has increased strongly in the past five years, to 543 acres in 2006, although that’s still far too little to meet the accelerating demand. With few exceptions, the wines were under $20, with most in the $15 range. With financial support from the New York Wine & Grape Foundation’s “regional branding” program, the Finger Lakes Wine Alliance is promoting Riesling as the region’s “signature” wine, with a spring event planned for the New York City media.
LONG ISLAND WINES are featured in the current edition of Simply Wine magazine, with a terrific photo spread of Paumanok Vineyards, Duck Walk and Pindar wineries along with a brief description of the island’s vitivinicultural history and descriptions of Osprey’s Dominion and Lenz wineries as well. The March edition also includes a piece on the health benefits of moderate wine consumption, useful tips for wine consumers, and the makings of a sommelier. I have the pleasure of serving on the editorial advisory board of Simply Wine, which (not surprisingly) is designed to make wine more simple, consumer-friendly and accessible. A feature on the Finger Lakes is in the works for a later edition.
MORTEN HALLGREN, owner/winemaker at Ravines winery on Keuka Lake, right across the lake from Dr. Frank’s Vinifera Wine Cellars where he worked for several years, is featured in an article by Thomas Pellechia in the California-based Wines & Vines magazine. Trained and educated in France (Cotes de Provence and Bordeaux), Morten made wine in Texas and North Carolina before migrating to the Finger Lakes. In his opinion, the region should focus on producing dry wines because “sweet wines simply don’t gather respect in the wider market.”
INDUSTRY ORGANIZATIONS on international, national, and state levels are vitally important to the future of our industry, though few growers or wineries really understand why. It all has to do with the “second” climate—the business climate that determines to a great extent whether we can survive and prosper. That’s where I’ve spent the past two weeks (and why there was no Wine Press)—at FIVS in Paris, WineAmerica/Winegrape Growers of America in Washington, and the Wine Grape Task Force in Albany. FIVS is an international organization of associations and companies which discuss common issues, arrive at consensus, and communicate positions and recommendations to international governmental organizations like the World Trade Organization, World Health Organization, World Customs Organization and others. Many of those issues, like “sustainability”, have direct and important local and commercial impact even though they may appear remote. WineAmerica (the national organization of American wineries) and Winegrape Growers of America (the national organization of grower associations) convene every March in Washington to jointly educate Congress and the Administration about our industry’s priorities like the Farm Bill, viticulture research funding, and immigration reform. As always, Jim Bedient and John Martini attended, along with Don Tones and Dave Pendleton to convey the New York message. The Wine Grape Task Force, a temporary ad hoc group assembled by Agriculture & Markets Commissioner Patrick Hooker, met in Albany on Thursday and Friday with representatives of various state government agencies to clarify issues, discuss concerns, and explore opportunities. Wine is a farm product, so we are always talking about the “climate” outside: To grow good grapes that make good wine, you need a good climate. But too many people forget that to grow the industry, you need a good business climate. The first climate is beyond our control, but the second is not because it is based on public policy created by the people who represent us. That’s what industry organizations and efforts are all about: creating a better climate for our future. And that’s why they’re worth supporting.
“Just put your pinkie down, shut up, and drink your wine. It’ll make your life better.”
--Joshua Wesson (simplifying wine)
A Votre Santé To Your Health
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