The Story of New York State Wine, as Told Through 7 Grapes

Adversity breeds innovation, so they say, which is exactly why so many grape varieties grow across New York State. The latest count by the New York Wine and Grape Foundation? 134.

Most of the Northeastern state’s wine regions are regulated by bodies of water—including the 11 Finger Lakes, the Hudson River or, in Long Island’s case, the ocean—and experience a short growing season with high disease and pest pressure due to wet, humid summers. Varieties must be capable of ripening quickly but be hardy enough to survive the state’s frigid winter and unpredictable spring and autumn.

New York boasts some of the oldest “American” and “French hybrid” varieties (the former are native to the U.S., the latter are crossings of natives with European varieties), and also some of the newest: cold-hardy hybrids—some of which are less than a decade old—bred at Cornell University in the Finger Lakes, home to one of the nation’s leading grape-breeding programs.

After being maligned for decades, hybrids are enjoying a renewed measure of respect recently. But it’s still Vitis vinifera—a European species of grapevine—that put this Northeastern state on the world wine map.

Ever since pioneering Ukrainian immigrant Dr. Konstantin Frank first plonked Vinifera vines into Finger Lakes soil in the 1950s, New York’s wine growers have been experimenting with countless varieties from across the Atlantic ever since.

Here are seven varieties especially happy dotting the Empire State’s rolling hills and shorelines.

Getty Images

Riesling

No other grape variety has defined modern New York winemaking as Riesling has. It is the most planted Vinifera variety, proliferating the state’s largest wine region, the Finger Lakes. Over 950 acres of Riesling are planted here.

Along the temperature-moderating shores of Seneca, Cayuga, Keuka and the other digit-shaped lakes, Riesling bears resemblance to its German forebears thanks to its racy, acidic and zippy flavors, but walks to its own multi-rhythmed beat.

Dry styles can be lean and mineral-driven; rich and fruity; or poised and age worthy. They’re especially successful when fermented on native yeasts. Off-dry styles are common too. The odd delicious sparkler crops up, as does intensely sweet-but-still fresh dessert wine made from botrytized grapes or frozen on the vine or in the winery.

Chardonnay

Despite being the most-planted white variety in Long Island and the second most-planted Vinifera variety in the Finger Lakes and Hudson River regions, Chardonnay is still somewhat of a forgotten stepchild in New York State.

Increasingly, however, producers are taking it more seriously. In Long Island, the best Chards balance peach and melon characters with slippery texture and saline acidity. And a range of excellent Chardonnay-based sparklers are crafted across the state.

Vidal Blanc

Vidal Blanc—which squeaks in just behind its French hybrid counterpart, Seyval Blanc, in terms of plantings in both Hudson River and Finger Lakes—is a 95-year-old crossing of Ugni Blanc (called Trebbiano in Italy) and another hybrid, Rayon d’Or.

Known for its ability to withstand the climatic challenges of the Finger Lakes, Vidal tends towards honeyed floral aromatics and is made in a range of styles, from sparkling to dry and fresh to off-dry to sweet. It’s one of the key ice wine varieties.

let adType_67d34d650fd9b = “leaderboard”;
// Create the element
let script_67d34d650fd9b = document.createElement(“script”);

script_67d34d650fd9b.innerHTML = `
window.googletag = window.googletag || {cmd: []};
googletag.cmd.push(function() {

var mapping;
// Size mapping for leaderboard ads
var lbmapping = googletag.sizeMapping()
.addSize([1024, 0], [[970, 250], [970, 90], [1, 1], [728, 90]])
.addSize([728, 0], [[728, 90], [1, 1]])
.addSize([320, 0], [[1, 1], [300, 50], [300, 100], [320, 50], [320, 100]])
.addSize([0, 0], [[1, 1], [320, 50]])
.build();
// Size mapping for med rectengle ads
var medrecmapping = googletag.sizeMapping()
.addSize([1024, 0], [[300, 600],[300, 250]])
.addSize([728, 0], [300, 250])
.addSize([320, 0], [[1, 1],[300, 250]])
.addSize([0, 0], [[1, 1], [300, 250]])
.build()
//var lbSlots = [[[320, 100], [728, 90], [300, 100], [1, 1], [300, 50], [970, 250], [320, 50], [970, 90]]];
//var medrecSlots = [[300, 600], [1, 1], [300, 250]];

mapping = adType_67d34d650fd9b == ‘leaderboard’ ? lbmapping : medrecmapping;
googletag.defineSlot(‘/39808611/article_page/article_leaderboard_1’, [],
‘div-gpt-ad-67d34d650fd9b’).addService(googletag.pubads()).defineSizeMapping(mapping);
googletag.pubads().enableSingleRequest();
googletag.pubads().collapseEmptyDivs(); //maybe optional
googletag.pubads().refresh(); //maybe optional
googletag.enableServices();

});
`;

//checking to see if script is inserted in the header successfully
if (document.head.appendChild(script_67d34d650fd9b)) {
//variable holding the rendering body
document.getElementById(“gptBodySection-67d34d650fd9b”).innerHTML = `

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display(div-gpt-ad-67d34d650fd9b); });

`;
}

Cabernet Franc

Reds have historically been hard to ripen in every New York region except Long Island. But Cabernet Franc, particularly in our warming climate, is one of the few exceptions.

Today, it’s the state’s most widely planted red Vinifera grape variety, with 638 acres under vine. Although plantings along the Hudson River are comparatively small, Franc is the region’s most championed variety.

When the oak treatment is judicious, and the climate cooperates, Cab Francs here offer red and blue fruit with lovely spice and chalky tannins. Long Island and especially Finger Lakes also craft mid-weight Francs of similar ilk.

Blaufränkisch/Lemberger

Whether labeled under its Austrian name of Blaufränkisch or its German one, Lemberger, comparisons of this variety to a spicier version of Pinot Noir abound. (Note: Pinot does grow in warmer parts of the state, and there are a few tasty examples, but struggles to ripen consistently.)

Still a relative new kid in town, Blaufränkisch was first planted in New York around 2006 but has quickly proven itself a consistent and disease-resistant red variety, particularly for the Finger Lakes, where it is often mid-weight with fleshy fruit, brisk acidity and a lick of peppery spice—even in tough vintages.

Merlot

Of the over three dozen varieties planted on Long Island, Merlot is the one to rule them all. It accounts for 30% of all plantings there. Smatterings can be found in the Finger Lakes and Hudson River, too, but Long Island’s—and particularly the North Fork’s—extra dose of warmth, sandy loam soils and salty sea breezes seem to ripen this rich, soft-edged Bordelais variety most consistently.

Often blended with Bordeaux bedfellows Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon for sturdy, age-worthy styles, Merlot is also a popular choice for the region’s crisp rosé wines, too.

let adType_67d34d6510651 = “leaderboard”;
// Create the element
let script_67d34d6510651 = document.createElement(“script”);

script_67d34d6510651.innerHTML = `
window.googletag = window.googletag || {cmd: []};
googletag.cmd.push(function() {

mapping = adType_67d34d6510651 == ‘leaderboard’ ? lbmapping : medrecmapping;
googletag.defineSlot(‘/39808611/article_page/article_leaderboard_2’, [],
‘div-gpt-ad-67d34d6510651’).addService(googletag.pubads()).defineSizeMapping(mapping);
googletag.pubads().enableSingleRequest();
googletag.pubads().collapseEmptyDivs(); //maybe optional
googletag.pubads().refresh(); //maybe optional
googletag.enableServices();

});
`;

//checking to see if script is inserted in the header successfully
if (document.head.appendChild(script_67d34d6510651)) {
//variable holding the rendering body
document.getElementById(“gptBodySection-67d34d6510651”).innerHTML = `

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display(div-gpt-ad-67d34d6510651); });

`;
}

Concord

The American variety destined for grape jelly and juice, Concord occasionally makes its way into wine.

Occupying vast swaths of farmland, particularly in the Lake Erie region of Western New York, Concord comprises a whopping 43% of all the state’s grapevines—or 6,709 out of a total 15,745 acres.

Concord is primarily used for sweet, low cost, sometimes bag-in-box wines—the most (in)famous of which is Manischewitz—and the occasional dessert wine like ice wines.

Some young gun producers drawn to the cheap cost of fruit are re-branding Concord by making it lightly sparkling with carbonic maceration, housed in colorful cans and targeted at a younger, hipper crowd.