View source for New York State wine

{{Infobox Wine Region|
name=New York State|
image=CanandaguaLakeVinyard680.JPG|
official name=State of [[New York]]|
type=U.S. state|
year=|
wine years=|
part of=[[New York State wine|New York]]|
sub regions=[[Chautaqua AVA]]<br/>[[Cayuga Lake AVA]]<br/>[[Finger Lakes AVA]]<br/>[[Hamptons Long Island AVA]] <br/>[[Hudson River Region AVA]]<br/>[[Niagara Escarpment AVA]]<br/>[[North Fork of Long Island AVA]]<br/>[[Lake Erie AVA]]<br/>[[Long Island AVA]]<br/>[[Seneca Lake AVA]]|
planted=|
varietals=[[Riesling]], [[Seyval Blanc]], [[Chardonnay]], [[Pinot noir]], [[Cabernet Sauvignon]], [[Catawba (grape)|Catawba]], [[Delaware (grape)|Delaware]], [[Niagara (grape)|Niagara]], [[Elvira (grape)|Elvira]], [[Ives (grape)|Ives]], [[Isabella grape|Isabella]], [[Aurora (grape)|Aurora]], [[Baco noir]], [[De Chaunac]], [[Cayuga White]], [[Vidal Blanc]], [[Vignoles (grape)|Vignoles]]|<br />

Climate=|
wineries=|
comments=|
}} 

'''New York State wine''' volume ranks third in grape production after California and Washington.<ref>Uncork New York!</ref> Eighty-three percent of New York's grape area is ''[[Vitis labrusca]]'' varieties (mostly [[Concord (grape)|Concord]]).  The rest is almost split equal between ''[[Vitis vinifera]]'' and [[French hybrid]]s.<ref>Bruce Cass and Jancis Robinson, 178-179</ref>  During the past thirty years, the increased planting of [[Vitis vinifera]] varietals has led to a dramatic increase in the quality of [[New York]] [[wine]]s.

==History==
[[Image:Brotherhood up close.JPG|thumb|Brotherhood winery label listing itself as America's oldest winery]]
[[New York State]]'s wine production began in the 17th century with [[Netherlands|Dutch]] and [[Huguenot]] plantings in the [[Hudson Valley]] region.  Commercial production did not begin until the 19th century.  [[New York]] is home to the first bonded [[winery]] in the [[United States of America]], [[Pleasant Valley Wine Company]], located in [[Hammondsport]], [[New York]].  It is also home to America's oldest continuously operating [[winery]], [[Brotherhood Winery]] in the [[Hudson Valley]] which has been making wine for almost 350 years.<ref>New York Wine & Culinary Center, History</ref> 

[[Image:Dr Frank by Press2.jpg|thumb|left|Dr Konstantin Frank]]
In 1951 [[Dr. Konstantin Frank]] immigrated from the [[Ukraine]] to [[New York]], to work at [[Cornell University’s Geneva Experiment Station]].  He spent his time at Cornell attempting to convince his colleagues that the failures of quality wine production in [[New York]] had to do with their choice of vines.  He believed that choosing the correct ''[[Vitis vinifera]]'' vines would yield great wines in the [[Finger Lakes]].  With three-hundred years of failure preceding his theory, his colleagues were skeptical.  Combined with a language barrier (although Dr. Frank spoke six languages fluently, [[English language|English]] was not one of them) his vision would have to wait for an appropriate ear.

Dr. Frank continued to promote his beliefs on the potential of the ''[[Vitis vinifera]]'' in [[New York]] until [[Charles Fournier]], a [[France|French]] [[champagne]] maker and president of nearby [[Gold Seal Vineyards]] took heed and hired him.  The two shared the common language of [[French language|French]] as well as a passion to plant the ''[[Vitis vinifera]]'' in the [[Finger Lakes]] region.  A decade later Dr. Frank was producing quality wines from such ''[[Vitis vinifera]]'' vines as  [[Riesling]], [[Chardonnay]], [[Pinot Noir]], [[Gewurztraminer]], [[Cabernet Sauvignon]].  This set the stage for the evolution of the ''[[Vitis vinifera]]'' vines in [[New York]] and wineries have worked to properly choose the proper varietals that grow well in the [[terroir]] of [[New York]].  The [[Finger Lakes region]] would eventually become the central area of [[New York]]'s [[wine]] industry in the 20th century.<ref>Dr. Konstantin Frank Vinifera Wine Cellars</ref>

==Wine grapes==

[[Image:Riesling_grapes_leaves.jpg|thumb|''Vitis vinifera'', Riesling grapes are used to make some of the highest quality wines in New York, others are made from French hybrids, American hybrids and ''Vitis labrusca''.]]
The range of [[wine]]s include [[Riesling]], [[Seyval Blanc]], [[Chardonnay]], [[Pinot Noir]], [[sparkling wine]]s and [[Cabernet Sauvignon]].<ref>Steven Kolpan and other, 155</ref>  The [[Vitis Vinifera]] account for less than ten percent of the wines produced in [[New York]] with [[Catawba]], [[Delaware]], [[Niagara]], [[Elvira]], [[Ives]] and [[Isabella]] from the [[American hybrid]]s.  Other [[French hybrid]]s include [[Aurora]], [[Baco Noir]], [[DeChaunac]] and [[Seyval Blanc]], but [[Cayuga]], [[Vidal]] and [[Vignoles]] are noted to make the best of the [[French hybrid]] varieties.  [[Vignoles]] is used particularly well in [[late harvest wine]]s and [[ice wine]]s.  Of the [[Vitis Vinifera]] the [[Riesling]]s are noted for the most consistent and best quality, while [[Chardonnay]] in the [[Finger Lakes]] region is noted to take on characteristics of leaner styled [[Burgundy]] whites.<ref>Bruce Cass and Jancis Robinson, 125</ref>

==Growing regions==

The state has four major wine-growing regions, including [[Lake Erie]] on the western end of the state, the [[Finger Lakes]] in the west-central area, the [[Hudson River Valley]], just north of [[New York City]], and the eastern end of [[Long Island]]. In 1976, when the [[Farm Winery Law]] was passed, the [[Finger Lakes]] and [[Long Island]] regions had nineteen wineries, in 1985 sixty-three wineries, and now the regions hold approximately 212 wineries.<ref>New York Wine & Culinary Center, History</ref>  The wine regions' soils originated from the last glacial advance which left gravel and slate type soils with heavy clay deposits in the Finger Lakes region and sandy soil in the [[Long Island]] region.  The climate differs amongst the regions based on the [[Atlantic Gulf Stream]] and the numerous bodies of water and mountainous regions around the state.  The annual precipitation ranges from thirty to fifty inches.  The growing season in the Lake Erie and Finger Lakes regions ranges from 180 to 200 days a year, while on [[Long Island]] the season is extended to 220 days and the humidity is higher and the fall precipitation is somewhat higher as well. <ref>Bruce Cass and Jancis Robinson, 178-179</ref>

==New York State American Viticultural Areas (AVA's)==
* Cayuga Lake (AVA)
* Chautaqua (AVA) 
* Finger Lakes (AVA) 
* Hamptons Long Island (AVA)
* Hudson River Region (AVA)
* Niagara Escarpment  (AVA)
* North Fork of Long Island (AVA)
* Lake Erie (AVA) 
* Long Island (AVA)
* Seneca Lake (AVA)

==New York Wine & Culinary Center==
Created in 2002 by [[Constellation Brands]], [[Wegmans]] Food Market Inc., [[Rochester Institute of Technology]], and [[The New York Wine and Grape Foundation]]; the New York Wine & Culinary Center is a center for bringing together the wines and culinary experiences of New York all in one location.  The $47.5 Million facility is located on the north shore of [[Canandaigua Lake]].  The center was opened on June 17, 2006.

The {{convert|19475|sqft|sqm|0|sing=on}} facility holds local events for the community as well as offers various educational classes including [[cooking]] demos and [[wine tasting]]s.  The facility includes a {{convert|10700|sqft|sqm|-1|sing=on}} exhibit hall featuring [[New York State]]'s agriculture.  It also includes a retail shop, a hands-on culinary kitchen, a demonstration theater, a wine tasting room, a private dining room, and a full service [[restaurant]] called the [[Taste of New York Lounge]].

==See also==
*[[American wine]]
*[[Seneca Lake wine trail]]
*[[Konstantin Frank]]
*[[Keuka Lake Wine Trail]]

==External links==
*[http://www.newyorkwines.org Uncork New York! ]
*[http://nywcc.com New York Wine & Culinary Center]
*[http://www.nysaes.cornell.edu/hort/faculty/pool/GrapePagesIndex.html Cornell Viticulture: Grape Pages]

==Notes==
{{reflist|2}}

==Works cited==
*Bruce Cass and Jancis Robinson, ed., ''The Oxford Companion to the Wine of North America'', New York: Oxford University Press, 2000.
*New York Wine & Culinary Center. (2006).''History: How We Came to Be'' Retrieved April 6, 2007 from http://nywcc.com/about/history.php
*Steven Kolpan and others., ''Exploring Wine: The Culinary Institutes of America's Complete Guide to Wine of the New World''. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1996.
*Uncork New York!, (2006). ''Home Page'' Retrieved April 6, 2007 from http://www.newyorkwines.org/

{{American wine}}
[[Category:Wine regions of the United States]]