By Laura Wahler
Along both sides of a winding two-lane highway in eastern Niagara County, an unexpected mix of dilapidated barns and luxury homes are scattered throughout the quiet country landscape. We coasted slowly past the charming, eclectic blend of old and new Americana as we exchanged stories of our kids’ latest adventures. The relaxed pace was a comfortable departure for a couple of city girls unfamiliar in the new surroundings.

To casual road-trippers on a spontaneous girlfriend getaway, New York’s wine country represents a brief escape from the mundane routines of everyday life. But to New York’s passionate wine tourists, the picturesque lakes and home-grown wineries of western and central New York remain some of the state’s best-kept secrets.

Wine tourism is becoming increasingly popular in our area, commented Fred Frank, third-generation owner of Dr. Konstantin Frank’s Vinifera Wine Cellars at Keuka Lake. “People come for a weekend, and then they go home and talk about what a great time they had. The next year they come back with their friends.” There is also a growing number of places to visit. Thirty years ago, the region had just 19 wineries; today there are over 250.

While central and western New York has emerged as a celebrated wine region in just the past few decades, it was a complex series of prehistoric circumstances that created the unique geological characteristics just right for winemaking. Variations in soil, weather, sunlight, and topography all contribute to the quality of the crop, as explained by the French concept of terroir. Interpreted loosely as “a sense of place,” different places under different conditions have the potential to develop very distinct wines with the same grapes.

The Land and the Lakes
New York’s vineyards have their earliest roots 10,000 years ago in the final days of the most recent Ice Age. When the glaciers receded, the land was scarred by deep and profound gashes that filled with clean, fresh water. As the massive ice sheet carved the Great Lakes, it also reshaped pre-glacial valleys on the northern edge of the Appalachian Upland, creating what we call the Finger Lakes. The resulting bodies of water, with sloping hillsides and bountiful soils, are what make this region unique among the great wine regions of the world.

Today, dense, cold air flows downhill like water, past the more sensitive vines planted on slopes near the lakes. The massive bodies of water serve as a blanket for the nearby vineyards by storing the summer’s heat and protecting the delicate vines against late-spring cold snaps and crisp evenings of early Fall.

The temperature difference near the lakes is slight—only 5 or 10 degrees—but it is enough to extend the growing season by a few precious weeks and to further enhance the grapes’ flavor and acidity. “When you look at any of the world’s most renowned wine regions, they are always close to a large body of water,” says Morgen McLaughlin, president of Finger Lakes Wine Country. “And when you have 11 of them in your backyard, it certainly doesn’t hurt. This is an area that literally was blessed by God and Mother Nature.”

It is however more than terroir that defines a specific wine country. Winemaking is also an art directed by human hands, the result of opportunity and hard labor in an endeavor embraced by the whole family.

“To me, and to my staff, wine making is about taking something that we grow in the ground and transforming it into a wonderful, flavorful, and sensory experience,” says Scott Osborn, owner of Fox Run Vineyards on Seneca Lake. “Our wine is a part of our personalities that we are able to put in a bottle and share with the world. And, finally, the world is taking notice.”

Although the state’s cool climate is similar to that of the world-famous wine-making regions of Burgundy, Champagne and Germany, vintners have long struggled to cope with the especially harsh winters of upstate New York, when the average temperature hovers near 22 degrees.

But for ice wine producers in New York, the bitter cold weather is a blessing. In order to make a true ice wine, grapes are left to freeze on the vine long after the usual autumn harvest—a risky but potentially profitable venture that depends on multiple days of frigid temperatures. “Making ice wine is a gamble, because unpredictable weather and hungry birds are a constant threat,” says Jennifer Johnson, president of the Chautauqua-Lake Erie Wine Trail and owner of Johnson Estate Winery. “This year, we got lucky. The temperature was in the teens, and the wind was blowing, but our timing was perfect. We harvested our ice wine grapes at 3 a.m. before they were thawed by the sun."

Putting Wine Tourism on the Map
Driving past the remarkable scenery, it is easy to see the draw of New York’s wine country. A spectacular mix of hills, gorges, lakes, and waterfalls exist here: a diverse landscape that mirrors the diversity of the wines. “There isn’t really one taste that can describe a New York state wine,” says Johnson. “We have winemakers who can take the same grape, even from the same farm, and make two different wines.”

The state’s five recognized wine regions have distinct characteristics, with different methods and unique flavors. The key, wine makers say, is finding the right grapes to match the soil. The Niagara Escarpment and Lake Erie regions boast fruit wines born of raspberries, blueberries, and strawberries expertly blended with the area’s native vitis labrusca grapes. In the Finger Lakes, Riesling is king. The Hudson River, one of the oldest wine areas in the country, is known for its white European and French-American varieties. Long Island, with its moderate temperatures and sandy soil, is best known for its Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.

Reds, typically suited for a warmer climate, have however proven to be more of a challenge in colder parts of the state. Although they have shown a marked improvement in recent years, as farmers continue to gain knowledge through trial and error, winemaking in New York is still a learning experience.

Wine tourism, too, is becoming much more of an educational experience, says Meg Colombo of the Finger Lakes Visitors Connection. “Even as recently as five years ago, people just came to drink wine all day and ride around in a limousine,” she says. “Today, we are seeing more and more visitors who want to know the history of the area, what they are tasting, and how it came to be.”

New York’s wine tourists in the coming years will have much to anticipate, McLaughlin says. The 2008 autumn harvest was one of the best in the last 10 years, she says, thanks in part to a warm fall and an especially rainy summer. And, while last winter’s bitter cold weather was a threat to the vines, the area’s ice wine producers welcomed the frigid temperatures and enjoyed a successful ice wine harvest. Niagara Landing Wine Cellars is expected to release about 70,000 bottles of their ice wine around Mother’s Day: perfect timing for a couple of city girls who just happen to be—moms.

Photo by Art Becker Photography. Pictured: Johnson Estate Winery.
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