Baco Noir is a French-American hybrid grape that was bred by François (some say Maurice) Baco. Baco (1865 – 1947) was a teacher from the town of Belus, Landes, Armagnac Province, France (south of Bordeaux).
Continue readingBountiful Baco Noir
Savoring Seyval
Seyval Blanc is a white French-American hybrid variety that is grown in the Hudson Valley. The grape is adaptable to different regions and climates, and is grown throughout the eastern United States, northern France, and England.
Continue readingVersatile Vidal Blanc
Vidal Blanc, also known as Vidal 256, is a versatile grape that can be made into a bone-dry, steely wine for fish, a barrel-aged wine reminiscent of a Fumé Blanc, or an ice wine that can rival the best dessert Rhine wines produced in Germany.
Continue readingPerplexing Pinot Noir
The insightful observation made by the famous wine writer Jancis Robinson in her 1986 book, Vines, Grapes and Wines best sums up many thoughts on this illusive grape variety.
Continue readingVelvety Vignoles
ignoles, a white grape also known as Ravat 51, has become one of the mainstays of the Eastern North American wine industry. This adaptable grape can produce wines that are comparable to wines produced in the Rhine Valley in Germany.
Continue readingCharacterizing Chardonnay
Chardonnay is the noble grape variety that originally hails from Burgundy, France. It is believed by some to be an accidental or intentional hybrid that was propagated by local Burgundian growers, and is a cross of a Pinot Noir clone and the bulk wine/table grape known as Gouais.
Continue readingFruitful Frontenac
Frontenac is one of the most widely planted of the Minnesota hybrids in the Hudson Valley, successfully bred by grape breeding pioneer Elmer Swenson (1913-2004).
Continue readingRefreshing Riesling
The Hudson Valley’s beautiful river, shorelines, and mountains have led some to call the Valley, “America’s Rhineland.” Portions of the Valley have similar geological rock formations of shale, slate, and schist under well-drained clay soils that are similar to those found in the wine producing areas of the Rhine Valley.
Continue readingCrisp, Cool Cayuga White
The wines made from the Cayuga grape are neither nuanced nor sophisticated; they are big and forward with lots of competing fruit flavors.
Continue readingTantalizing Traminette
Traminette is a white wine grape introduced relatively recently to the world of winemaking. Its cold-weather adaptability makes it easy to grow in the Hudson Valley, and it is rapidly gaining popularity among wine drinkers with an increasing number of Hudson Valley Traminette wines being produced today.
Continue readingNuances of Noiret
Noiret is a relatively new hybrid grape variety used in red wine production, offering another option for cold climate grape growers.
Continue readingKeeping it Currant
New York State was once the leading commercial producer of currants in the U.S., which could be found in everything from jams and preserves to syrup and Cassis wine and liqueurs.
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