Grape to Harvest

As we roll into September we roll into harvest season. I will do my best to keep everyone up to date on the veraison report. You may want to know what kinds of grape we harvest in the Hudson Valley. Here is a sampling:

If you have the opportunity to go to the tasting rooms in the valley within the next two months, you will see the 2009 harvest in full swing. Don't be afraid to ask questions. As long as the winemakers are not busy, they will be glad to speak with you.

Seyval Blanc – French American hybrid grape. Heavy producing white. Most widely planted white grape in the Hudson Valley that produces good sugar and acid balance. Usually blended with other varieties.
Baco Noir – French American hybrid grape. Produces medium bodied, deeply tinted red wine with aromas of vanilla and chocolate and with good acid balance
Chardonnay – French Vinifera grape. Fruity, with a smoky vanilla and butter flavors and aromas if barrel fermented. Most widely planted vinifera grape in the Hudson Valley.
Cabernet Franc – Red vinifera grape best suited for growning in the Hudson Valley. Produces a wine with soft tannins, good fruit with a peppery nose and usually found in Bordeaux style blends.
Pinot Noir – Medium bodied red wine with aromas of black cherries, raspberries, and currants.
Gamay Noir – Medium bodied red wine that is a clone of Pinot Noir. French vinifera grape dating back to the 15th century. Produces a wine with elements of cherries and cranberries. Sometimes made into an early season Nouveau
Vignoles – White wine that can be made into a dry wine or late harvest wine. Floral aromas and fruity flavors of pineapple and apricot.
Riesling – A crisp white wine characterized by mineral and slate flavors with fruit notes of peaches and apricots when fully ripened
Frontenac – full body red grape, with cherry / plum aromas.High in sugar, heavy producing hybrid
from University of Minnesota.
Traminette is a late mid-season white wine grape which produces wine with pronounced varietal character likened to one of its parents, 'Gewürztraminer'. 'Traminette' is distinguished by its superior wine quality combined with good productivity, partial resistance to several fungal diseases, and cold hardiness superior to its acclaimed parent, 'Gewürztraminer'
Marechal Foch - purple-skinned French hybrid grape, with its deep inky purple-coloured juice, reliably produces sturdy, flavourful and ageworthy reds in cool-climate growing regions. Its wines are without fail acid-driven, making them naturally food-friendly. Tannin levels are minimal, which makes varietal Foch easy to enjoy young, although the strong acidic backbone can lend some respectable ageing potential. As a vine, Foch is winter-hardy and its fruit is early-ripening; like many varieties with North American parentage, it has good disease resistance.
Vidal Blanc - is fruity, with grapefruit and pineapple notes.
Merlot - It is a fragile grape, sensible to dryness as well as cold. Merlot gives a richly colored wine, with body and softness.