Winephabet Street: The Isabella Grape

In this episode of Winephabet Street, we learned about the Isabella grape with Stephen Casscles, a viticulturist and winemaker from New York's Hudson Valley. His project is Hudson Valley Heritage Wines where he works with indigenous, native or historically notable grapes and re-introducing them and a national audience to bring these grapes back.

Winephabet Street is a monthly series where Lori Budd of Draceana Wines and I work our way through the alphabet exploring wine and wine regions one letter at a time. The show is live on the third Monday at 8pm (but does change depending on our schedules) and is free, but you must register to attend. Put it on your calendar, pour yourself a glass of wine and hang out with us. It is sponsored by Dracaena Wines and Trio North Wildwood.

The Isabella grape is a “Chance Hybrid or Chance Seedling” grape, according to Stephen. Horticulturist George Gibb planted the grape in his garden in Brooklyn, New York and Nurseryman William Prince from Flushing, New York, went to Gibb’s house, like the grape and got cuttings from it. Date, 1819. He began selling it out of his nursery and named the grape Isabella after Gibb’s his wife. Today, Isabella is grown in Brazil, India, Moldovia and Ukraine, covering over 70,000 acres.

Learn more about Isabella from Stephen who is so knowledgeable in this grape and may others by listening to the podcast of watching the webinar.

Unfortunately, we didn’t get to sample any wines during the webinar. If you do find and taste an Isabella wine, please let me know.

Watch the Webinar

Listen to the Podcast

Hudson Valley Wine History - The Red Varietals

Benmarl Winery, Baco Noir

Now we are going to look at some of the red varietals that are grown in the Hudson Valley. I am going to concentrate on the French - American hybrids but will also touch on some hybrids recently released. So no talk of Cabernet Franc or Merlot today.

Baco Noir  - This species of grapes has early bud break. The fruit is usually high in acid and produces wine that is deeply pigmented, but low in tannin.  At times it tends to have a smoky taste towards the finish.  Wine made from Baco can age quite a bit.  Three years ago I had the opportunity to taste a 1996 Baco grown in the Hudson Valley and it was very good. If you like the wine you are tasting made from Baco Noir grapes, purchase one for today and cellar another bottle for a later date.

Chambourcin - This varietal is a late ripening grape. It is winter hardy and can withstand cold temperatures, but not for a long time. Chambourcin produces a soft dark red wine with a peppery flavor, and not to heavy.

DeChaunac - This is an early ripening grape that is fruity.  It has good disease resistance to powdery and downy mildew which is common in the Hudson Valley.  It is a deeply colored red wine with light to medium body.  You will find characteristics flavors of leather, cinnamon and chocolate. You will also find elements in the wine such as red cherries, prunes and blackberries.  It might also have a musty, mushroom like flavor hiding in the background. Wine produced from this grape is best to drink within 3 to 6 years.

Frontenac - This is a fairly new varietal that was released from the University of Minnesota in 1996.  It is cold hardy and once again resistant to downy mildew and Botrytis bunch rot.  At harvest you will see high sugar and acidity levels.  The wine produced from this varietal will have a deep garnet color with cherry aroma and you will find flavors of blackberry, black currant and plum.

Marechal Foch (Foch) - Named after Marshal Ferdinand Foch who served as Allied Supreme Commander of the British, French and American armies in France during WWI.  This grape has Gamay origins and is an early ripening black grape that produces a fruity light red wine.

Noiret -  Wine produced with this grape is a deep rich almost purple color with notes of raspberry, blackberry some mint and green and black pepper.  Watch out, this wine will give you purple teeth.

Hudson Valley Vintners and Wineries launch HudsonValleyWineCountry.org

I am proud to say that the Hudson Valley Wine Country is receiving the recognition it deserves. The Hudson Valley Vintners and Wineries just launched HudsonValleyWineCountry.org – The Roots of American Wine.

This is a very exciting time for the Hudson Valley! This website is a wonderful tool, and has a trip planner that will give you point to point directions for your wine touring, history of the wine region, descriptions of the grape varieties grown in the region, pictures, videos and more.

You can read all about it here.

Grape Hybrids in the Hudson Valley

I thought I'd educate you today on some of the grape hybrids that grow well in the Hudson Valley. Just because these aren't Cabernet Sauvignon or Chardonnay, don't be afraid to taste what's in the bottle. You will be presently surprised at what you find.

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. I find that this grape alone, stainless steal fermented taste similar to a Sauvignon Blanc.

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 – A complex hybrid wine grape variety produced from a cross made by J.F. Ravat of two grapes, Seibel 8665 and Pinot de corton. White wine from these grapes can be made into a dry wine or late harvest wine. Floral aromas and fruity flavors of pineapple and apricot.

Traminette - Traminette' is a late mid-season white wine grape (Fig. 1) 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'. Traminette' resulted from the cross, Joannes Seyve 23.416 x 'Gewürztraminer'.


My opinion locally, Clinton Vineyards has a very good Seyval they just released, as does Adair Vineyards. Whitecliff has their Awosting White which is a blend of Seyval and Vignoles that is very tasty.

In addition, Whitecliff Vineyards has a fantastic Gamay Noir! Serve this slightly chilled and it is fantastic! Better get this before there is no more left.

Benmarl Winery and Whitecliff both have released very good Traminettes. I like Benmarl's slightly better than Whitecliffs. If you are out wine tasting in the Valley, compare the two and let me know what you think.