Hid-In-Pines Vineyard
A Taste of the Champlain Valley
The Plattsburgh area is poised to become
the "Napa Valley of the North Country," say local grape
growers who hope to put the Champlain Valley on the map of
places making really good wine. br />
Published October 11, 2009 12:10
am - Grape growers
preparing to make leap into wine making
Flavorful future
Grape growers preparing to
make leap into wine making
By MELISSA HART
CContributing Writer
And bit by bit, progress is being made toward that goal,
enthusiasts say, pointing to the fact that where no wineries
existed five years ago, now there are four commercial
vintners in Clinton County. And with cold-hardy varieties
gaining new ground, area wine makers have found a unique
niche and can add value to their product with locally grown
grapes.
The Cornell University Agricultural Research Station in
Willsboro has been conducting trials of cold-hardy grapes
for the past five years and many area growers are trying new
hybrids as well.
With recent headway being made into the wine market, more
growers are considering taking the leap into getting
licensed to make and sell locally made wine.
Good grapes
Before taking the steps toward starting a winery, Richard
Lamoy of Hid-In Pines Vineyard in Morrisonville wanted to
make sure he had the right ingredients.
"My route is to make sure I'm using good grapes, trying to
get good quality and make sure the product is good before I
start selling it," he said.
Lamoy has been growing about 20 varieties of cold-hardy
grapes on three acres for the past four years. He's
conducting trials through a USDA-funded Sustainable
Agriculture Research and Education grant to determine what
types of vine training and canopy management can produce the
best yield and quality in cold-hardy hybrids. In addition,
he works about 20 hours a week taking care of the vines at
the Willsboro research station.
This spring, Lamoy went public with his wine making. He
entered eight wines made from 2007's grape harvest into a
competition held by Wine Maker magazine. Five of the six
medals he won were awarded to wines made from cold-hardy
grapes grown at the research station or directly by Lamoy at
his Morrisonville vineyard. A wine made from La Cresent
grapes, a white French hybrid, received a gold medal.
For Lamoy, receiving recognition out of 4,474 entries in one
of the largest amateur wine competitions in the world gives
validity to grapes produced in the North Country.
"We keep having people tell us that these can make really
good wines, but have nothing to compare it to," he said.
"What better way than to put your wines against the rest of
the world and country."
In addition to seeing how cold-hardy grapes stack up in
competition, Lamoy was pleased with the results as a
vintner, too.
"If I can't make the wine myself, and I want to be a wine
maker, then I'd have to pay someone else to do it and that's
not economically feasible," he said.
Dual approach
According to Kevin Iungerman, Cornell Extension associate
and cold-hard grapes project leader, having that dual
approach ensures the best chances of success.
"You don't make viable income growing and selling the
grapes, but making the wine and assorted activities you can
link to it," he said, such as tasting rooms, restaurants,
etc.
The downside can be the amount of work it takes to be adept
at not just growing, but crafting a quality beverage.
"It takes a degree of seriousness and enterprise. The
difficult part is that people have two sets of skills to
develop," he said. That being said, Iungerman remains
optimistic that North Country wineries can one day catch up
to similar ventures in Quebec, Vermont and other parts of
New York. "I'm pretty confident it can be done here. (What
Lamoy is doing) and Lincoln Peak in Middlebury are two
examples of where we're meeting the bar."
Iungerman has worked closely with Lamoy at the Willsboro
research station and as a consultant on Lamoy's own research
and speaks to his dedication as both a grower and wine
maker.
"Richard is ahead of the curve as far as I'm concerned.
(Making wine from Willsboro grapes) has been a really
valuable exercise."
Wild flavors
Rob McDowell of Purple Gate Vineyard, located on Route 9
north of Plattsburgh, would like to open a small winery and
tasting room in the near future.
McDowell agrees that the returns look promising when wine is
sold on the same site as vineyards.
As a value-added crop, vintners can expect to make
$10,000-$30,000 on an acre, he estimates. If just growing,
the profit is in the realm of around $5,000, he said. It
doesn't take much land to get started, either.
"It's not as acre-intensive as other crops," he said.
McDowell has been growing grapes for 12 years and is a
founding member of the Lake Champlain Grape Growers
Association. One of the advantages he sees in cold-hardy
grapes is they don't have the classical flavors of
traditional vinifera.
"We've got something that's absolutely unique," he said.
"Some have wild flavors."
He cited the whites in particular as carrying a tropical
flavor, such as Brianna, which has notes of pineapple.
With younger people getting into wine and more accustomed to
different varietals, McDowell hopes that will spur more
people to try wine made from cold-hardy grapes.
"We're thinking that in 20 years, people's tastes will
change," he said. "It's just the early stages of the
industry. Everyone's really poised for this to take off."
With three established wineries already on Route 9, McDowell
envisions a wine corridor springing up along that road in
the next few years.
"It dovetails really well on local food movement," he said.