VINTAGE 2007 in New York got an “A” rating in the Wine Spectator online, as did our friends in Washington on the other side of the country. We all knew that this year was superb, so that’s no surprise, but the real significance is that New York is finally being recognized as a major player in the American wine industry. (The other regions covered were three in California and Oregon , all with “B” ratings for this year.) To a great extent, our challenge is size: we’re too small. The quality of New York wines, regardless of type, is widely recognized and consistently proven by Gold medals in major wine competitions (nearly 400 last year). With few exceptions like Bully Hill, Centerra and Royal Kedem, the New York wine industry consists of relatively small producers with limited distribution. This means that far fewer consumers have the opportunity to taste New York wines, so national publications like The Wine Spectator have little incentive to feature them. By contrast, California represents about 90% of total U.S. wine production, many wineries in Washington (the #2 state) have national distribution, as do several in Oregon, including some that are the same size as many New York wineries. The 2005 direct interstate shipment law has helped somewhat in terms of both sales and national media coverage, but the bottom line is that the New York wine industry needs to grow not just in the number of wineries but the volume of production if we want to consistently be in the pages of national publications.
- Jim Tresize, New York Wine and Grape Foundation