WINES OF VERMONT by Todd Trzaskos is Fantatsic!

Vermont wine has arrived. end of story. The avalanche began with Deirdre Heekin and la Garagista and Chris Granstom and Lincoln Peak, along with such wineries as Shelburne Vineyard, Eden Ice Ciders, and Boyden Valley Winery, as well as popular favorites such as Flag Hill, Snow Farm and Putney Mountain have all made Vermont wine, not just respectable, but down right collectible. 

The flap copy says it all: "Vermont's extreme climate may not seem ideal for wine production, but industry pioneers are proving otherwise. For nearly half a century, local winemakers developed distinctive fermentation techniques and adopted select crops to withstand icy winters. In 1970, Frank Jedlicka used traditional recipes to make wine with apples, maple and honey. North River and Grand View followed with other orchard and berry fruits. Harrison Lebowitz planted French hybrid grapes on a Lake Champlain island in the 1990s, and soon Vermont hosted some of America's first true cold-climate vineyards. Fresh tastes and resurrected flavors now symbolize the Green Mountain States ripening wine industry."

Today la garagista is almost a Unicorn wine (borrowing a phrase from my friend Lenn Thompson), hunted by wine writers throughout the country. And for those who think that Virginia and New York have cornered the east coast market, listen up: Chris Granstrom's Lincoln Peak Marquette is among the best red wines made on the east coast!

For anyone looking for a California-style red made on the east coast, look no further than Lincoln Peak Marquette. If you want a big, California Syrah, you don't need to burn all that fossil fuel to bring it east. You need to get your ass up to Vermont and drink a deep, Syrah-styled wine at 14.5% alcohol that has fruit and acidity and complexity and balance. A fantastic bottle of wine no matter where you think it's from.

photo courtesy New York Cork Report

The book is written by Todd Trzaskos. Todd Trzaskos is a member of the Vermont Grape and Wine Council, Adirondack Coast Wine Association and Champlain Valley International Wine Trail Advisory Board. He runs and produces content at VTWineMedia.com and covers winemaking in the North Country as a contributing editor for the NewYorkCorkReport.com.

Todd is a friend of mine, and a stellar wine grower and maker in his own rite. This book is an exceptional step forward for the Vermont wine industry and proof of what is going on in the North country.

Along with Deirdre Heekin's An Unlikely Vineyard, there is ample evidence of wonderful winemaking going on up there in the Green Mountains!

Filled with history, fun facts, great stories, and exceptional understanding of the process and the industry, this is a must have book!!! And a fantastic addition to the burgeoning canon of east coast wine books. The Vermont industry are lucky to count such eloquent cheerleaders Heekin and Trzaskos amongst them!

Review of An Unlikely Vineyard
http://eastcoastwineries.blogspot.com/2015/04/deirdre-heekin-siren-of-new-england-wine.html