New York Champagne

Elaine and I celebrated our 37th anniversary yesterday with champagne, cheap caviar and medium rare filet mignon. The champagne (sparkling wine) was:

2003 Hermann J. Wiemer Methode Champenoise Finger Lakes Blanc de Noir. Disgorged February 2009, 12% ABV. A slightly coarse but persistent mousse, ever so slightly coppery in color, with a fine Blanc de Noir nose. The flavor could not be mistaken for anything but Blanc de Noir, though I thought it was a bit clumsy and that the dosage had been over-done, in that the wine was slightly out of balance sweet. I forget what we paid for it but I recall that it wasn't outrageous. Worth a try if you can find it, but not a stunner.

[David M. Bueker]

I've had the Wiemer sparklers & thought they were "ok." I am actually surprised that with the marginal climate of the FL people have not done better with bubbles.

Well, they did for a while.

Back in Pre-History----the 1970s and 1980s--- New York sparklers were actually pretty well represented in the market, and had a decent (but not spectacular) market share.

But assaulted from the top from the marketing prowess and quality of Champagne, gouged from below by the bulk Charmat producers, and forced to battle it out with the range of sparklers coming out of California, such as the monster sparkling producer Korbel and the Cal-French and the Cal-Spanish bubblies with good quality and cutthroat pricing, New York just couldn't sustain itself outside the immediate region, and became a local cottage industry.

And the thing about bubbly----and I mean good 'methode-champenoise' made in the bottle bubbly---is that it is expensive. And when you don't get that much of a return from it because of price conflict, you've got to be artisanal (in it more for love than money) to make a decent go of it. And even then....

Sometimes the Wiemer sparkling wines are good, but Chateau Frank probably makes the best Finger Lakes methode champagnoise on a consistent basis. Frank has the annoying practice of wanting to call it "Champagne". Others make good sparklers here and there. As Hoke points out, several years ago the potential was touted and there was some enthusiasm, but it appears to have waned. To do it right is expensive and I think a lot of the smaller producers need the cash flow. Glenora used to be quite serious about theirs, but they have veered more to the cheap and cheerful stuff in recent years.

...Back in Pre-History----the 1970s and 1980s--- New York sparklers were actually pretty well represented in the market, and had a decent (but not spectacular) market share...

From the 1930s through about 1970, NY "champagne" was made from Labrusca grapes, usually Catawba and Delaware. In the late 60s, more and more hybrids were being planted and Seyval made it into the mix. Bully Hill's bubblies in the late '70s were 100% Seyval - methode-champenoise. In the 1980s, it became commercially viable to plant Vinefera and bubblies are now made from traditional Champagne grape varieties, as well as Riesling. There are some very nice bubblies coming from the Niagara Peninsula in Ontario - Chateau des Charmes comes to mind. And a few of the local, Niagara County, NY wineries are now producing bubblies, but I've only had one of these so far - a 2006 100% Chardonnay from Freedom Run that was "sabred", and quite nice.

Glenora used to be quite serious about theirs, but they have veered more to the cheap and cheerful stuff in recent years.

Glenora still makes a very nice Methode Champenoise sparkler. It does not always show up on their webstite and as Hoke says it is pricy compared to some of the things coming out of CA. It sells in the mid to high twenties. We think it's worth it. Also like those from Frank.

Hi Alan -

Congratulations, and thank you for the note. I have had a couple of the Wiemer sparklers before, and have enjoyed them. In my mind, they were as good as any other US sparklers that I have tried. Never had their Blanc de Noirs, though.

The Chateau Frank sparklers are also nice, and slightly less expensive than the Wiemers, but I have slightly preferred the latter. I am not familiar with the Glenora sparkler, but never managed to visit their winery.

Hey Howie, I remember visiting Taylor as a child. Did they use lambrusca?

Glenora used to be quite serious about theirs, but they have veered more to the cheap and cheerful stuff in recent years.

Glenora still makes a very nice Methode Champenoise sparkler. It does not always show up on their webstite and as Hoke says it is pricy compared to some of the things coming out of CA. It sells in the mid to high twenties. We think it's worth it. Also like those from Frank.

Didn't mean to imply that Glenora had given up on MC wines - but their product line has more emphasis on things like 'peach spumante' in recent years. At least judging by what shows up on the shelves of upstate NY wine shops. I did like their MC wines, but the price has crept up into the real champagne region, so why bother?

Thinking back, the best sparkler I've tried in the Finger Lakes recently was the one being offered by Heart & Hands, up on the far north eastern shore of Cayuga Lake. They have a great lineup overall, and I'm excited to find a place that is taking Pinot Noir very seriously. Purchased (but carefully so) grapes so far, with some of their own vineyards to come - one to watch.

Hey Howie, I remember visiting Taylor as a child. Did they use lambrusca?

Yes - Taylor, Great Western and Gold Seal all used labrusca (no "m").

[James Roscoe]

Great Western was always considered "better" by the older folks. I liked it better than Taylors as a kid. I wonder what I would think now?

Great Western was always considered "better" by the older folks. I liked it better than Taylors as a kid. I wonder what I would think now?

If you drive a bit south of Hammondsport on county route 88 you will see the buildings of the Pleasant Valley Wine Co. (US bonded winery #1) where Great Western was made. The complex is quite large by Finger Lakes standards and it appears that something is still going on there (although some of it looks underutilized and neglected). It should be noted that Great Western dabbled in hybrids and vinifera too. Some of the region's old vine vinifera vineards, like those at Standing Stone (chardonnay and riesling), were Great Western 'experimental' plots.

Hey Howie, I remember visiting Taylor as a child. Did they use lambrusca?

Yes - Taylor, Great Western and Gold Seal all used labrusca (no "m").

Hmm, I recall some rather decent non-labrusca cuvees (hybrids, mostly Seyval I believe) from Gold Seal back in the early 80s.

The irony is that you could probably resurrect - or reinvent - the genre today using labruscas like Diamond and Dutchess, and make some really fine dry or near-dry sparklers using méthode champenoise. I am certain that were such wines to be offered, they would find a fresh new following.

Sparkling Catawba - now there's a wine that's hardly a new genre! Yet another high-acid labrusca type that can be used to make a flavourful "signature Eastern" sparkler.

Paul,

I've tasted some sparklers made with labruscas and the problem is they generally have that overwhelming grapeyness associated with those varieties. There may not be much of a market for carbonated Welch's. Several places (Hosmer and Swedish Hill spring to mind) do make some sweet to off-dry sparklers from Cayuga, which manifests a bit of its foxy character in the finished wine. These tend to be light and soft wines, not meant for the geek crowd.

Paul,

I've tasted some sparklers made with labruscas and the problem is they generally have that overwhelming grapeyness associated with those varieties. There may not be much of a market for carbonated Welch's. Several places (Hosmer and Swedish Hill spring to mind) do make some sweet to off-dry sparklers from Cayuga, which manifests a bit of its foxy character in the finished wine. These tend to be light and soft wines, not meant for the geek crowd.

I don't doubt that the marketable products don't appeal to the geek crowd - heck, they don't appeal to this geek either

But back when I tried Dan's Dutchess and Diamond (a '3D' combination?!) at NiagaraCool, I thought that those grapes could certainly produce geek-friendly sparklers, and dry table wines. The problem, though, is that the market doesn't exist as such, and that's mainly due to unavailability and a total lack of name recognition. And probably market saturation by existing traditional wines.

I just went to the Pleasant Valley Wine Co. website - Great Western sparklers are apparently still being made at the original site. The Brut is made from Aurora, Delaware, Chardonnay and Catabwa, so there is your wine! I may need to pick up a bottle of this just out of curiosity - it has been ages since I tried a Great Western wine.

That old facility is fascinating. Plus what other winery makes Sauterne, Marsala, Port, Sherry and Champagne - one stop shopping. When Constellation picked up those brands I thought Great Western, etc. were being made somewhere else, but apparently not.