The Journal Gazette spotlights regional grapes & wines

I enjoyed the current wine article in the Journal Gazette by Dan & Krista Stockman on regional grapes and their wines. There is only one part that I have to quibble with, and it concerns what they wrote about Marechal Foch: "This red wine grape can have just a hint of the “foxy” smell common to native American varieties but is marked by lots of acid, making it good with food." Foch isn't foxy à la Concord; it can have strong roasted-coffee/kasha (buckwheat)/torrefazione aromas, but that's not what's meant by "foxy". And the variety is not especially acidic either; acid typically comes in at very respectable levels for winemaking. In fact, Baco Noir is the grape whose acidity can lack balance if sloppy practices are employed in the vineyard. Having said that, when Foch is made properly dry and with quality in mind, it is indeed an excellent food wine.

Overall, this is an enjoyable read for all of us here who love this topic.

Regionally grown grapes produce delicious bottles

I think the writers should do a bit more homework or something. While all the grapes listed in the article are hybrids except Catawba, the only grapes they specifically identified as hybrids were Foch, Seyval and Vidal. But, a nice effort to help introduce locals to what's available in their area.

What I like about the article is just that - finally people are overtly talking about hybrid varieties and getting the word out about them in the wine-related press. But I agree - there is much misinformation still among the reporters often times, what with misspellings of grape names and statements that are just way off or plain wrong, like that of Foch having foxiness.

This is why talking about these grapes and educating the public in general about excellent examples of local non-vinifera wines is so necessary: the traditional lack of information and knowledge about these varieties should be replaced by their becoming part of our regional wine parlance. For example - say Riesling, and most people who know the slightest thing about wine will think Germany. Say Beaujolais - people know it's French. But say Chambourcin, and how many will think Pennsylvania or Indiana? I would love for this to be the case. Ditto with all the other varieties that are part of our history here in the East.

Of course, Howie, catawba is also a hybrid...a minimum of two species in its bloodline.

Of course, Howie, catawba is also a hybrid...a minimum of two species in its bloodline.

Technically true Thomas, but my mind doesn't think like that, and apparently I'm not alone. I tend equate hybrids with French-American hybrids. The NY State Fair lists Catawba in the "Native White" category, whereas, Cayuga is listed as "Interspecific White". It's about as fuzzy as defining "Dry" Riesling.

I'd say that technically, Thomas is right, and a grape breeder/hybridizer or grape geneticist type would fully agree with calling Catawba and even Concord and Niagara "hybrids". Having said that, the vinifera percentage in their makup is relatively small; in their growth habits, winter hardiness and disease resistance they are firmly "American". And, as we know, the aromatic nature of their fruit and hence their wines is also very American.

Popular usage, however, has a way of glossing over the precise, and so we have the somewhat false hybrid vs. native dichotomy. I guess it's just like people: each of us probably has bits of varied ancestry that we don't even know about!

Well, I thought you guys were taking the writer to task for not being accurate. Popular usage is not necessarily accurate..in fact, it hardly ever is

I have to say that after all the years I have put in studying, producing, and writing about wine, I get crazed when I read not so much inaccuracies (I'm sure I am guilty of inaccuracy at times; in fact, I found a couple in my finished book) but blatant inaccuracy such as describing grape varieties and their species? The information is so easy to come by that a wine writer has a responsibility to at least look for it.

yes, paul; this is a nice effort and they have things just about right. my quibble would be with the description of chardonel. the grape itself does not taste like vanilla or butter and more than chardonnay does. for those characters, oak and ML have to be involved. but still........

A very valid point, David ... and a glaring error by the authors at that.

I guess that the buttery style of Chardonnay has become such an entrenched paradigm that many people don't even realize that the wine is expressly made to taste like that.

Well, I read the article. I find that it leaves a lot to be desired...the way it blends grape varieties is confusing, making it hard for someone who doesn't know how to determine which are the hybrids and which aren't, and what they have been hybridized from. For instance, the stuff about Chambourcin would lead someone to think the grape is not a hybrid.

And you guys have pointed out that vanilla/butter stuff...

Everyone is making valid criticisms about the article. Thomas, you're right - they called Chambourcin a French grape. It is French in terms of having been hybridized there, but its ancestry is certainly mainly American.

As we can all see, there's lots of educating out there left to do ... beginning with some of the educators themselves