Finger Lakes AVA
Encyclopedia
The Finger Lakes AVA is an American Viticultural Area
located in Upstate New York
, south of Lake Ontario
. The Finger Lakes
encompass eleven glacial lake
s, but the area around Canandaigua
, Keuka
, Seneca, and Cayuga
Lakes contain the vast majority of vineyard plantings in the AVA. Cayuga and Seneca Lakes each have their own American Viticultural Areas completely contained within the Finger Lakes AVA (Cayuga Lake AVA
and Seneca Lake AVA
). The Finger Lakes AVA includes 11000 acres (4,452 ha) of vineyard
s, making it New York State's largest wine growing region.
of Germany. Riesling
, one of the most important commercial grape
varietal
s grown in Germany, is also one of the most successful grape varieties grown in the Finger Lakes AVA. Viticulturists
in the Finger Lakes region grow a wide variety of grapes besides Riesling, including other European Vitis vinifera
grapes, native American grapes, as well as French-American hybrid
varieties.
The deep lakes in the region help to moderate the local microclimate. Stored heat is released from the deep lakes during the winter, keeping the local climate mild relative to surrounding areas and preventing early season frost
. Most vineyards are planted on steep hillsides overlooking the lakes, which help provide the vines with good drainage, better sun exposure, and a reduced risk of frost.
The region averages over 30 inches (76 cm) of precipitation
a year. The soil
in the region is generally deep, providing good drainage, however there are some areas, such as on the west side of Seneca Lake, where the bedrock is close to the surface.
minister in Hammondsport
, planted Vitis labrusca
shoots in his rectory
garden. Commercial viticulture officially began in 1862, when the Hammondsport and Pleasant Valley Wine Companies were founded. Two more companies were formed three years later. The region became famous for its sparkling wine
s, with the Pleasant Valley Wine Company winning European awards in 1867 and 1873. These successes spurred growth in commercial plantings in the area, and by the end of the century there was 25000 acres (10,117 ha) planted.
A number of factors, including phylloxera
, competition from California
, and prohibition
, combined to cause a decline in commercial viticulture production in the early 20th century. Production resumed on a smaller scale after Prohibition was repealed. After World War II, soldiers returning from Europe had developed a taste for drier wines from Vitis vinifera
varieties, as opposed to the sweeter wines produced from native American grape varieties. Unlike in California, winemakers in the Finger Lakes were unable to grow Vitis vinifera in the harsh winters. They experimented with French-American hybrid
varieties with limited success.
A major change in Finger Lakes viticulture occurred when Dr. Konstantin Frank
, a Ukrainian
immigrant with a PhD
in Plant Science, came to work for the Cornell University
Geneva Experiment station in 1951. Commercial growers and researchers at the Geneva Experiment Station were convinced that European Vitis vinifera varietals could not grow in the cold Finger Lakes climate. After years of planting Vitis vinifera in the colder climate of the Ukraine, Dr. Frank was sure that it could be grown in the Finger Lakes if grafted onto the proper, cold-hardy native rootstock
. He proved this in 1962 when he started Vinifera Wine Cellars, in Hammondsport. Dr. Frank successfully grew and produced wine from Vitis vinifera grapes such as Riesling, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Gewürztraminer, and Cabernet Sauvignon, grafted onto native rootstock. Plantings of Vitis vinifera varieties spread throughout the region, reinvigorating the Finger Lakes wine region's growth and popularity.
As of 2008, there are nearly one hundred wineries in operation in the Finger Lakes AVA.
American Viticultural Area
An American Viticultural Area is a designated wine grape-growing region in the United States distinguishable by geographic features, with boundaries defined by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau , United States Department of the Treasury....
located in Upstate New York
Upstate New York
Upstate New York is the region of the U.S. state of New York that is located north of the core of the New York metropolitan area.-Definition:There is no clear or official boundary between Upstate New York and Downstate New York...
, south of Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario
Lake Ontario is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded on the north and southwest by the Canadian province of Ontario, and on the south by the American state of New York. Ontario, Canada's most populous province, was named for the lake. In the Wyandot language, ontarío means...
. The Finger Lakes
Finger Lakes
The Finger Lakes are a pattern of lakes in the west-central section of Upstate New York in the United States. They are a popular tourist destination. The lakes are long and thin , each oriented roughly on a north-south axis. The two longest, Cayuga Lake and Seneca Lake, are among the deepest in...
encompass eleven glacial lake
Glacial lake
A glacial lake is a lake with origins in a melted glacier. Near the end of the last glacial period, roughly 10,000 years ago, glaciers began to retreat. A retreating glacier often left behind large deposits of ice in hollows between drumlins or hills. As the ice age ended, these melted to create...
s, but the area around Canandaigua
Canandaigua Lake
Canandaigua Lake is the fourth largest of the Finger Lakes, in the U.S. state of New York. The city of Canandaigua is located at the northern shore of the lake and the village of Naples is just a few miles south of the southern end...
, Keuka
Keuka Lake
Keuka Lake is an unusual member of New York's Finger Lakes because it is Y-shaped, instead of long and narrow. Because of its shape, it was referred to in the past as Crooked Lake...
, Seneca, and Cayuga
Cayuga Lake
Cayuga Lake is the longest of central New York's glacial Finger Lakes, and is the second largest in surface area and second largest in volume. It is just under 40 miles long. Its average width is 1.7 miles , and it is at its widest point near Aurora...
Lakes contain the vast majority of vineyard plantings in the AVA. Cayuga and Seneca Lakes each have their own American Viticultural Areas completely contained within the Finger Lakes AVA (Cayuga Lake AVA
Cayuga Lake AVA
The Cayuga Lake AVA is an American Viticultural Area around Cayuga Lake in Upstate New York. The boundaries of the AVA include portions of Cayuga, Seneca, and Tompkins counties. Most of the vineyards in the AVA are planted in the shale soils of the hillsides on the western side of Cayuga Lake. ...
and Seneca Lake AVA
Seneca Lake AVA
The Seneca Lake AVA is an American Viticultural Area around Seneca Lake in Upstate New York. The wine appellation is entirely contained within the larger Finger Lakes AVA, and includes portions of Ontario, Schuyler, Seneca, and Yates counties. Seneca Lake is a glacial lake about long and up to ...
). The Finger Lakes AVA includes 11000 acres (4,452 ha) of vineyard
Vineyard
A vineyard is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice...
s, making it New York State's largest wine growing region.
Climate
The Finger Lakes AVA wine region is often compared to the Rhine wine growing regionGerman wine
German wine is primarily produced in the west of Germany, along the river Rhine and its tributaries, with the oldest plantations going back to the Roman era. Approximately 60 percent of the German wine production is situated in the federal state of Rhineland-Palatinate, where 6 of the 13 regions ...
of Germany. Riesling
Riesling
Riesling is a white grape variety which originated in the Rhine region of Germany. Riesling is an aromatic grape variety displaying flowery, almost perfumed, aromas as well as high acidity. It is used to make dry, semi-sweet, sweet and sparkling white wines. Riesling wines are usually varietally...
, one of the most important commercial grape
Grape
A grape is a non-climacteric fruit, specifically a berry, that grows on the perennial and deciduous woody vines of the genus Vitis. Grapes can be eaten raw or they can be used for making jam, juice, jelly, vinegar, wine, grape seed extracts, raisins, molasses and grape seed oil. Grapes are also...
varietal
Varietal
"Varietal" describes wines made primarily from a single named grape variety, and which typically displays the name of that variety on the wine label. Examples of grape varieties commonly used in varietal wines are Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay and Merlot...
s grown in Germany, is also one of the most successful grape varieties grown in the Finger Lakes AVA. Viticulturists
Viticulture
Viticulture is the science, production and study of grapes which deals with the series of events that occur in the vineyard. When the grapes are used for winemaking, it is also known as viniculture...
in the Finger Lakes region grow a wide variety of grapes besides Riesling, including other European Vitis vinifera
Vitis vinifera
Vitis vinifera is a species of Vitis, native to the Mediterranean region, central Europe, and southwestern Asia, from Morocco and Portugal north to southern Germany and east to northern Iran....
grapes, native American grapes, as well as French-American hybrid
Hybrid grapes
Hybrid grapes are grape varieties that are the product of a crossing of two or more Vitis species. This is in contrast to crossings between grape varieties of the same species, typically Vitis vinifera, the European grapevine. Hybrid grapes are also referred to as inter-specific crossings...
varieties.
The deep lakes in the region help to moderate the local microclimate. Stored heat is released from the deep lakes during the winter, keeping the local climate mild relative to surrounding areas and preventing early season frost
Frost
Frost is the solid deposition of water vapor from saturated air. It is formed when solid surfaces are cooled to below the dew point of the adjacent air as well as below the freezing point of water. Frost crystals' size differ depending on time and water vapour available. Frost is also usually...
. Most vineyards are planted on steep hillsides overlooking the lakes, which help provide the vines with good drainage, better sun exposure, and a reduced risk of frost.
The region averages over 30 inches (76 cm) of precipitation
Precipitation (meteorology)
In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation (also known as one of the classes of hydrometeors, which are atmospheric water phenomena is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravity. The main forms of precipitation...
a year. The soil
Soil
Soil is a natural body consisting of layers of mineral constituents of variable thicknesses, which differ from the parent materials in their morphological, physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics...
in the region is generally deep, providing good drainage, however there are some areas, such as on the west side of Seneca Lake, where the bedrock is close to the surface.
History
The first record of wine making in the Finger Lakes is in 1829, when William Warner Bostwick, an EpiscopalEpiscopal Church (United States)
The Episcopal Church is a mainline Anglican Christian church found mainly in the United States , but also in Honduras, Taiwan, Colombia, Ecuador, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, the British Virgin Islands and parts of Europe...
minister in Hammondsport
Hammondsport, New York
Hammondsport is a village in Steuben County, New York, United States. The population was 731 at the 2000 census. The village is named after its founding father.The Village of Hammondsport is in the Town of Urbana and is northeast of Bath, New York....
, planted Vitis labrusca
Vitis labrusca
Vitis labrusca is a species of grapevines belonging to the Vitis genus in the flowering plant family Vitaceae. The vines are native to the eastern United States and are the source of many grape cultivars, including Catawba and Concord grapes, and many hybrid grape varieties such as Agawam,...
shoots in his rectory
Rectory
A rectory is the residence, or former residence, of a rector, most often a Christian cleric, but in some cases an academic rector or other person with that title...
garden. Commercial viticulture officially began in 1862, when the Hammondsport and Pleasant Valley Wine Companies were founded. Two more companies were formed three years later. The region became famous for its sparkling wine
Sparkling wine
Sparkling wine is a wine with significant levels of carbon dioxide in it making it fizzy. The carbon dioxide may result from natural fermentation, either in a bottle, as with the méthode champenoise, in a large tank designed to withstand the pressures involved , or as a result of carbon dioxide...
s, with the Pleasant Valley Wine Company winning European awards in 1867 and 1873. These successes spurred growth in commercial plantings in the area, and by the end of the century there was 25000 acres (10,117 ha) planted.
A number of factors, including phylloxera
Phylloxera
Grape phylloxera ; originally described in France as Phylloxera vastatrix; equated to the previously described Daktulosphaira vitifoliae, Phylloxera vitifoliae; commonly just called phylloxera is a pest of commercial grapevines worldwide, originally native to eastern North America...
, competition from California
California wine
California wine has a long and continuing history, and in the late twentieth century became recognized as producing some of the world's finest wine. While wine is made in all fifty U.S. states, up to 90% of American wine is produced in the state...
, and prohibition
Prohibition in the United States
Prohibition in the United States was a national ban on the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol, in place from 1920 to 1933. The ban was mandated by the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution, and the Volstead Act set down the rules for enforcing the ban, as well as defining which...
, combined to cause a decline in commercial viticulture production in the early 20th century. Production resumed on a smaller scale after Prohibition was repealed. After World War II, soldiers returning from Europe had developed a taste for drier wines from Vitis vinifera
Vitis vinifera
Vitis vinifera is a species of Vitis, native to the Mediterranean region, central Europe, and southwestern Asia, from Morocco and Portugal north to southern Germany and east to northern Iran....
varieties, as opposed to the sweeter wines produced from native American grape varieties. Unlike in California, winemakers in the Finger Lakes were unable to grow Vitis vinifera in the harsh winters. They experimented with French-American hybrid
Hybrid grapes
Hybrid grapes are grape varieties that are the product of a crossing of two or more Vitis species. This is in contrast to crossings between grape varieties of the same species, typically Vitis vinifera, the European grapevine. Hybrid grapes are also referred to as inter-specific crossings...
varieties with limited success.
A major change in Finger Lakes viticulture occurred when Dr. Konstantin Frank
Konstantin Frank
Dr. Konstantin Frank was a viticulturist and winemaker in the Finger Lakes region of New York. He was born in Odessa, Russian Empire and received his PhD in viticulture from the University of Odessa, his thesis being on techniques for growing Vitis vinifera in a cold climate...
, a Ukrainian
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
immigrant with a PhD
Doctorate
A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder to teach in a specific field, A doctorate is an academic degree or professional degree that in most countries refers to a class of degrees which qualify the holder...
in Plant Science, came to work for the Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
Geneva Experiment station in 1951. Commercial growers and researchers at the Geneva Experiment Station were convinced that European Vitis vinifera varietals could not grow in the cold Finger Lakes climate. After years of planting Vitis vinifera in the colder climate of the Ukraine, Dr. Frank was sure that it could be grown in the Finger Lakes if grafted onto the proper, cold-hardy native rootstock
Rootstock
A rootstock is a plant, and sometimes just the stump, which already has an established, healthy root system, used for grafting a cutting or budding from another plant. The tree part being grafted onto the rootstock is usually called the scion...
. He proved this in 1962 when he started Vinifera Wine Cellars, in Hammondsport. Dr. Frank successfully grew and produced wine from Vitis vinifera grapes such as Riesling, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Gewürztraminer, and Cabernet Sauvignon, grafted onto native rootstock. Plantings of Vitis vinifera varieties spread throughout the region, reinvigorating the Finger Lakes wine region's growth and popularity.
As of 2008, there are nearly one hundred wineries in operation in the Finger Lakes AVA.