Along the Dutchess Wine Trail
by Christopher Matthews

Spring has not quite burst into full bloom, but I'm drinking in the view outside the well-appointed tasting room: Tightly spaced, orderly rows of vines descend the ridge to a bucolic country road; verdant hills surround the property, with plots of vines etched into the western-facing slopes; blue mountains in the distance complete the panorama. It is a postcard moment, shouting "wine-country." Alsace, perhaps? The Piedmont?

No, it's our own Dutchess County, and I'm at the Millbrook Vineyard and Winery, a showcase wine establishment of the Hudson Valley, one the oldest wine-growing regions in the US, where the first vineyards were planted near New Paltz by French Huguenots in the 17th century. (For a virtual tour, go to www.millbrookwine.com.)

Despite that long tradition, and the fact that some 30 wineries are currently in operation across the Hudson River region, it has never been easy to grow wine grapes here, especially those of European origin (Vitis vinifera), which account for around 98% of wine consumed across the globe. In fact, in terms of acreage and production, the Hudson Valley is by far the smallest of New York State's four major regions (the Lake Erie region, the Finger Lakes and Long Island are the other three). Many of the wineries are family-run operations operating on a small commercial scale--courtesy the Farm Winery Act of 1976. With its five wineries, Dutchess has the largest number of wineries on the less vine-intensive east side of the river.

Great latitude, tough climate
When it comes to latitude Dutchess County, at around 42° north, is in excellent company with such great wine spots as Northern Spain and Central Italy. The similarity ends there. Although not far from the ocean, and even with a moderating effect from the river itself (when it's not frozen), the Hudson Valley has a classic, extreme continental climate, where late spring frosts and early autumn freezes make for a short, if intense growing season. Among world wine regions, even those on the northern fringe of wine-making, like Germany or France's Champagne region, the Valley's January average mean temperature is near the bottom (17° F), indicating what locals certainly understand: winters can be extreme, with vinifera vine-killing temperatures of -15° F (and lower) not uncommon. Essentially, the Hudson Valley is a cold-climate location, having more in common with Dijon, France (Burgundy) than with its latitudinal equal, Rioja, Spain. In this situation, good site selection becomes critical--i.e. good water and "air" drainage, optimal sun exposure, natural wind breaks. So does grape variety, according to Steve McKay, Cornell Cooperative Extension Educator and Small Fruit and Grape Specialist.

But the harsh winters and short growing season aren't the only challenges. Eastern summers are moist and humid, creating a hospitable environment for fungal diseases, to which wild native grapes are resistant, but to which vinifera are very susceptible. Also indigenous to the Hudson Valley is phylloxera, the famous aphid that in the 19th century devastated European vines by destroying their root systems after it hitched a ride on native, Phylloxera-tolerant American vines sent to southern France for experimentation in the 1860s. Unbeknownst to the early proponents of European vines in the Hudson Valley, phylloxera was a primary reason why their many efforts failed. To this day, vinifera vines worldwide must still be grafted on to American rootstock in order to overcome the pest.

Throw in some other damaging nuisances, like deer and wild turkeys, coupled with a paucity of available vineyard laborers, and suddenly it seems more than a little discouraging to pursue that romantic notion of owning a vineyard just a couple of hours outside New York.

Our own backyard
Still, mission impossible it's not. Despite the formidable obstacles, numerous grape varieties--native American, European-American hybrids and vinifera--are propagated successfully in the Hudson Valley, yielding some of the most diverse and interesting wines anywhere, a tribute to tenacity, innovation and accumulated experience of local growers and winemakers. Examples of this dedication can be found right in our neighborhood, several of them well-marked by signs for the Dutchess County Wine Trail (DCWT).

Before the DCWT signs appeared on local roads a few years ago many Dutchess residents didn't even realize that wineries or vineyards existed in the area, according to Phyllis Feder, co-proprietor of Clinton Vineyards (Clinton Corners) and current president of the New York Wine and Grape Foundation. Thanks to that prolific signage and the persuasive powers of Mrs. Feder, who championed it, Dutchess might well be thought to boast a Napa-like concentration of tasting rooms. There are, however, only three--Millbrook, Clinton Vineyards and Alison Wines & Vineyard in Red Hook (www.alisonwines.com)--making it the shortest wine trail in New York State (at least in number of wineries). The other two Dutchess wineries, Cascade Mountain in Amenia (www.cascademt.com), and Oak Summit near Millbrook, are not part of the Trail.

Though short, the Trail has reinforced a hugely beneficial economic trend: tourists like to go to local wineries. A 2004 survey commissioned by Dutchess County Tourism found that 49% of all visitors to Dutchess County go to wineries, making it one of the top leisure activities for tourists, ahead of visiting farmers' markets and farms (e.g. U-picks), antiquing and hiking, to name a few. Current DCWT members all emphatically would like to see more wineries established in the area. Summed up Richard Lewit of Alison Vineyard: "At this point, the more the merrier. More wineries would just grow the (tourism) pie for everyone."

Stops along the trail
Unquestionably, Millbrook Vineyard is the anchor of the trail, and the perennially award-winning flagship for the region, with a commercial reach and reputation that extends far beyond New York. It also has a dedicated, visionary owner, with deep pockets--John Dyson, the former New York Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce in New York State--who has been firmly committed to vinifera in the Valley, including experimentation with multiple varieties to find out what works best in the area.

Of Millbrook's 30-plus acres under vines, the lion's share is Chardonnay, followed by Cabernet Franc, Tocai Friulano (a Northern Italian white grape) and Pinot Noir, which have all stood the test of time. Around 40% of the wine made on site comes from grapes grown at the Dutchess estate; the rest is made from grapes from other New York regions (mostly Finger Lakes and Long Island) and from sister vineyards in California (Millbrook is one of four vineyards in an international wine group owned by Dyson under the Pebble Ridge Vineyards and Wine Estates nameplate). Normally, six of the fifteen different bottlings are designated as Hudson River Region wines, meaning that at least 75% of wine is made from grapes grown in the designated district.

Stylistic preferences notwithstanding, the wines are clearly well-made. And at the First Annual Hudson Valley Wine Competition last fall, sponsored by the Hudson Valley Wine & Grape Association, Millbrook cleaned up on medals, including "The Val" (Best Wine in the Hudson Valley) for its 2003 Chardonnay Proprietor's Special Reserve. I, for one, have always liked their Tocai Friulano, a crisp and fruity dry white, without oak accent, and I recently enjoyed their 2002 Cabernet Franc Proprietor's Special Reserve: classic tobacco leaf aromas, dark berry fruit, fine tannins on the palate with an earthy note on the finish. Very Loire Valley-like--a good thing.

You wouldn't think Millbrook would need the Trail, yet 50% of total sales are cashiered directly at the winery and, according to Stacey Hudson, Director of Marketing, customer surveys indicate that the Wine Trail signs and Wine Trail brochures were the number two and three ways, respectively, that people had heard about them last year.

Down the road, Clinton Vineyards represents a much different model: the small niche producer. Founder and co-proprietor Ben Feder has done it his way since the late 1970s and that's with Seyval Blanc, a white French-American hybrid grape that thrives in our challenging environs and in his 15-acre vineyard. Hardier than vinifera, but with similar taste attributes, the grape yields a crisp wine with fresh apple notes, which Feder makes into a dry still version, as well as several iterations of Champagne-method sparkling wine. All work well as aperitifs and with light fare, such as seafood (especially shrimp dishes). Clinton also produces a line of fruit dessert wines. My hands-down favorite is the Cassis, a fortified wine made of black currants, which has captured the essence of the fruit, along with a superb, lip-smacking acidity. Around 60% of sales come out of the charming tasting room, where Ben and wife/partner Phyllis hold court every weekend. And although they don't survey their visitors, the traffic to the vineyard and tasting room has risen notably since the DCWT signs went up.

Completing the triad is Alison Winery, the youngest operation of the three, where owner Richard Lewit buys grapes from New York's major grape regions, Hudson Valley included, to make, taste and sell wines in the historic former dairy barn of Grieg Farm on Pitcher Lane in Red Hook. Alison has been a work in progress since its inception in 1999, but recent offerings show a move to a more cool-climate, food-friendly style of wine-making, evidenced by the award winning, bone dry rose of Pinot Noir, and a very good Cabernet Franc. Again, the Loire Valley seems to be the template, and it feels right. Taking advantage of the excellent local fruit grown within a stone's throw of the winery--currants, strawberries, apples and blueberries--Alison will continue to add seasonal fruit wines to its repertoire. With most sales coming from its tasting room, the DWTC has been of critical importance.

Growing the vineyards
Tourists love them. Existing wineries want more of them. And demand for locally grown grapes is on the rise in the Hudson Valley. So why aren't new vineyards/wineries springing up in these parts? It comes down to high (and still rising) land prices. Why grow grapes on property that if zoned residential could sell for a king's ransom?

Two reasons: open space preservation, and because people believe in the area's potential as a wine region. Cornell's Steve McKay, together with the active and supportive Hudson Valley Wine and Grape Association, will soon release a strategy to encourage wine grape growing among transition farmers who are now growing "economically challenged" fruits like apples, or to encourage landowners with excellent potential sites to put in vines. On Cornell's short list of suitable varieties: Chardonnay, Riesling, Seyval Blanc and Cayuga for whites; Cabernet Franc and Chambourcin for reds. Among Association members, Blaufraenkisch, a spicy Austro-Germanic red grape, has generated some excitement.

On Long Island, where real estate isn't exactly cheap, the grape rush has kept the North Fork's agrarian character largely intact. While the Mid-Hudson Valley's climate isn't quite as benign for grapes as the North Fork, the agricultural tradition is certainly as strong--and the topography much more compelling!

This in mind, and being involved with wine professionally, the inner-vintner in me can't help but look at the ridge on my property, with its gentle slope, good drainage and all-day sun exposure, and see rows of tightly spaced vines along its contours. Perhaps I'll attend one of these upcoming meetings.

Christopher Matthews is an international press and communications specialist and the wine and spirits columnist for New York Law Journal Magazine. He splits time between Manhattan and Red Hook.