HV wines finally getting more respect

Hudson Valley wineries can be forgiven for often thinking of themselves as the Rodney Dangerfield of New York's producers. But, in the last couple of years the region's offerings have been getting a little more respect.

The latest comes from the fact that, for the first time ever, the influential magazine Wine Enthusiast has coordinated a tasting of some of the Valley's best wines. The wines scored high on the magazine’s 100-point scale, with 20 of them hitting the 84- to 89-point range consistently across six producers. This is the first major tasting of the region by any major news organization.

The Hudson Valley is one of the oldest producing wine regions in the U.S., and New York is the nation's third overall producer of wine. In recent years, new wineries, new money and new people have helped raise the overall level to some degree. As I noticed when I judged in the Hudson Valley Wine Competition back in September, some of the highest level Valley wines can hold their own against the more well-known Finger Lakes and North Fork products, and the mid-range quality wines are growing in number.

“We are thrilled with the results,” said Carlo DeVito, president of the 26-winery Hudson Valley Wine Country trade group and co-owner of the Hudson-Chatham Winery in Columbia County.

“The Hudson Valley is a great example of some of the excellent wines New York State produces. Our passion and commitment to making quality wines has been recognized. We think this highlights what we’ve been doing here. The Hudson Valley is making wines that can compete anywhere.”

Here is a rundown of the scoring, by winery:

TOUSEY WINERY

86, Tousey Winery 2010 Pinot Noir 2010, $20
85, Tousey Winery 2010 Cabernet Franc, $22
84, Tousey 2010 Chardonnay 2010, $16

MILLBROOK VINEYARD & WINERY

89, Millbrook 2010 25th Anniversary Pinot Noir, $18
88, Millbrook 2010 25th Anniversary Chardonnay, $16
87, Millbrook 2007 Proprietor's Special Reserve Cabernet Franc, $29
87, Millbrook 2009 Proprietor's Special Reserve Chardonnay, $20
86, Millbrook 2008 Cabernet Franc, $20

HUDSON-CHATHAM WINERY

87, Hudson-Chatham 2010 Casscles Vineyard Reserve Baco Noir, $20
86, Hudson-Chatham 2010 Cabernet Franc, $17
86, Hudson-Chatham 2010 Old Vines Baco Noir, $22
86, Hudson-Chatham 2008 Empire Reserve Baco Noir, $22
85, Hudson-Chatham 2009 Old Vines Masson Place Vineyard Pulteney Farm Baco Noir, $20
84, Hudson-Chatham 2010 Field Stone Baco Noir, $30

OAK SUMMIT VINEYARD

88, Oak Summit Vineyard Pinot Noir, $35
85, Oak Summit Vineyard Chardonnay Hudson, $28

BROTHERHOOD

85, Brotherhood Pinot Noir, $16
85, Brotherhood Grand Monarque Champagne, $25
84, Brotherhood Blanc de Blancs, $11

WHITECLIFF VINEYARD & WINERY

88, Whitecliff Vineyard 2010 Reserve Chardonnay, $17
87, Whitecliff Vineyard Cabernet Franc, $20
86, Whitecliff Vineyard 2010 Traminette, $16

PALAIA VINEYARDS

84, Palaia Vineyards 2008 Cabernet Franc, $19

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