Washington wine industry in boom mode

The first winery license in the state of Washington was issued in 1962 when Columbia Winery was founded as Associated Vintners.

Now, just 45 years later, it has its 500th licensed operation, Sweet Valley Wines of Walla Walla. David McDaniels, one of three business partners, said, "We are honored to be a part of the wine industry in Walla Walla. So many others have led the way. What they have done will give us the opportunity to succeed. We look forward to continuing the legacy of producing world class wine for all to enjoy."

Washington, second only to California in U.S. winery rankings by state, had just 20 wineries in 1980 but that number has been on a steady increase since then, hitting the 155 mark by 2000, then adding 350 since then. There are nine American Viticultural Areas (AVAs) throughout the state.

Robin Pollard, executive director of the Washington Wine Commission, said in a statement, "As we pass this milestone, we are thrilled about the future for Washington wines. We aspire to become one of the top wine producing regions in the world, and we believe that our course is solidly set to achieve that goal."

The state's wine industry is not dependent on individuals to begin operations entirely on their own. There is a state-supported winery incubator building at the Walla Walla Regional Airport that is slated for expansion.

The state legislature has approved $500,000 for two more facilities, and the Port of Walla Walla is expected to add another $150,000. The Port's target is for five startup winery facilities designed for embryonic winemakers.

The buildings are designed for bonded wineries that produce about 1,000 cases annually as part of their business models. Tenants are accepted on a six-year residency plan, after which they must leave to make room for more startups.

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Pedigree, perhaps, but it's still grape juice

If you planned to sell anything that is more than two centuries old, you'd be well advised to get its authenticity checked. That's the case with Antique Wine.

The London fine wine company has a collection of Château Lafite Rothschild bottles it believes dates back to 1787. To be sure, it plans to spend up to $60,000 on scientific tests to verify the collection's authenticity.

Stephen Williams, founder and chief executive of Antique Wine, told reporters he believes his company is the first to commission such extensive testing to certify vintages. Result will be announced before the red wine is put up for sale.

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Did your hangout make the top 100?

Of all the gin joints in all the world, or at least in the country, which did the editors of Nightclub & Bar Magazine choose for this year's top 100?

Nightclubs and bars from all over the U.S. were chosen based on a number of criteria, say the editors, "including annual revenues, marketing and advertising effectiveness, promotional expertise, uniqueness to market, food and beverage programs and much more. This list is not a ranking of just the most high-end, of-the-moment nightclubs. Instead, it is a dynamic mixture of clubs, neighborhood bars, sports bars, family-oriented venues and more that for one reason or another deserve notice."

The following bars and clubs, listed in alphabetical order, made the Editors' Choice Top 100 for 2007. The city designated for each is the city in which it is located, or, if the concept has multiple locations, the city of its first location.

230 Fifth - New York, NY
40 Watt - Athens, GA
8150 - Vail, CO.
The Abbey - Hollywood, CA
AJ's Seafood & Oyster Bar - Destin, FL.
Aria - Boston, MA
Avalon/Spider Club - Hollywood, CA.
Beach Bar at the W - San Diego, CA
B.E.D. - Miami, FL
Billy Bob's Texas - Fort Worth, TX
Blue Martini - Ft. Lauderdale, FL
the bosco - Ferndale, MI
Body English - Las Vegas, NV
Bombay Club - New Orleans, LA
Broken Spoke Saloon - Sturgis, SD
Brother's Bar & Grill - Lacross, WI
Butter - San Francisco, CA
Cabo Wabo - Lake Tahoe, NV
Casbah - Atlantic City, NJ
Cherry - Las Vegas, NV
Chilkoot Charlie's - Anchorage, AK
Coyote Cantina - Santa Fe, NM
Coyote Ugly - New York, NY
Crobar - Chicago, IL
The Crocodile Café - Seattle, WA
Diablo's Downtown Lounge - Eugene, OR
e4 - Scottsdale, AZ
Eight 75 - Biloxi, MS
El Gaucho - Seattle, WA
Elements the Lounge - Seabright, NJ
ESPN Zone - Baltimore, MD
Excalibur - Chicago, IL
Fadó Irish Pub - Atlanta, GA
Flatiron Lounge - New York, NY
The Flying Saucer - Memphis, TN
Fox Sports Grill - Scottsdale, AZ
Galapagos Art Space - Brooklyn, NY
ghostbar - Las Vegas, NV
Good Hurt - Los Angeles, CA
The Green Parrot - Key West, FL
The Greene Turtle - Ocean City, MD
Ground Zero Blues Club - Clarksdale, MS
The Helix - Washington, DC
House of Blues - New Orleans, LA
Iguana's Cantina - New York, NY
Ivan Kane's Forty Deuce - Hollywood, CA
JET - Las Vegas, NV
Kahunaville - Las Vegas, NV
Key Club - Hollywood, CA
Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop - New Orleans, LA
The Library Bar & Grill - Tempe, AZ
Light - Las Vegas, NV
Lotus - New York, NY
Louie's Backyard - South Padre Island, TX
Mango's Tropical Café - Miami, FL
Mantra - Milwaukee, WI
Marquee - New York, NY
McGillin's Olde Ale House - Philadelphia, PA
Mercy Wine Bar - Addison, TX
Midnight Rodeo - San Antonio, TX
Mie N Yu - Washington, DC
MIXX - Atlantic City, NJ
mur.mur - Atlantic City, NJ
The New Crown & Anchor - Providencetown, MA
The New Sheridan - Telluride, CO
Ocean Club - Honolulu, HI
Pangaea - Hollywood, FL
Pat O' Brien's - New Orleans, LA
Pavilion Bar & Café - Charleston, SC
Pin-Up Bowl - St. Louis, MO
Pink Elephant - New York, NY
The Playboy Club - Las Vegas, NV
Pure - Las Vegas, NV
Purple Moon - Flint, MI
Rockit Bar & Grill - Chicago, IL
Ruby Skye - San Francisco, CA
rumjungle - Las Vegas, NV
Sharkeez - Huntington Beach, CA
Sherlock's Baker Street Pub - Houston, TX
Sloppy Joe's - Key West, FL
Snatch/Suite - Miami, FL
Stingaree - San Diego, CA
Stubb's Bar-B-Q - Austin, TX
Studio 54 - Las Vegas, NV
Tabú Ultra Lounge - Las Vegas, NV
Tangerine - Las Vegas, NV
TAO - Las Vegas, NV
Therapy - New York, NY
Tini Bigs - Seattle, WA
Tipitina's - New Orleans, LA
Tongue & Groove - Atlanta, GA
Tryst - Las Vegas, NV
VICCI - Austin, TX
Vine Street Lounge - Hollywood, CA
The Viper Room - Los Angeles, CA
Walnut Room - Philadelphia, PA
Whiskey Blue - Los Angeles, CA
Worship - Atlantic City, NJ
Yard House - Long Beach, CA
Zinc Lounge - Manhattan Beach, CA

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Col Solare goes into a higher gear

Back in the 1990s, Ste. Michelle Wine Estates, the oldest wine company in Washington state and the largest in the Pacific Northwest, joined forces with the Antinori family which has been making wine in Italy since 1385.

The plan: to produce a red wine blend that brought the flavor of Tuscany to Washington. The first vintage of that product, Col Solare, came in 1995. Now, the partners have opened a new $8 million winery on Red Mountain in southeastern Washington. It is the largest international investment in the state's wine industry ever.

"This symbolizes the fact that the Washington wine region has made its mark on the international scene," said Robin Pollard, executive director of the Washington Wine Commission, a promotional agency financed by member wineries and growers.

"We have always had a dream to find a home for Col Solare, and finally the dream has become a reality," said Piero Antinori, owner and CEO of his family's company.

Marcus Notaro (left in accompanying photo) oversees the winemaking operations at Col Solare under the guidance of Renzo Cotarella (center), head enologist for Marchesi Antinori, and Doug Gore (right), senior vice president of winemaking and vineyard operations for Ste. Michelle Wine Estates.

Red Mountain is a rural sagebrush-covered hill in the lower Yakima Valley, an area that is home to an increasing number of wine grape vineyards. In 2001, it became the state's fifth federally recognized wine appellation. There now are nine such wine grape-growing region designations in Washington. (Click here to go to a guide to Washington's, and other states', wine trails.)

"What's remarkable is what it will be. I think five years from now, this area will be green with vineyards, and hopefully, have many bistros and inns," said Ted Baseler, president and CEO of Ste. Michelle, whose labels include Chateau Ste. Michelle, Columbia Crest, Northstar and Spring Valley Vineyards. "Five or six years ago, we both believed that Col Solare had good potential, but if we had an estate winery, it had great potential. We now have that on Red Mountain."

Washington state's wine industry has grown from fewer than 20 wineries to nearly 500 in the past 25 years. The state has in excess of 30,000 acres of wine grapes. Antinor also has vineyards in California and Europe.

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Winemaker out in NZ shakeup

Brent Marris (left), the embattled chief winemaker for New Zealand's Wither Hills, has resigned.

Marris's troubles began last year when he was accused of creating special batches of sauvignon blanc wine that he used in award tastings. Wither Hills, which is owned by Lion Nathan, subsequently had its New Zealand International Wine Show gold medal withdrawn. Ironically, Marris was cleared of the allegations.

Marris also resigned as a chief Air New Zealand wine competition judge in December.

Lion Nathan chief executive Rob Murray said in a statement that Marris quit to focus on his Waihopai River vineyard development and his new brand, The Ned. He said Lion Nathan will continue to produce The Ned at Wither Hills winery and distribute the brand in New Zealand and Australia.

Ben Glover (right), another Wither Hills winemaker, has been promoted to the top position.

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Wine coolers: More than nostalgia?

Nostalgia can be fun. It also can be profitable if you work it right.

Take wine coolers. Please. (Rimshot!) The TV commercials for Bartles & Jaymes that were popular back in the '80s (remember folksy Frank and quiet Ed chatting on the porch, then thanking you for your support?) have long faded from public view. Yet, the company remains No. 1 in the cooler niche with eight million cases sold in 2006, according to Impact, New York. Seagram's wine coolers were No. 2 with more than five million cases.

Both Bartles & Jaymes -- which is owned by Gallo -- and California Cooler, which was on the market for a decade until dropping out in 1992, are gearing up for major marketing campaigns as we head into the warmer months that had been the best selling period for wine coolers.

Wine coolers are a bit elusive in description. B&J and Seagram's both are malt beverages, but California Coolers are made from wine and fruit juice and are lightly carbonated. Bringing the range of drinks back to the top of consumer consciousness may be an uphill climb.

Wine coolers can appeal to young women who don't like the taste of beer but aren't about to buy a bottle of Bordeaux, Gerald Celente, director at The Trends Research Institute in Rhinebeck, NY, told Brandweek magazine. "I'd go for younger consumers who are consuming many more alcoholic beverages a day. You have to allow them to discover it and think it's hip."

"Wine coolers are perceived as passé. That crowd" -- ages 35 and over, who had been the strongest market when they were younger -- "isn't looking for that anymore," Mark Ingwer of Insight Research in Chicago told Brandweek.

Nevertheless, Bartles & Jaymes is moving ahead by resuscitating some of the original Frank and Ed commercials -- more than 200 were shot -- and making them available on on YouTube, for example. And, B&J is interviewing actors to become the new Frank and Ed. The original Frank, David Rufkhar, died in 1996. The new team will make public appearances and probably participate in a TV ad campaign.

Majestic Brands is rolling out California Cooler in western states right now, then going nationwide in mid-May.

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A blow for Bordeaux winemakers

As if the French wine industry wasn't having enough problems with sagging sales and increased competition, a court has ruled that winemakers in the Bordeaux region no longer may use a label designation that had allowed them to charge higher prices.

A court ruled that houses using the grands crus (great growth) label must cease doing so because the classification jury showed "partiality" by visiting only seven of the 95 candidate vineyards that produce Saint Emilion wines.

"It's going to perturb sales for sure," Jacques Gautier, head of the Bordeaux section of the National Institute of Appellation d'Origine which oversees the classification process, told newspaper reporters.

Earlier this year a new list of top wines was released for 2006-2016. The number of grand crus dropped by seven, to 61.

A panel of wine brokers, merchants, oenologists and a wine professor rejudge Saint Emilions every 10 years to see which ones will be allowed to use the special designation. Such a designation rates the potential of the vineyard, based on such factors as climate and soil rather than on the wine itself.

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Alcoholic drinks sales keep on climbing

"The minute you walked in the joint, I could tell you were a real big spender ... " (*)

In an age in which stronger DWI/DUI laws threatened to put a damper on alcoholic beverage sales, all three segments -- spirits, beer and wine -- posted domestic gains in case volume and retail sales, according to the just-released 2007 edition of the Adams Handbook Advance published by Adams Beverage Group.

"The industry is continuing to create and market products that are finding great resonance with American consumers today, and their willingness to pay more in every category proves it," Charles Forman, vice president and group publisher of Adams, said in a statement.

As I've noted over the past several years, while consumers may be purchasing less in volume in some categories, overall they're spending more money for premium labels. At cocktail lounges, patrons tend to order one or two drinks but ignore the less expensive well drinks in favor of the premium brands.

According to Adams, a leading industry analyst, the U.S. distilled spirits industry was up for the ninth consecutive year in 2006.

Total spirits consumption climbed 3.7% to 176.6 million 9-liter cases. Wine sales continued to rise for the 13th year in a row, increasing 3.4% and reaching 283.1 million 9-liter cases. And beer, the largest beverage alcohol segment, rebounded from last year's slight decline, increasing 1.3% to 2.86 billion 2.25-gallon cases.

Says the Adams report:

"High-end products, and imports in particular, across all categories continued to outperform the business as a whole. For example, in 2005 imported spirits accounted for 38.9% of consumption. By 2006, that figure reached 39.7%.

"Flavored spirits also continued to grow, reaching beyond vodka and rum and emerging in tequila, whiskey and even the cognac segments. Of the 12 segments of distilled spirits, only blended whiskies, Canadian whiskies and prepared cocktails lost volume in 2006.

"Meanwhile, vodka continued to boom, fueled by the cocktail craze, up 6.7%, with imports leading the way (up 13.9% versus 3.6% for domestics). Vodka now accounts for a stunning 27.9% of the spirits business. Rum, the second largest category, grew for the 12th straight year, up 3.5%.

"Among table wines, which account for more than 91% of U.S. wine consumption, imports and "critter" wines, those wines with fanciful packages and named for penguins, kangaroos and other animals, were the leading gainers. Imported table wines grew at a considerably faster rate last year (+5.6%) versus domestics (+3.7%). Overall imported wine -- including champagne, sparkling, dessert, fortified, vermouth and aperitif -- grew 5.6% among imports and 2.7% among domestic wines.

"On the beer front, crafts, lights and imports advanced, while premium, popular, malt liquor, ice and flavored malt beverages sagged. Total beer consumption rose 1.3% or 31.4 million cases to 2.86 billion 2.25 gallon cases. Light beers grew 2.4% and now represent 51.1% of the whole beer market.

"Retail dollar sales for the beverage alcohol market climbed last year as well, with on-premise sales up 9.2%, or $8 billion, to $93.9 billion. Off-premise sales were up 5.6% or $4.3 billion to $82.3 billion. Total sales for 2006 reached $176.2 billion in 2006."

(* - from the 1966 Broadway musical production of "Sweet Charity.")

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So that's why Hillary likes it!

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton says her favorite ice cream is made by a central New York dairy named Mercer's.

With all the ice creams made in the state she represents, I've always wondered why Mercer's. Now I have an idea. The Boonville company has come up with wine-flavored ice creams.

It took two years of experimentation, but Mercer's Dairy has created Ala Port Wine, Peachy White Zinfandel and Red Raspberry Chardonnay ice cream flavors. Cool stuff, and already being purchased by trendy New York City restaurants.

This ice cream, by the way, is not kid stuff. It has an alcohol content of 5% and will not be sold to minors.

Mercer's, which makes about 40 other flavors, purchases a lot of its milk from various New York state prisons that maintain dairy herds.

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Myanmar enters the world of wine

It once was Burma. Now it is Myanmar.

It once had no vineyards. Now it has one.

The military-run southeast Asian nation's first such enterprise, started by a German entrepreneur in 2004, now is producing reds, whites and roses at the Aythaya estate.

Bert Morsbach, interviewed by the Associated Press, said, "Had I not been convinced that we can make a quality wine up in our mountains, I would not have started the project. ... That was a gamble, I must admit, but so far the government has been very cooperative and it looks as if this is going to stay that way."

Morsbach imported vines from France, Germany and Italy and planted them in the hills, seen above, above Inle Lake of in eastern Myanmar. He and chief winemaker Hans Leiendecker say growing conditions on their 23.5-acre vineyard are excellent, with the limestone soil similar to that of Tuscany and southern France and a climate similar to California's wine country.

"A huge asset in our favor: 150 days of sunshine," Morsbach said.

Their wines have been getting positive reviews, the best of them for a rose made from the Italian Moscato grape, which is the winery's top seller.

Production was a mere 20,000 bottles as recently as 2004, but has been ramped up to 100,000 bottles this year. Additional grapes will be grown by contract farmers.

Morsbach, 69, who plans to retire in Myanmar, said he and some investors have put $1.5 million into the project, are expanding tourist facilities at the winery which already includes five guest rooms, a restaurant and swimming pool, and have rebuilt an abandoned Buddhist orphanage adjacent to the vineyard and are supporting more than 80 orphans there.

I found all this fascinating because in a world in which many countries treat foreigners as spawn of Satan and try to kill them off, a man like Morsbach isn't afraid to adopt a country he has grown to love and add to its economic well being. Let's hope for a safe future for him, and a better one for strife-torn Myanmar.

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All-woman judging panel a first

Several years ago I was invited to be a judge at a fledgling international wine competition. At its conclusion, I was asked for suggestions for the next year.

"Get some women as judges," I said. "Women make up a huge part of the wine consumers. Plus, they're known for having good palates and senses of smell."

In succeeding years, I've noticed a slight increase in the number of women judging in that event and other competitions, but it still is largely a man's world.

That's what makes the National Women's Wine Competition just concluded in Santa Rosa, CA, so interesting. All the judges were women.

One who has emerged as a spokesperson for increasing female involvement in wine competition and decision-making is Leslie Sbrocco (seen here), author of “Wine for Women.” She told the Associated Press she does not think there’s a “male” or “female” palate.

“It’s not about the female palate being different. It’s about the female perspective being different,” she said.

The competition had the slogan “Wine Women Want,” and had a category of entries from women winemakers, Overall, more than 1,800 entries came in. Organizers said they believe this was the first contest in the U.S. judged by an all-woman panel. An international competition to be judged by women is planned for next month in Monaco.

Co-chairs of the competition were Margrit Mondavi, long active in the California wine world and wife of legendary vintner Robert Mondavi, and Kathryn Hall, a Napa Valley vintner who once was U.S. ambassador to Austria.

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Idaho gets its first AVA

Click on maps to enlarge

Wine historians will circle April 9 on their calendars. That's the day Idaho gets its first American Viticultural Area, or AVA.

The U.S. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau has designated Idaho's Snake River Valley as an AVA. That distinction brands the southern portion of the state, extending along the Snake River east to west from the Twin Falls area into Oregon as the 236th AVA in the nation.

"There's a lot of different soil types, there's different micro climates and a lot of opportunities for growing a lot of different types of grapes," said Brad Pintler, president of the Idaho Grape Growers and Wine Producers Commission, and general manager of Sawtooth Winery.

"This AVA is over 5.3 million acres and right now we have a little under 2,000 planted, so there's a lot of valleys that have a huge amount of potential and I think we will see a lot of new investors and a lot of new wineries," he added.

Click here to get information on Idaho wineries.

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Wine convenience foiled

Single-serving unbreakable wine containers are not new. But an English company has a new twist on the idea that is.

Pre-filled, foil-sealed plastic wine glasses are aimed at the summer activities market after getting a good reception from caterers who handle a lot of outdoor events. They were developed by Al Fresco Wines and are being marketed under the name Tulipa.

The glasses, to go on sale in June in UK stores, will be filled with California rosé or Australian shiraz or chardonnay. Twin packs will go for a retail price of about US$7 a pair.

As noted, other single-serving solutions already are on the market. Woodbridge, for example, sells mini wine packages (seen here) with 6.5-ounce drinks targeted for picnics, dinners for two or similar events. They're available in five varietals, which can be mixed and matched.

Beringer is another example, marketing its Stone Cellars durable plastic mini-bottles of chardonnay, pinot grigio, merlot and cabernet sauvignon. Four-packs cost about $8.

And Fetzer Vineyards Valley Oaks merlot, chardonnay and white zinfandel are sold in mini bottles as well as Virgin Vines, a joint venture with British tycoon Richard Branson.

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Irish pride more tainted than tinted

Every few years I get so fed up with the idiocy of St. Patrick's Day that I can't contain myself. It's boiled over again in the face of the annual avalanche of plastic shamrocks, green beer and fools on TV and in print adding an "O" to their names and promising pots of gold to anyone who would listen to their sales pitch.

Just a few days ago I heard a talk-radio caller saying someone was "as drunk as an Irishman." Some cops still called the police van a Paddy wagon. It is difficult not to trip over all the plastic leprechauns and shillelaghs laying around taverns, stores and restaurants. A lot of politicians run around with name tags that stuck an O' in front of their names and make the usual gratuitous remarks about loving the folks from the Auld Sod.

In this ethnically, religiously and racially diverse nation we have been sensitized to the effects of stereotyping people. We understand when African-Americans and Italian-Americans, Polish-Americans and Jewish-Americans, Arab-Americans and Mexican-Americans -- perhaps even Martian-Americans -- become angry at hurtful, demeaning jokes and remarks about their heritage. But we seem, as a society, incapable of understanding why some Irish-Americans "get their Irish up" when they're regarded as fair game for insults.

Even in Ireland itself, what once was a quiet day of religious contemplation has disintegrated into a booze-fueled mess catering to tourists. Irish authorities last year reported more than 700 violence- and alcohol-connected arrests on St. Patrick's Day.

It is baffling enough that it's happening there. Perhaps it is because the Irish also are widely regarded as amiable folks, the kind of people who take little ethnic slurs as good-natured fun. But in the U.S. it seems seldom remembered the slurs are a nasty holdover from a time when they had their turn at the bottom of American society -- being denied education, being relegated to back-breaking jobs like digging the barge canals, driving the railroad spikes, clawing coal from the bowels of the earth miles down where the air was foul and the life expectancy short.

A time when signs saying "No Irish Need Apply" were commonplace on rooming houses, business places and restaurants. A time when the Irish were jammed into ghettoes later occupied by succeeding generations of immigrant groups; when the "Paddy wagon" hauled a lot of them off to jail on the slightest pretext. A time when the likes of immigrant Kate Mullaney had to risk life and limb to get Troy's laundry workers a modicum of respect and pay and, in the process, formed the first female labor union.

Some say the ideal would be for Americans of all backgrounds to forget about roots and become generic, non-hyphenated Americans. That may be desirable in the sense it could foster a togetherness now missing in our national dialogue, but it never will happen.

People do, to some extent, like to be different. Maintaining ties with one's heritage makes them so, and keeps alive the rich inheritance from that culture that adds to the marvelous American stew.

But, isn't there a classy way to do it?

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Sake rebounding on tradition

If you know the difference between junmai and ethyl alcohol sake, this story in the Japan Times will interest you.

In the face of sagging sales of the traditional Japanese wine, master brewer Hanako Kudo has brought her family's sake brewery back to life by returning to the traditional rice-based recipe. She and her father, Mikio (seen at work), make traditional "junmai" at the family business, Maizuru Shuzo Co., in Yokote, an operation that has been in existence since 1918.

The big difference between their Tabito brand sake and what most competitors make is that she adds no ethyl alcohol to the mix. That additive was something that came into vogue during and after World War II because of a rice shortage, and even when times improved the practice continued because it was conducive to making larger batches.

Overall, sake sales have dipped as consumers in Japan and abroad developed a preference for other alcoholic drinks, including beer, wine and "shochu" distilled spirits. However, the junmai niche held strong. Thus, the Tabito rebound.

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NY may get a second wine center

When the New York Wine & Culinary Center opened on the shore of Canandaigua Lake last summer, it was to mixed emotions.

Most people in the Finger Lakes area were happy the tourism and educational facility was there, promoted as a "gateway" to New York's wine country.

Some people in other parts of the state pointed out that a rural, western New York "gateway" might have been a bit misleading, considering how many wineries are located north of New York City in the Hudson Vallery and east of the city on Long Island.

Now, some of that irritation may be soothed with word that the New York Wine & Grape Foundation, headquarted in the Canandaigua facility, has received a $44,500 Empire State Development Grant to explore the feasibility of building a similar wine and culinary center in the Hudson Valley although “I don’t think it would be as elaborate as the one here,” said Jim Trezise, Wine & Grape Foundation president.

Phyllis Feder, co-owner of Clinton Vineyards in Dutchess County with husband Ben (both shown here), is head of the steering committee for the project. She says that once a firm is contracted, the study should be completed in about 90 days.

“It is a project that holds great potential, especially since we are so close to the New York City market,” she said.

The working title of the project is the Hudson River Valley Wine & Culinary Center.

ON THE WEB
• Dutchess Wine Trail
• Shawangunk Wine Trail
• Hamptons Wineries
• North Fork Wine Trail

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Oxford vs. Cambridge: Serious stuff

Team captains: Cambridge's Aidan Craig (left) and Oxford's Janet Scott.

Oxford vs. Cambridge.

These old and honorable English universities have long been in competition on many playing fields -- academic, athletic and otherwise. Now, their respective wine societies want to have wine tasting ratified as an official sport.

The universities have had a wine tasting contest every year since 1953. Cambridge won the event in February, but Oxford holds a 34-20 edge. Pol Roger Champagne has been the event sponsor since 1992.

While the event may seem lighthearted, it actually is a serious endeavor. As reported in Decanter magazine, "Many team members go on to successful careers in the wine trade. ... Oxford trains six days a week under the auspices of a senior member of the Oxford University Wine Circle."

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Hudson Valley awards go to extremes

Winners in the 2007 Hudson Valley Commercial Wine Competition ranged from the nation's oldest winery to one of its newest.

The competition, sponsored by the Hudson Valley Wine & Grape Association, was for New York wineries in an area ranging from south of Albany, the state capital, to the outskirts of New York City, flanking the Hudson River.

The award for "Best White Wine" went to Brotherhood Winery's 2005 Seyval Blanc. Brotherhood, located in Washingtonville in the foothills of the Catskill Mountains, was founded in 1839.

The Cornell Cup for "Best Hudson River Region (AVA) Wine" went to Brookview Station Winery's 2006 Semi-Dry Apple Wine. Brookview is located at Goold Orchards in Castleton, just southeast of Albany. Although the orchard complex has been in the family for several generations, the fruit winery is a new enterprise.

The Best of Show Cup went to Warwick Valley Winery & Distillery's American Fruits Cherry (Sour) Liquor, and Best Red Table Wine went to Oak Summit Vineyard's 2005 Pinot Noir.

These awards and other gold, silver and bronze medals will be awarded at a March 24 awards dinner at Stoutridge Vineyards in Marlboro.

The gold medalists by category:

Sparkling Grape: Baldwin Vineyards, Memories.

Chardonnay: Millbrook Vineyard & Winery, 2005 Castle Hill Chardonnay.

White Hybrid: Brotherhood Winery, 2005 Seyval Blanc.

White/Riesling & Flowery: Adair Vineyards, 2006 Cayuga White.

Pinot Noir: Oak Summit Vineyard, 2005 Pinot Noir.

Cabernet Franc: Millbrook Vineyards & Winery, 2005 Proprietor's Special Reserve.

Merlot: Whitecliff Vineyard & Winery, 2005 Merlot.

Red Hybrid: Benmarl, 2005 Baco Noir.

Cabernet Sauvignon: Whitecliff Vineyard & Winery, 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon.

Sparkling Fruit: Warwick Valley Winery & Distillery, Doc's Hard Apple Cider.

Apple/Pear: Brookview, Semi-Dry Apple.

Other Fruit: Adair Vineyard, 2006 Peach.

Dessert Non-Fortified: Warwick Valley Winery & Distillery, American Fruits Cherry (Sour) Liquor.

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Is the drought ending in Ohio?

While it is true that there is at least one winery in every state of the Union, they're not all treated with the same acceptance in their own geography.

Take Ohio, for example. Despite having an annual state fair as virtually all states do, it has in the past shunned showcasing any of Ohio's wines as well as its breweries, which is unlike other states' events where local wines and beers are sold.

This year, according to a report in the Columbus Dispatch, the oversight board of the Ohio State Fair has asked staff for proposals on serving Ohio-made beer and wine at this year's event.

Then-Gov. Bob Taft didn't support the wine and beer idea -- his wife, Hope, was involved in several causes to fight alcohol-related problems, so the Ohio Expositions Commission last considered beer and wine sales in 2003.

Now that Ted Strickland is the governor, the commission is hoping such a proposal will be better received as a way to increase the fair's revenue potential and boost marketing for the state's breweries and wineries, according to commission spokeswoman Christina Minier.

"Gov. Strickland will review all proposals with an eye toward tradition and protecting a family friendly environment at the fair," spokesman Keith Dailey told the newspaper.

Click here to check out Ohio's wine trails.

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New drink from an elderflower

• This entry actually can be found in my "Spirits Notebook" section since the final product is a liqueur. However, as is the case with these hybridized processes that involve more than one sort of the creative process and, thus, cross over the lines between wines, spirits and brews, I like to keep readers of all sorts up to speed. In this instance, we're talking a cross between an eau de vie and a floral liquor.

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