Word: vinifera
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After immersing themselves in the subject, the couple determined that the climate of Long Island was similar to that of Bordeaux, France, where a grape known as Vitis vinifera had long flourished. "We had done extensive research; we understood what the limitations were," says Louisa. The Hargraves raised both of their children on the vineyard and eventually sold the business in 1999. "We studied the situation and we felt it was a risk worth taking. If it didn't work out, we were young, and could go do something else...
...resurgence of regional wines has been spectacular. In New York acreage planted with vinifera grapes -- meaning the classical European varietals -- has vaulted from 349 to 2,135 since 1980. Much of that growth has taken place in virgin territory, the North Fork of Long Island, which is blessed with late frosts and mild winters. Chardonnays and Merlots from such vineyards as Hargrave, Palmer and Bedell Cellars have stunned French vintners with their style and breeding. So have Pinot Noirs from Adelsheim, Eyrie and Knudsen- Erath of Oregon -- to the point that one major Burgundy producer, Maison Joseph Drouhin, has begun...
Some regional vintners complain that their wines are victims of snobbism. Critics rave about the Champagne-like sparklers made by Willy Frank, whose father Konstantin was the first to prove that vinifera grapes could be grown in New York's Finger Lakes area. The praise hasn't helped sales much. "The New Yorker has almost a reverse chauvinism against anything made in New York," Frank says. "I have shipped more wine to Tokyo than to New York City." Chaddsford's Eric and Lee Miller have been luckier in persuading local restaurants, including Philadelphia's highly rated...
Scores of awards later, the bright newcomers from Washington are just beginning to attract a national following. The state is the second biggest U.S. producer (after California) of Vitis vinifera grapes, the classic European wine varieties. It has the climate, soil and available land to become a wine region of world repute. Says Robert Finigan, editor-publisher of the newsletter Private Guide to Wines: "Washington is now where California was ten years...
...leading species, origanally cultivated in the Mediterranean basin, that is responsible for all the world's great wines. Even in Europe, however, vinifera vines are grafted on the hardy rootstock of native American Vitis labrusca and Vitis rotundifolia...