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Crazy aunt in the attic
Tim Patterson's "The Natural Trap" (Inquiring Winemaker October 2007) is an extraordinarily cogent discussion of the unwillingness of the wine industry to acknowledge the "crazy aunt in the attic"--in short, things the public "cannot be trusted to know."
If you care about wine more than you care about money, you need to insist that misleading labeling must cease. If all of us can withstand the bright light of truth on our labels, we can better withstand the inevitable questions that are raised by technology and wine.
Gerard Bentryn
Proprietor
Bainbridge Island Vineyards
Bainbridge Island, Wash.
Going to extremes
I enjoyed "Extreme Viticulture" (by Suzanne Gannon, October 2007) but regret the perspective it might have given of the Hudson Valley. Although only one medium-size winery (is) involved in Cornell's Sustainable Viticulture program, several vineyards here have taken part.
The Hudson Valley is not a "notoriously inhospitable climate" (although where Kevin Zraly decided to plant his 200 vines might be). With the help of a grant from the N.Y. State Senate, I have been conducting a temperature study of the Hudson Valley for best locations to grow vinifera grapes.
I would like to guide you to the Hudson Valley Wine and Grape Association (hvwga.com), which I believe is on the cutting edge of wine organizations.
Keep up the good work.
John Hudelson
Viticulture researcher
Cornell Hudson Laboratory
Highland, N.Y.
Mulling over Malbec
In re-reading Lance Cutler's "Making Malbec" (October 2007), I notice that you pose some interesting questions as a conclusion. I would like to propose a few answers. They may not be technically correct but as a long-term Malbec fan, I believe that I can speak with some authority. I do believe that the French and Argentine grapes have evolved in quite different ways owing to terroir, but underneath, they are the same grape and have most of the same characteristics.
To your question "Can California produce Malbec as good as that being produced in Argentina?" my answer is a resounding "no." They can produce an internationally styled wine that might sell, but will not represent great Malbec. The climate, soil and winemaking philosophy in California preclude their reaching the level of the better Argentine or French Malbecs.
Argentine Malbec sales start to lag above $30, and do not show any strength again until they reach stratospheric numbers for the internationally acclaimed fruit bombs. That will change as people recognize that the truly great Malbecs are the "lovely, feminine beauty" that you allude to.
Mickey Vail
Frontier Wine Imports
Dover, N.J.
Tim Patterson's "The Natural Trap" (Inquiring Winemaker October 2007) is an extraordinarily cogent discussion of the unwillingness of the wine industry to acknowledge the "crazy aunt in the attic"--in short, things the public "cannot be trusted to know."
If you care about wine more than you care about money, you need to insist that misleading labeling must cease. If all of us can withstand the bright light of truth on our labels, we can better withstand the inevitable questions that are raised by technology and wine.
Gerard Bentryn
Proprietor
Bainbridge Island Vineyards
Bainbridge Island, Wash.
Going to extremes
I enjoyed "Extreme Viticulture" (by Suzanne Gannon, October 2007) but regret the perspective it might have given of the Hudson Valley. Although only one medium-size winery (is) involved in Cornell's Sustainable Viticulture program, several vineyards here have taken part.
The Hudson Valley is not a "notoriously inhospitable climate" (although where Kevin Zraly decided to plant his 200 vines might be). With the help of a grant from the N.Y. State Senate, I have been conducting a temperature study of the Hudson Valley for best locations to grow vinifera grapes.
I would like to guide you to the Hudson Valley Wine and Grape Association (hvwga.com), which I believe is on the cutting edge of wine organizations.
Keep up the good work.
John Hudelson
Viticulture researcher
Cornell Hudson Laboratory
Highland, N.Y.
Mulling over Malbec
In re-reading Lance Cutler's "Making Malbec" (October 2007), I notice that you pose some interesting questions as a conclusion. I would like to propose a few answers. They may not be technically correct but as a long-term Malbec fan, I believe that I can speak with some authority. I do believe that the French and Argentine grapes have evolved in quite different ways owing to terroir, but underneath, they are the same grape and have most of the same characteristics.
To your question "Can California produce Malbec as good as that being produced in Argentina?" my answer is a resounding "no." They can produce an internationally styled wine that might sell, but will not represent great Malbec. The climate, soil and winemaking philosophy in California preclude their reaching the level of the better Argentine or French Malbecs.
Argentine Malbec sales start to lag above $30, and do not show any strength again until they reach stratospheric numbers for the internationally acclaimed fruit bombs. That will change as people recognize that the truly great Malbecs are the "lovely, feminine beauty" that you allude to.
Mickey Vail
Frontier Wine Imports
Dover, N.J.
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