And, now there are 10 (AVAs, that is)

© 2014 Esn. DeLorme

New York State, and by extension the United States, is getting a new American Viticultural Area (AVA).

The appellation "Champlain Valley of New York" was approved this week by the federal Tax and Trade Bureau and will take effect on September 21, according to the Federal Register. It covers about 500 square miles of Clinton and Essex counties ranging from the Canadian border to Ticonderoga.

The AVA system is designed to recognize distinct grape-growing areas and help consumers identify the origins of different wines. Wineries in such areas are allowed to use the AVA terminology on the labels of any of their wines made from at least 85% of grapes grown in the region.

The new Champlain Valley New York AVA is planted with extremely cold-hardy "Minnesota" grape varieties, a term that refers to hybrids developed by researchers in Minnesota but also in New York. Among them are Marquette, Frontenac, and LaCrescent.

The inclusion of "New York" in the AVA title is to differentiate it from that part of the valley that extends into neighboring Vermont.

Colin Read

The Lake Champlain Grape Growers Association is crediting Colin Read for the bulk of the work in securing the appellation, which was filed for last summer. Read and Natalie Peck own the Champlain Wine Company. Its tasting room and store is located in downtown Plattsburgh, and sells wines made from grapes grown in their vineyard in Mooers. They also recently added a line of products under the Adirondack Coast Oil & Vinegar Company brand.

Champlain Valley New York is the 10th AVA in the state. The others are, from east to west: Long Island, North Fork of Long Island, and The Hamptons Long Island; the Hudson River Region; the Finger Lakes, Seneca Lake, and Cayuga Lake; the Niagara Escarpment, and Lake Erie.

Most, if not all, of the wineries covered by the new appellation are members of the Adirondack Coast Wine Trail, established in 2013.

The application for a Champlain Valley of New York AVA designation contained some interesting descriptive material. Here's one example, as cited by the Federal Register:
"According to the petition, the distinguishing feature of the proposed Champlain Valley of New York AVA is its short growing season, which is conducive to growing cold-hardy North American hybrid grape varieties (such as Frontenac, La Crescent, and Marquette) but not the Vitis vinifera grapes that are grown in the surrounding areas.

"The petition provides information comparing the length of the growing season within the AVA to those of the surrounding areas. In South Hero, Vermont, to the east of the proposed AVA, the growing season is four weeks longer than that in the proposed AVA. In Whitehall, New York, to the south of the proposed AVA, the growing season is two weeks longer than that in the proposed AVA. The growing season in the Adirondack Mountains, to the west of the proposed AVA, is too short for commercial grape growth. The proposed AVA also has a later last-frost date and an earlier first-frost date than the areas to its east and south. TTB notes that the area directly north of the proposed AVA is in Canada and, therefore, is not eligible to be part of an AVA."

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