Sometimes a product has been around for so long it might be taken for granted and its back story ignored. Take the Vignoles wine produced by Hunt Country Vineyards near Keuka Lake. This particular item in a familiar blue bottle has been around for more than 30 years, with owners Art and Joyce Hunt making their first such plantings on three acres."They were actually field grafted on to Concord roots," says Art. "It was the first time field grafting had ever been done successfully in the cold Northeast."
Working with Tom Zabadal, who then was the senior Cornell University grape specialist, Art helped pioneer the technique. The first attempts were made with Seyval grapes, but the next year they took the best grafting techniques from those trials and moved down the hill to the Vignoles. Vignoles grow especially well in the cool micro-climate around Keuka Lake and the soils on the farm. The 2014 vintage, a blend of grapes from their South and Main vineyards, produced the natural combination of acidity and sweetness endemic to a high-quality Vignoles.
"When you have it with the right food, it's to die for," says Art. And, Joyce adds, "It's a really good combination with a snack like horseradish cheese. There's also a recipe I've been meaning to try again -- a fried rice with chicken, curry, coconut and pineapple -- that is great with the Vignoles."
The Hunts' iconic estate-grown Vignoles wine is available at $11.99 per bottle. The grape also was used to make a 2013 Late Harvest Vignoles that now is available at a discounted price of $15.99 for a 375ml bottle.
Incidentally, the vineyard's on-premises cafe this week switched to fall hours -- 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays through early October. It also will have a special menu on certain weekends as part of autumn events at the farm, such as the 27th annual Hunt Country Harvest Festival scheduled for the weekend of October 1-2.
Hunt Country Vineyards is located at 4021 Italy Hill Road (County Road 32) in Branchport, Yates County. Phone: (315) 595-2812 and (800) 946-3289.
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