New York is the third largest wine-producing state in the United States after California and Washington, but it often gets overlooked in the mind of the public. Until 1960, New York wines came from native American varieties such as Concord, Catawba, Niagara, and Delaware and hybrid grapes such as Seyval Blanc and Baco Noir. The hybrids, in particular, are still produced, but the more popular Vitis vinifera wines have usurped their position.

The Finger Lakes

For years it was accepted that New York winters were too cold for Vitis vinifera vines to survive. Then a Russian immigrant, Dr. Konstantin Frank, who had taught viticulture in his native Ukraine, got a job at the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in 1951. He observed the lack of Vitis vinifera vines in the Finger Lakes area, and when he asked why, he was given the expected answer. Frank was unperturbed, and after having grown vinifera grapes successfully in the much colder Ukraine, he decided to plant Riesling in Hammondsport, New York, in 1953. His winery is still open for business fifty years later.

Today, the Finger Lakes region is an officially recognized AVA, whose Rieslings compare favorably with their European counterparts. The area encompasses 4,000 square miles and has 15,000 acres of vines. The area has more than one hundred wineries and is home to Constellation Brands (formerly Canandaigua), one of the world's largest wine suppliers. Finger Lakes producers do particularly well with Riesling, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, sparkling wines, and ice wines.

Hudson River Valley

North of New York City along the majestic Hudson River is the historic Hudson Valley. It was a pioneering region for French-American hybrids such as Seyval Blanc and Baco Noir. These days it also grows Chardonnay and Cabernet Franc. The area has at least thirty wineries including the oldest continuously running winery in the country. Brotherhood Winery produced the first commercial vintage in 1839. It was able to keep its doors open through Prohibition by making sacramental wine.

Long Island

The Finger Lakes and Hudson Valley may have a rich past, but New York's Long Island has a bright future. It's the new kid on the block and quite a success story so far. In 1973 when Alex and Louisa Hargrave were looking for a suitable place to plant some grapevines, they heard that Long Island had a maritime microclimate similar to that of Bordeaux.

After researching and soil testing — but mostly because of intuition — the Hargraves put down roots on seventeen acres of the island's North Fork. Two years later they bottled their first wines and released them in 1977. Today, more than thirty wineries are producing wines from grapes on 3,000 acres of land.

Long Island has been compared to the Napa of twenty-five years ago, and in some ways it's true. There's the proximity to a world-class city — Manhattan is to the North Fork as San Francisco is to Napa — and then there are all those celebrities buying up wine properties. Long Island's most important connection to Napa is its relentless pursuit of quality. If its current Merlot, Cab, Cabernet Franc, and Chardonnay wines are any indication, it is off to a good start.