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Wine, Seriously It’s more than just tasting notes. Menu Home About this blog Guía de pronunciación de los términos del vino y de la vid Pronunciation Guide to Wine Terms The Wines of Long Island, 3rd ed., Errata and corrections 2 Replies It has been brought to my attention by a few readers that there are some errors in the published book, which should come as a surprise to no one. The most egregious is an omitted section of paragraph that follows the end of page 15: Others, however,” for on page 16 it should continue: ” . . . dispute this claim.” This should be followed by a paragraph at the top of page 16: Another consideration in choosing a site on Long Island is the flocks of migratory birds that move across it. If the vineyard is surrounded by woods and shrubs—good roosting areas-—the risk of bird damage is increased. Especially troublesome has been the voracious starling. Charming in small numbers, these migratory birds become a dark menace reminiscent of Hitchcock’s The Birds as they sweep down in flocks of thousands, just as the grapes are reaching their ripe perfection. They can devour or spoil acres in a matter of hours. Long Island vineyard owners have tried all kinds of weapons in this battle: propane cannons, four-wheel, all-terrain vehicles, miles of shiny Mylar tape, hawks, party balloons, and netting. Most vineyards concluded that the only solution was to put anti-bird netting over the entire vineyard during periods of bird migration, which occurs about the time that grapes begin ripening. It is a solution used by virtually all Long Island vineyards today.” On page 64 a reference is made to Mark Gibbs, of Wine Advocate . Mark Squires, of Wine Advocate caught this embarrassing slip, because Gibbs is actually meant to be Squires. Don’t ask. Croteaux Vineyards had been listed as a winery without a tasting room. It has since been purchased, as of August 2019, and the tasting garden was to reopen this Spring, but due to the virus, this has been postponed. However, Croteaux is again releasing its wines, which can be purchased online or by curbside pickup at the site. https://www.croteaux.com/home Peconic Bay Winery was cited as defunct; it has now been purchased by Stefan Soloviev and was rumored to reopen this Spring or Summer. At this time (May 29, 2020), however, there is no further word on plans to reopen, perhaps due to the Coronavirus. However, while the Winery has a FaceBook page, it has no web page of its own. The FB page says that it is open, but I see no evidence of that. In any case, there are definitely plans to produce wine grapes in the vineyards they still own. Share this: Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) Click to print (Opens in new window) Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window) Like this: Like Loading... This entry was posted in Miscellaneous , Tasting rooms , Wineries and tagged Croteaux , Errata , Mark Squires , Peconic Bay Winery , Stefan Soloviev on 29 May 2020 by JoseM-L . Viniculture in the Hudson Valley–Hudson-Chatham Winery Leave a reply Carlo DeVito works as a publisher and editor in New York City, is the author of several books, including East Coast Wineries: A Complete Guide from Maine to Virginia (Rutgers U. Press, 2004), maintains a few blogs, principal among them is East Coast Wineries , and commutes home every day to Ghent, NY, where his winery and vineyard are located. Carlo is clearly a very busy man as well as a humorous one. Visit his blog and read his post for March 16: The Difference Between Beer People and Wine People . . . especially here on the East Coast.” It’s about dogs, too, but read the post for yourself. Another of his blogs is Hudson River Valley Wineries , which Carlo uses to publicize the sagas, tales, wines, and personalities of the region. Hudson-Chatham Winery, in Ghent, NY (in Columbia County, to the east of the Hudson River) was established in 2007, soon after Carlo and Dominique, his wife, purchased the property—the last fifteen acres of what was once a 500-acre dairy farm—that had been left fallow for more than twenty years. The couple had been in search of a property with which they could realize the dream of having a winery and vineyard, and after a long and extended tour of parts of the East Coast, they had found what they wanted. One of Carlo’s criteria for the location was that it be in what was already an established winegrowing community. As he pointed out, in the wine trade, at least in the East, people aren’t cutthroat competitors but rather cooperative and helpful ones. After all, virtually all of the wineries of the Hudson River Region are very small operations. They all need one another. That mattered a great deal to Carlo. So, in early 2007 they planted a small vineyard, then barely three acres in size. They also started the renovation of a 1780 farmhouse that had a long history, had character, and was in considerable disrepair. They had never owned a farm before, much less planted a vineyard or run a winery. Despite repeated warnings about the problems and difficulties of running such an establishment, Carlo persisted and Dominique, despite considerable doubts, joined him as a partner in the crime. Actually, Carlo was doubting his own sanity all along, but this, after all, had been an obsession of his for all of his adult life. (That obsession may well have been what was behind his writing his book on East Coast wineries, published three years before they bought the property.) Carlo already knew that there were certain varieties that he want to plant and grow. They included Seyval Blanc, Baco Noir, and Chambourcin—all French-American hybrids. The long-term plan was to first plant the hybrid varieties and over time introduce some vinifera as well. The first thousand stalks that they purchased were Seyval, DeChaunac, Chancellor, and Golden Muscat. In order to plant them they first had to rip the soil to a depth of about two to three feet in order to break up the hardpan. The soil was analyzed by both the Cornell-run Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva, NY, and by Rutgers, in New Jersey. Both recommended adding lime to the soil to bring the soil to a pH that was good for the vines. The hybrids were vines that had good resistance to the harsh winters of the region, as well as tolerance for the high summer humidity. In the end, as Carlo said, the vines even weathered us and all our mistakes.” (Sadly, that wasn’t true of the Muscats that were planted—they wanted warmer climes.) Soon after they’d started the vineyard, he had the great good fortune to meet Steve Casscles, who has two vineyard of his own and grows some obscure heirloom varieties. Chatham-Hudson presently buys the entire production of Steve’s vineyards for its table-wine grapes. As a result, Hudson-Chatham has also helped bring back Chelois—Steve is the winemaker, after all—along with Léon Millot and Dutchess—hybrids all. Another vineyard, managed by the winery, in Kinderhook grows grapes to go into its Port and Sherry-style fortified wines. Yet another plot in Central New York provides most of the old-vine Baco Noir for the winery. Meanwhile, Carlo is planting his own vineyard to Seyval Blanc, Chelois, and Baco Noir with the idea that eventually most if not all of the wines will be estate-produced. This is being phased in over time as production increases. By the end of Spring 2014 there will be 5 ½ to 6 acres planted to vines, with Baco Noir making up a third of that, and Chelois another third. In time some vinifera varieties will be grown as well, such as Riesling, Cabernet Franc, and even Gamay. Carlo would like to grow Pinot Noir as well, but doesn’t believe that it would thrive on his site, but he may purchase fruit from a vineyard in Columbia County further south and close to the River. In fact, the winery...