Dr. Frank.

The next book, in my personal quest to understand more about the history of Vitis vinifera in the United States, is this book by Tom Russ: Finger Lakes Wine and the Legacy of Dr. Konstantin Frank.
Dr. Frank was by all accounts a bit of a poop disturber; in that he tried to shake up the New York state wine industry by repeatedly insisting that V. vinifera, i.e., European winegrape varieties, could thrive in the eastern United States.  It is in Dr. Frank's expertise as a viticulturalist, and his scientific approach to clonal selections, that I am mostly interested in.
Love wine-history.

Where in the US of A is Vinogirl: 2016?

I recently decided that I didn't know nearly enough about the history of viticulture in the United States, so I have been making an effort to find books that will give me a better understanding of how American winegrape-growing arrived at where it is today.  Not just the genesis of grape growing in California (think Saint Junipero Serra), but in other states also. Thomas Pellechia's Over a Barrel was a fabulous introduction to the homegrown wine industry in New York's Finger Lakes.  Of course the winegrapes grown in the northern part of the state of New York were not the European winegrape-bearing Vitis vinifera that I am familiar with.  No, in the early days, the native grape species grown in vineyards around the Finger Lakes region for wine production were predominantly Vitis labrusca and Vitis rotundifolia.  I have tasted wines produced from these two American Vitis species (anybody remember my Wines of the World class?) and at best the wines produced from those grapes provided entertainment value only.
So where am I going with all of this?  Well, I am travelling at present visiting family members in the Beehive state - yes, I am in Utah once again (and have been since last Thursday).  But I could be forgiven for thinking I was actually in Pennsylvania as I spent some time today hanging out in an Amish store.  And it was in the Apple Creek Amish Market, in Provo, where I spotted some bottles of grape juice made from native American Vitis species.  Yes, an Amish store in this bastion of Mormonism.  But it's not wine, it is just juice made from V. rotundifolia, the Muscadine juice, and V. labrusca, the Concord juice - from Arkansas. Very convoluted. Just thought finding these two juices in an Amish shop was amusing (not amusing enough to buy, though).  Besides, I would have thought I'd have found some mead in the Beehive State.

A tale of two Syrahs.

Vinoland's Syrah is harvested, whoo hoo!  Fruit looked lovely, acid and sugar a little low, but the colour coming out of the berries was already a deep, deep purple.  The day went very smoothly and the gathering of friends afterwards was a lot of fun.
To wash down the harvest chili I had prepared (with cornbread, two ways), there were a few interesting wines; a delightful Elyse, 2011 Nero Misto (California); a J Gregory, 2011 Celebration Cabernet Sauvignon (Coombsville AVA); and, lastly, a Lucas Vineyards, 2012 Syrah (Finger Lakes AVA).
The Elyse wine was lovely, very soft and round, made from "a unique selection of wonderful lesser known black grapes" (so says the back label).
The J Gregory was a 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from a relatively new producer, but the grapes were sourced from a very good friend's vineyard, here in Coombsville.  The wine was a little green, but it 's still very young and will perhaps age quite elegantly.
The Lucas Vineyards Syrah came with a former co-worker who had worked three harvests at this winery in Cayuga Lake, New York.  A fairly inoffensive wine, I was however struck with how little pigmentation there was in this wine compared to a Syrah grown in Napa.  This Syrah looked more like a Pinot noir.  The white pepper component in this wine did work well with the chili though. 
An interesting mix of wines.

TMI!

When does a customised cork carry too much information?  When there is so much ink one can't even be bothered reading it all! Besides, much of the same information is printed on the back label of the wine bottle.  This cork has the most inked information on it of any cork I have ever seen.  It's a veritable thesis.
As for the wine it was pleasant, but nothing to write home about (except I am indeed writing about it).  The Ravines, 2010, Finger Lakes Dry Riesling, was a gift from a friend (the same friend who also gave me and Vinomaker the bottle of Lamoreaux Landing we had both enjoyed so much).  This Riesling was not bad; it had some petroleum notes, the acid was so-so...it just wasn't the zippy glass of wine I wanted after a warm afternoon of pruning Cabernet Sauvignon vines.  (I started to prune the red grapes yesterday). So I switched to a Sauvignon blanc instead.  Much better.

Riesling hunting.

Another great Finger Lakes wine - a 2008 Red Tail Ridge Dry Riesling. Very tasty; lovely citrus notes (mainly lime), a very appealing minerality, and a zesty acidity that reminded me of the Lamoreaux Landing I had recently, but even nicer. Better still, it's available in my local wine shop: no hunting online necessary.