Grape Varieties
Catawba: A versatile American variety heavily used for jelly and juices. Purple-red in color, Catawba grapes have a pronounced musky flavor and are well suited for sweet wines and used in whites, reds, and rosè.
Cayuga: A French-American hybrid variety found predominantly in NY Finger Lakes region.
First bred in 1945 in NY state, this hybrid of Schuyler & Seyval Blanc variety wasn’t commercially released until 1972.
Cayuga is known for its light citrus flavor and is used in dry to sweet wines.
Chambourin: A French-American hybrid grape variety that has only been available since 1963. This grape produces a deep-colored aromatic wine. It can be made into a dry style or one with a moderate residual sugar level.
Concord: These are the most commonly used grapes in the production of grape juice, grape jelly, grape pies, and grape flavored soft drinks.
The skin of the concord grape is typically dark blue or purple, and often is covered with a lighter-colored epicuticular wax “bloom” that can be rubbed off. Concord grapes are highly aromatic and slightly tart with a strong musky flavor.
Delaware: Known to the be “the bet American table grape”, is an early-ripening red grape with small berries and clusters, and mild flavor. Delaware is used to make a variety of wines including dry, sweet, and ice wine, and is famed for its spicy sparkling wines.
Diamond: A hybrid (Concord & Iona) white variety from NY State. Used to make dry to sweet wines and sparkling wines.
Visually similar to concord, though lacking its ability to withstand harsh climates. Able to stand alone but can also be used in blends.
Frontenac: a French-American hybrid grape variety introduced by the University of Minnesota in 1996, was bred specifically for red wine production and is an important addition to the expanding wine industry. The grapes have a high sugar and acid content at harvest, making a red wine that echoes the flavors of cherries and plums.
Since its creation, producers in 12 states have planted this cold-hardy grape. Frontenac vines have tolerated vineyard temperatures as low as -30° and are consistently heavy producers with small, black berries in medium to large clusters.
Isabella: a dark, purple-skinned vine that originated in the United States. The Isabella grape today is widely planted in Portugal, Japan, Bali, and Brazil. The most popular wine made from Isabella is fragolino (which means “strawberry” in Italian), a sparkling red said to be sweet and extremely refreshing.
La Crescent: A cold-hardy grape varietal, produces a white wine of excellent quality, reminiscent of the cultivar Vignoles. The relatively high sugar and acidity levels of this grape allow it to be finished as a sweet or semi-sweet style wine. La Crescent wines typically have aromas of apricot, peach, citrus, and pineapple and lack the strong herbaceous aromas associated with the V. Labrusca. Its complex lineage includes the French hybrid ‘Syval Blanc’ and V. vinifera ‘Muscat Hamburg’. La Crescent vines have tolerated vineyard temperatures as low as -36° F in early February with only minor bud loss and commonly ripen in September.
Marechal Foch: A French red wine grape variety named after the French marshal Ferdinand Foch (1859-1929), who played an important role in the negotiation of the armistice terms during the closing of World War I.
This grape is used to make a variety of styles of wine, ranging from light red wine to more extracted wines with intense dark “inky” purple color.
Marquette: A cold-hardy grape varietal introduced in 2006, is a cousin of Frontenac and grandson of Pinot Noir. From a viticulture standpoint, Marquette is an outstanding grape featuring a high resistance to common grape diseases and an orderly growth habit that makes vine canopy management efficient.
Muscat: known as Moscato in Italy or Moscatel in Spain and Portugal, has existed for centuries and is one of the oldest grape varietals known to man. This family of grapes was first documented in France’s Alsace, Italy’s Piedmont, and as early as the 1100s in Germany. However, it was not until the 1850s when Muscat was first introduced to the United States. The grapes we know today as Muscat, which is believed to have originated in the Middle East, have been used in winemaking since the times of ancient Greece.
The Muscat family of grapes is comprised of hundreds of varieties that range in color from white to almost black. The distinctive grapey aroma of Muscat is one of its chief properties. This grapes versatility also makes it an attractive option for winemakers. Muscat grapes are grown in temperate climates around the world including Italy, France, Greece, Spain, Australia, and the United States.
Niagara: A native American grape varietal. It is a member of the Vitis Labrusca family of grapes. New York is famous for its Niagara grape production. Niagara grapes are not only used to make refreshing and aromatic wine but it is also used to make jams and is the leading grape used in the production of white grape juice. Possessing a sweet aroma, the Niagara grape is oval-shaped and when eaten fresh, it is delicious.
Pinot Gris: This grape varietal produces a light, acidic white wine. The grape is a mutation of the well-known Pinot Noir, which results in a red wine. It normally has a grayish-blue fruit, accounting for its name however some grapes can have a brownish pink to black or even white appearance.
Riesling: A white grape variety which originated in the Rhine river region of Germany. Riesling is an aromatic grape variety that displays a fruity and flowery aroma as well as having a pleasant level of acidity. Riesling is a versatile varietal and can be used to make from dry to sweet and sparkling white wines. This iteration of Riesling wine is sweet, varietal pure, and is fermented in stainless steel tanks.
Vincent: A French-American hybrid variety bred specifically to be winter-hardy in areas like New York’s Finger Lakes region. The Vincent grape is dark blue and is typically used in the blends and tends to produce earthy wines low in tannin, despite the dark color.