the wines of new york state - cornell alumni...

The Wines of New York StateA SPECIAL SECTION IN CORNELL ALUMNI MAGAZINE

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THE WINES OF NEW YORK STATE 3

As Frank Sinatra once sang: It was a very good year. Winemakersin every region of New York State are almost universally excitedover the potential quality of the wines produced from the 2010growing season. The entire state experienced an early spring

and a warm, sunny summer with just enough rain. The weather couldn’t have beenmuch better. Many grape varieties ripened simultaneously, and most wineries beganpicking during the first week of September. It was an intense—but happy—harvest.

Growers in the Finger Lakes region were particularly ecstatic. Last September,the Ithaca Journal reported nearly unprecedented excitement for what, to many, al-ready appeared to be a great vintage. Chris Stamp ’83 of Lakewood Vineyards onSeneca Lake summed up their feelings, saying that “growing conditions this summerhave been about as close to perfect as possible.” In addition, pointed out Jim Treziseof the New York Wine & Grape Foundation, “the early harvest means less risk of akilling frost that shuts down the harvest.”

This nearly ideal season could have been spoiled by the heavy rains thatdrenched the area in late September. Fred Merwarth ’00, owner of Seneca Lake’sHermann J. Wiemer Vineyard, reported that his vineyards were soaked with morethan four inches of rain in just twenty-four hours. Fortunately, most of the grapeshad already been harvested; what remained was largely Riesling and some red vari-eties. And those who let their remaining grapes hang a little longer were rewardedwith a return to warm, sunny weather.

According to Merwarth, the grapes harvested in mid-October were generally

‘THE BEST VINTAGE EVER’New York’s grape growers and winemakers extol the 2010 crop

Dave Pohl, MA ’79, is a wine buyer at North-side Wine & Spirits in Ithaca. He came toCornell in 1976 to work on a PhD in sociolo-gy, but he was seduced by the wine business and has been at it ever since.

BY DAVE POHL

LISA BANLAKI FRANK

COVER IMAGE PROVIDED BY THE NEW YORK WINE AND GRAPE FOUNDATION

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4 THE WINES OF NEW YORK STATE

clean, with flavors and sugars returnedto pre-rain levels. Some of the Rieslinggrapes were affected by botrytis, a moldthat causes dehydration and is responsi-ble for the honeyed flavors of late-harvest Riesling. However, the flavor imparted by botrytis is not necessarilydesirable in drier wines; to counter this,Merwarth says, “we sorted fifteen totwenty hours per day to separate botrytisfruit from the clean fruit that is used inthe dry and reserve Riesling.”

Over on Keuka Lake, there is alsoplenty of optimism. Fred Frank ’79, own-er of Dr. Konstantin Frank’s ViniferaWine Cellars, is very excited about thequality of the vintage. “Our grapevinebuds opened two weeks early,which helped to extend ourgrowing season,” he says. “Andthe weather throughout thegrowing season was ideal, witha perfect mix of sunny daysand adequate rainfall.” How arethe wines? “We have begunbottling the 2010 wines,” re-ports Frank, “and we believethe quality is our best since the2005 vintage.”

Bob Madill, one of the own-ers of Sheldrake Point Winery,is likewise enthusiastic. Hesays that his vineyards onCayuga Lake “experienced

more growing degree days [a measure ofheat accumulation] than did Napa andSonoma in California.” He points out thatthe frequency of rain was about the sameas 2009, a cooler and very wet year. “Butin 2010,” he says, “the rain came in short-er downpours, and soils do not absorbnearly as much water in heavy, shortbursts, as it runs off. Couple that with theheat that promotes evapo-transpirationand our vineyards were not nearly as wetas they were in 2009.”

Madill thinks the 2010 wines will bevery appealing, noting that his Gewurz-traminer and Pinot Gris show great vari-etal character.The Riesling grapes, he says,

BUMPER CROPIn 2010, New York State’s grape production increased 32 percent over the previous year to176,000 tons, about one-third of which was wine grapes. The state’s wineries crushed 59,305tons of grapes, an increase of 17 percent. The total value of the 2010 grape crop was estimatedat $68.4 million, a 44 percent increase over 2009 (a year with an unusually small crop) and a19 percent increase over 2008 (a more normal year).

Source: The New York Wine & Grape Foundation

Bob Madill

Fred Merwarth ’00

SHELDRAKE POINT VINEYARD

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came in with lighter acid than 2009, and theresulting wines should provide a great dealof pleasure early on. He’s also positiveabout the reds: “The Merlot shows fullripeness and concentration; the CabernetFranc is well balanced, as is the Gamay.”

“Balance” is a word that is heard oftenin discussions of the wines of 2010. Jo-hannes Reinhardt, the German-born wine-maker at Anthony Road Wine Company onSeneca Lake, sees balance as a definingcharacteristic of the vintage, describing thefruit he had to work with as “very promis-ing, balanced, and good.” He is particularlyimpressed by the reds, and he rates 2010even more highly than 2007 for red wines,as a bit more moisture helped avoid “someof the cooked fruit of 2007.”

Perhaps the most unbridled enthusi-asm comes from grape grower extraordi-naire Jim Hazlitt ’60, who owns SawmillCreek Vineyards and supplies the grapesfor many of the area’s best wineries, in-cluding Ravines, Red Newt, Hazlitt 1852,Damiani, and Atwater Estate. He describesthe growing season as “ideal” and saysthat “winemakers could harvest when thegrapes were perfect, when every varietywas clean and ripe.”

While producers in the Finger Lakeswere particularly excited about theirprospects, the outlook for other New Yorkwine regions was also extremely positive.Both the Hudson Valley and Long Islandhad early harvests, although picking ofsome varieties in the Hudson Valley had tobe delayed because some wineries did nothave the space or labor to deal with thequantity of early-ripened grapes. There,the vintage was especially kind to whitevarieties; late-season rains created rotproblems for some of the red-wine grapes.

Long Island had one of its earliestharvests ever, with picking of white vari-eties beginning in early September andreds in early October. This was quite acontrast to 2009, when some vineyardshad grapes still hanging after Thanksgiv-ing. Botrytis was a problem for some laterpicked reds such as Merlot, but even inthose cases the overall quality of the fruitwas reported to be high.

Jim Hazlitt predicts that many of the2010 wines from New York State will scorein the nineties in evaluations, making itthe best vintage ever. When asked if thisdegree of excitement was truly warranted,Tim Martinson, PhD ’91, of Cornell Coop-erative Extension confirms that “it seemsto have been a very good year and manypeople are very pleased.” It will be inter-esting, indeed, to begin sampling theproducts of this seemingly singular yearas they appear in the marketplace.

Cheers!

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FOCAL POINT

Ithaca’s Finger Lakes Wine Center Welcomes Visitors to the Region

BY DAVE POHL

After many years ofplanning andfundraising, the Fin-ger Lakes WineCenter opened its

doors to the public last fall. Located at237 South Cayuga Street in downtownIthaca, it is bound to become a favoreddestination for both local wine lovers andthose from outside the region.

Suzanne Lonergan, the Wine Center’sexecutive director, sees it “as a gatheringplace for wine lovers, a place to socializeand at the same time learn more about thearea’s wines.” She goes on to say that “Itha-ca doesn’t have many spaces that aren’tbars where like-minded people can get to-gether and share a common interest.”

The nonprofit center—a collaborativeeffort of Cornell, community leaders, andthe area’s wineries—defines its goals asprimarily educational. Its mission state-ment, posted at www.fingerlakeswinecenter.org, describes the center as “ameeting place to begin your explorationof the gorgeous Finger Lakes wine coun-try, just beyond Ithaca’s city limits.” This isaccomplished with an array of tastings,seminars, and classes.

The idea for the facility dates back to2002, when its president, David Sparrow,MA ’86, met with Fred Bonn of the Tomp-kins County Convention & Visitors Bureau and others to discuss the feasibil-ity of such a center. “In 2001,” Sparrowsays, “the consulting firm Randall TravelMarketing concluded in its study oftourism in the Finger Lakes that a winecenter was a good, workable idea andthat Ithaca would be a good location forit. So we formed a task force to study thefeasibility of a wine center, and we ulti-mately decided to take it on.”

Funding was pieced together frommany sources, including Tompkins CountyTourism, three New York State grants, pri-vate money, and a loan from the City of

A gathering place: The Finger Lakes Wine Center offers tastings and educationaldisplays for wine enthusiasts.

FINGER LAKES WINE CENTER

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Ithaca. According to Sparrow, the processwas “long and hellish,” but well worth theeffort. The Wine Center is governed by aneight-member board that includes wineryowners, community members, and TommyBruce, Cornell’s vice president for univer-sity communications.

Thus far, the Wine Center’s classeshave included sessions on food and winepairing, home grape growing and wine-making, choosing wine for holiday meals,and explorations of single-grape varietiessuch as Riesling and Cabernet Franc. Vis-itors may also taste flights of wine organ-ized around a single variety—on onerecent day, the choices included FingerLakes Pinot Noir, Cabernet Franc, Ries-ling, dry Riesling, and Chardonnay. At anygiven point, twenty-five wines will beavailable for tasting. Each is available forsale, as is a selection of wine-relateditems and artisanal crafts produced in theregion. The wines available for tasting arerotated, so a visitor can taste some newones on successive visits—and there is al-ways a knowledgeable person on hand todiscuss the wines, answer questions, anddisseminate information about the FingerLakes and its wineries.

The building itself is quite beautiful—modern and sleek. A nicely lit centralspace houses a wine bar, a retail area,and various educational displays, includ-ing a large folding mural that illustratesand explains what happens from monthto month in the vineyard and winery dur-ing the winemaking process. A dramaticmap of the Finger Lakes region domi-nates one wall. It was created from forty-one digital photographs of an 1845 mapin Olin Library; the photos were used tocreate eight polymer panels that were af-fixed to the wall.

The Wine Center has a private tastingroom for meetings and smaller classes.It’s also available for rental by localgroups—in fact, the entire space can berented. So far, notes Lonergan, more thantwenty groups have used the space forevents ranging from birthday parties, anaward dinner, and a wedding rehearsal toCornell departmental programs, corpo-rate get-togethers, and even a booklaunch. On Thursday evenings, the Centerturns into an Ithaca gathering place, withlive music featured from 6 to 9 p.m.

Now that the Wine Center is up andrunning, its operating income will comefrom tasting fees, retail sales, rentals, sem-inars, and memberships, which are offeredat various levels. The operation is stillyoung, and the board is eager to see whatthis year’s tourist season will bring.Visit-ing Cornellians should plan to drop in be-fore heading out to the local wineries.

WINE GUIDEThe New York Wine & Grape Foundation hasupdated its guidebook to reflect the ever-expanding wine industry in the state. Theforty-page book includes detailed maps ofevery wine region, spectacular photos, andnew sections on fruit wines and meads. To access the guide online, go towww.newyorkwines.org, then click on Information Station, Regional Guides, andNew York Wine Guide 2011.

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A LIFE ON THE LANDA season-by-season account of the winemaking process

Making wine ishard work. Ifyou had the no-tion that being awinemaker was

a leisurely life where you could sit on theporch, sip chilled Chardonnay, and watchthe grapes grow, reading Seasons of a Fin-ger Lakes Winery will disabuse you ofthat notion.

In this new book from Cornell Uni-versity Press, author John Hartsock focuses on Gary and Rosemary Barletta,owners of Long Point Winery on the east-ern shore of Cayuga Lake. He weaves thestory of the their lives through a season-by-season account of a year at their win-ery, from preparation of the vineyard inwinter through growing, harvesting,

crushing, and the stages of the winemak-ing process. And then there’s marketingand selling the wine, so you can bring inenough money to do it all again the nextyear. It’s tricky, difficult work—much cango wrong at almost any point, and even ifeverything proceeds more or less accord-ing to plan, what comes out of the bottlecan be mediocre. In winemaking, as GaryBarletta laments at one point, “there’s nosuch thing as perfection.”

The French describe the combinedeffect of climate, soil, elevation, and othergeographical features as terroir, an over-arching concept that encompasses themany factors that come together in a par-ticular place to shape a wine’s taste andcharacter. Another aspect, as Hartsockmakes clear, is the personality of the

winemaker. His account of the Barlettas,while sometimes lapsing into sentimen-tality, enriches and enlivens what couldhave been a dry agricultural saga, provid-ing brightness, flavor, and a strong finish.

— Jim Roberts ’71

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LISA BANLAKI FRANK

Casks at King Ferry Winery

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Many Cornellians havefond memories oflearning to appreciatewine thanks to theHotel school’s leg-

endary Introduction to Wines course, taught byStephen Mutkoski ’67, PhD ’76. Those looking tocontinue their wine education—without havingto sit with a tray of wine glasses on their laps—need look no further than the New York Wine &Culinary Center.

Located in Canandaigua at the north end ofCanandaigua Lake, the nonprofit center offers awide variety of courses in pursuit of its mission to sup-port the New York wine industry. Its classes aim to pro-mote awareness and sales of wines produced in thestate’s five major growing regions: Finger Lakes, LakeErie, Niagara Escarpment, Hudson River, and Long Is-land. The wine instructors have been selected for theirknowledge of New York and world wines, engaging andentertaining presentation skills, and ability to makewine approachable—and all classes include interactivefood and wine tasting in a comfortable amphitheatersetting.

Beginner and intermediate wine consumers may se-lect from a menu of one- or two-hour appreciationclasses priced from $20 to $50. These sessions offer in-

FLIGHT TRAINING

Taste your way to wine expertise at theNew York Wine & Culinary Center

BY SHANNON BROCK

struction in wine-tasting technique, major wine vari-eties, and food pairing. Some of the most popular in-clude Wine 101, Wine & Food Flavor Pairing, RieslingExpert, and Wine & Chocolate Pairing. Enthusiasts canalso enjoy a pairing lunch or dinner at the Center;themed dinners often feature a well-known New Yorkwinery, such as Dr. Frank or Hermann J. Wiemer, and of-fer multi-course menus designed to highlight the wines.Often, cooking demonstrations by the executive chef arepart of the program, and wine-pairing commentary isprovided by visiting winemakers.

Those seeking advanced or professional-level wineeducation can choose among several center-developedprograms, such as an all-day New York Wine Camp or

Higher education: Located in Canandaigua,the New York Wine & Culinary Center offers wine classes for everyone from beginners to industry professionals.

PHOTOS BY WALTERCOLLEYIMAGES.COM

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Wine Aroma Workshop, or enroll in theWine & Spirit Education Trust program,an internationally recognized program inwines of the world delivered by certifiedinstructors.

Professional development courses inwine knowledge, hospitality, and tasting-room management are offered specificallyto New York wine industry employees, aswell as to employees of stores and restau-rants that promote New York wine. Hun-dreds travel from all over the state toattend, and classes are occasionally takenon the road to the Hudson Valley andLong Island. The Wine & Culinary Centeralso collaborates with Cornell’s EnologyExtension program to offer a popular ad-vanced course in wine fault identification.

Many celebrity wine personalitieshave made appearances at the center, in-cluding Kevin Zraly, Andrea ImmerRobinson, Oz Clarke, and Leslie Sbrocco.Other special events held annually in-clude Rendezvous with Riesling, a walk-about tasting of the best Riesling winesfrom around New York; the Golden Nose,a consumer-judged wine competition; andthe n’ICE Festival, a celebration of NewYork ice wines.

The Wine & Culinary Center, whichopened in 2006, counts ConstellationBrands, Wegmans, Rochester Institute ofTechnology, and the New York Wine &Grape Foundation as its founding part-ners. It is convenient to the Finger Lakesregion and Rochester, and an easy daytrip from Syracuse, Buffalo, or (of course)Ithaca. Wine courses, as well as a widevariety of hands-on cooking classes, areoffered year-round; a complete listing ofupcoming courses may be found at nywcc.com. Online registration is avail-able and visitors are encouraged to regis-ter in advance, as many courses sell out.In lieu of taking a class, visitors may learnmore about New York wines by enjoying a flight of wine in the tasting room or partaking of the Taste of New YorkRestaurant’s pairing menu, offered at dinner each evening.

And, while the Wine & Culinary Cen-ter has a collection of fine stemware, feelfree to dig out that black plastic case andbring your own glasses to relive thosegood old Introduction to Wines days.

Shannon Brock ’99 majored in policy analy-sis in the College of Human Ecology. After astint with Teach For America and severalyears teaching in urban public schools, shesettled in the Finger Lakes to follow herpassion for wine. She has been the wine co-ordinator at the New York Wine & CulinaryCenter since its opening in 2006 and is thelead wine instructor.

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BIG RED BOAST

CALS Grads Make the Difference forLong Island Winery

At Bedell Cellars onLong Island’s NorthFork, the big redboast isn’t just aboutits critically ac-

claimed Merlot blend, Musée—the wineryalso employs several generations of Cor-nell graduates. From winemaker to salesmanager, the roles run the gamut, andCEO Trent Preszler, MS ’02, says it speaksto the diversity of offerings at the Collegeof Agriculture and Life Sciences and thebreadth of skills its graduates acquire.

“The CALS degrees are not one-dimensional, and the students gain expert-ise in all aspects of the wine business,”says Preszler, who received his master’sdegree in agricultural economics and is aPhD candidate in the viticulture pro-gram. “They become fluent in aspects ofbusiness and marketing, chemistry andbotany, microbiology and sensory science.All those interests are then piqued andprimed for when they enter a job in in-dustry, and they are ready to contributeto a winery in a variety of ways.”

Bedell winemaker Rich Olsen-Harbich’83 majored in plant science, nationalsales manager Adriana Coderch ’10 infood science and enology, and social me-dia specialist Steve Carlson ’06, BS Ag ’09,in food science and enology. In addition,former harvest intern Benjamin Riccardi

WINE ICE CREAM

And now for something completely different: wine-flavored ice cream. No kidding—Mercer’s Wine Ice Creamcomes in six flavors: Cherry Merlot,Chocolate Cabernet, Peach White Zinfandel, Port, Red Raspberry Chardon-nay, and Riesling. It’s the real thing, with12 percent butterfat and up to 5 percentalcohol by volume. To learn more andcheck availability in your area, go to: www.mercerswineicecream.com.

Another bountiful harvest of more than 35 varieties of apples awaits

you at the Cornell Orchards. Plus: sweet cider, Cornell maple syrup,Sheep Program blankets, local honey,and a selection of specialty food and

gift items from around the FingerLakes and New York State.

Also selling wine grapes and juicefor home winemaking

709 Dryden Road, across from the Vet College on Rte. 366

Open Tuesday–Sunday, 8:30 am–5:00 pmTuesday–Saturday after Thanksgiving

Closed mid-May to mid-August

Call 607-255-4542www.hort.cornell.edu/orchards

Crunchy Apples and Sweet Cider at

Cornell Orchards

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’08, who majored in plant science and viti-culture, went on to become the winemak-er at Lamoreaux Landing in Lodi.

“We recruit from CALS because weknow these graduates will have knowl-edge specific to our industry and ourgrowing climate,” Preszler says. “Many ofthem come from family farms or wineriesand understand on an intimate level whatthey’re getting into, and they aren’t afraidto roll up their sleeves and work hard.”

Olsen-Harbich says Cornell hasevolved a great deal since he graduated.There was only one viticulture coursethen, and he had to seek out professorsand other collaborators to pursue his in-dependent study on such topics as prun-ing weights, bud cold-hardiness, grafting,and the effects of sulfur dioxide on machine-picked grapes. He was one ofthe people who worked with formerCALS dean Susan Henry to develop thefour-year viticulture and enology degreeprogram, launched in 2008.

“Over the years, Cornell has both ledand responded to the needs of the wineindustry,” Olsen-Harbich says. “At timesthe University has been prodded by in-dustry to delve deeper into topics andneeds, while at other points the workdone at Cornell has opened new doorsand pathways otherwise unseen.”

Known for the way he combines tra-dition and best practices with a bit of theavant garde, Olsen-Harbich credits Cor-nell with providing him with the scientifictraining to allow him to push creativitywithin the proper framework. “Much ofwhat I do is somewhat frowned upon bythe academic establishment—the use ofindigenous yeasts, minimal intervention,and filtration, to name a few,” he says.“That being said, the chemistry and biolo-gy of the process is empirical and impor-tant to understand as one goes deeperinto the craft.”

Owned by the film executive and artcollector Michael Lynne, Bedell and its sis-ter winery, Corey Creek Vineyards, encom-pass seventy-eight acres in Cutchogue andSouthold that yield approximately 10,000cases of wine annually. In addition to re-ceiving recognition for the quality of itswines—the 2007 Musée recently set a newrecord for Long Island reds with an awardof 91 points from Wine Spectator maga-zine—Bedell is a longstanding leader inthe sustainable viticulture movement onLong Island and helped author the re-gion’s sustainability guidelines.

— Stacey Shackford

Stacey Shackford is a staff writer at CALS.This article first appeared in the January 2011issue of Ezra Update. Used by permission.

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New York Wine TrailsNew York Wine and Grape Foundationwww.newyorkwines.org

Cayuga Wine Trail www.cayugawinetrail.com

Keuka Lake Wine Trailwww.keukawinetrail.com

Seneca Lake Winery Associationwww.senecalakewine.com

Canandaigua Wine Trailwww.canandaiguawinetrailonline.com

Lake Erie Wine Trailwww.lakeeriewinecountry.org

Niagara Wine Trailwww.uncorkanaturalwonder.com

Lake Ontario Wine Trailwww.lakeontariowinetrail.com

Thousand Islands Wine Trailwww.thousandislandsseawaywinetrail.com

Shawangunk Wine Trail (Hudson Valley)www.shawangunkwinetrail.com

Dutchess Wine Trail (Hudson Valley)www.dutchesswinetrail.com

Long Island Wine Councilwww.liwines.com

A BOOST FORNEW YORKWINES

Wine and vine expertsreceive $1.3 millionfor research

Unpredictable rainfall,overly fertile soils,new varieties, and ayoung industry—these are but some

of the challenges in producing qualitywine in the eastern United States. Cornellhas been awarded $1.3 million to addressthese problems in East Coast vineyards,wineries, and tasting rooms as part of a$3.8 million grant from the federal Spe-cialty Crops Research Initiative (SCRI).

“This grant gives us the opportunityto collaborate with more than thirty ofour colleagues to tackle the issues mostimportant to the eastern U.S. wine indus-try,” says Anna Katharine Mansfield, as-sistant professor of enology and grantco-investigator. “We hope that our workwill lead to enhanced sustainability andeconomic vitality for the industry andhelp us understand consumer attitudesabout regional wine.”

SCRI grants are notable for their man-date to address complex problems in neg-lected crops using interdisciplinaryresearch. Accordingly, this large effort ledby Virginia Tech enlisted Cornell viticul-turists, enologists, plant pathologists, econ-omists, and extension specialists forprojects affecting New York State and be-yond, starting with the soil beneath thevines. “In the northeastern United States,soils that are high in organic matter andexcessive rainfall can cause problematicvine vigor, resulting in high productioncosts and reduced fruit quality,” says Jus-tine Vanden Heuvel, assistant professor ofhorticulture. “We will be testing the effec-tiveness of cover crops to slow the growthof shoots, resulting in higher quality fruit.”

Vanden Heuvel will also work withhorticulture professors Ian Merwin, PhD’90, and Alan Lakso to dissect how lightand temperature affect grape flavors andaromas—from bitter to fruity—in Rieslingand Cabernet Franc. Plant pathology pro-fessor Wayne Wilcox will look at the cor-

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Ithaca Farmers Marketwww.ithacamarket.com

Northside Wine & Spiritswww.northsidewine.com

Senecayuga Propertieswww.senecayuga.com

Triphammer Wine & Spiritswww.triphammerwines.com

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responding effects on disease incidence,so the project will produce comprehen-sive cultural recommendations appropri-ate to a grower’s climate and target winestyle. In addition, Lakso and colleaguesfrom other universities will use modelingto develop decision-making tools for vine-yard managers, from identifying goodmatches between a potential site andgrape variety to how much crop they canripen in a particular vineyard.

Mansfield’s wine research will focuson the varieties and production methodscommon to the region. The ultimate goalis to develop recommendations that willimprove wine quality through appropriatefruit processing. She will experiment withwinemaking techniques to minimize theflaws in wines made from red hybridgrapes—the low tannins and phenolicsthat can make them seem thin on thetongue—and enhance the signature aro-mas of such regional whites as Riesling,Traminette, and Gewurztraminer.

“Ultimately, consumers will decide thefuture of the East Coast wine industry,”says Brad Rickard, assistant professor ofapplied economics and marketing. “Theeconomic component of the project willhelp to pinpoint the target consumers forEast Coast wines and understand howthey would respond to various marketingstrategies.” Rickard’s goal is to experimentwith different advertising approaches tosee how they influence consumers’ inter-est in—and willingness to pay for—winesmade in the eastern United States.

Several Finger Lakes vineyards—in-cluding Hosmer, Anthony Road, Bedient,Swedish Hill, and Lamoreaux Landing—are collaborating by donating fruit orvineyard space. And during the five yearsof the project, the entire New York wineindustry can expect to see new online re-sources funded by the grant. Extensionassociates Jodi Creasap-Gee, PhD ’06,Chris Gerling ’99, MS ’06, and Hans Walter-Peterson will translate the research find-ings for growers and winemakers, withnew how-to videos, podcasts, e-bulletins,and regular updates on the team’s re-search results on the Cornell viticultureand enology outreach website:http://grapesandwine.cals.cornell.edu/cals/grapesandwine/outreach/index.cfm.

— Amanda Garris

Amanda Garris, PhD ’04, is a freelancewriter based in Geneva. This article first appeared in the Cornell Chronicle Online,January 17, 2011. Used by permission.

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