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Discovering great wines from New York

By Emily Hulme | ehulme@am-ny.com

March 4, 2008

Mark Oldman, wine educator and the author of "Oldman's Guide to Outsmarting Wine," discusses the New York Wine Expo and local wineries. (Handout / March 3, 2008)

New York wineries, due to their youth and lack of established tradition, are often dismissed when compared to bottles corked in France or even California or Australia. But in recent years the area is gaining more and more respect from wine aficionados.

To keep the trend going, local vintners have gotten together to hold the first ever New York Wine expo this weekend, to educate consumers and bar industry folk about the wonders of local grown grapes.

To help you navigate the expo, which includes more than 150 local producers, we spoke with Mark Oldman, wine educator and the author of "Oldman's Guide to Outsmarting Wine."

Besides Long Island's North Fork, what are the main growing areas for New York wines?

There's also the Hudson Valley and the Finger Lakes. There are three main regions. Probably the audience will be, more familiar with Long Island wines, especially wines from the North Fork.

Why are New York wines getting better?
There are many admirable examples of good wine from New York. There's just an issue with consistency and cache. The actual wine-growing regions, especially on Long Island, are relatively young. I think a lot of the vintners are still experimenting with technology and terroir [soil composition/weather conditions affecting grape flavor] and trying to figure out how to maximize the climate and the soils of the region.

For North Fork wines, you've got Merlot and Cabernet Franc, and those two varietals are probably the most popular among vintners out on Long Island. The thing is, you know, "Sideways" did a number on Merlot, but people at the wine festival shouldn't discount Merlot just because of what Paul Giamatti said.

What are some of the specific characteristics of New York wines?
Because the wine regions are cooler, the wines tend to be leaner, and a little more acidic. So sometimes the wines can be more food-friendly because they've got that brightness and tanginess to it. So far, the best grapes from New York wineries are thought to be Merlot, Cabernet-Franc and, from the Finger Lakes, Riesling, and the thing about those grapes, those are not marquee grapes. They certainly don't have the cache of Pinot Noir or Cabernet Sauvignon. So there's somewhat, in addition to the new-kid-on-the-block syndrome and climatic challenges, this kind of reputational challenge.

Do you think that's just a matter of education, for people to go out and taste these grapes and say "this is just as good as any other grape?"
I do. I think that folks need to work a little harder to find the reliable and the exceptional. Or let's combine that. Folks need to work to find the reliably exceptional. But when they do they'll find that especially these less-familiar types can be quite delightful and I think these varietals are tragically neglected. I mean, people misperceive Riesling as sweet when really they can one of these delightful, food-friendly, mouth-watering, most turbo-charged wines out there. So I think they should look at the New York Wine Expo as an opportunity to break out of the Chardonnay Shuffle and really expand their wine horizons.

New York Wine Expo
Jacob K Javitz Center. Open to the public Fri 7-10pm, $85; Sat 2-6pm, $95.
655 W 34th St, 800-544-1660, www.wine-expos.com

Tips for navigating the wine expo
With more than 600 to taste, attending the New York Wine Expo could be an overwhelming experience. Oldman shares some tips on how to maximize your enjoyment and education.

Treat it as an opportunity to deviate from the usual suspects of wine that we all depend on. Because of restaurants with the typical unconscionably high markup, it's very difficult to experiment with less-familiar grapes or less-familiar regions. So in addition to having a rollicking good time, think of this as a really low-risk way to expanding your horizons.

Take notes. You'll really want to remember the wines that you liked. And wine makers really dig it when you care enough to take notes on their wine. The key is to separate yourself from the typical yahoo who really just wants another swig of fermented grape juice.

Carry around a water bottle. Because after tasting five or 10 sips of wine, your pallet is going to taste like the Sahara. And eat a little bit beforehand, so that the alcohol doesn't hit you as quickly.

Don't feel bad about using spittoons, or the buckets you'll see on the tables there. That's how the insiders keep our faculties together. There's no shame in hocking out a good one in front of a winemaker. They understand that you've got a lot of wines to get through that day.

If there's a bottleneck at certain points of the room, don't feel like you have to get in line. You can explore wines in a non-linear way. That means tasting tables that are deeper into the room that are less crowded.