TO discover any of America's emerging wine regions, close your eyes in front of a U.S. map and randomly drop your finger on a spot. Madison, Ind.? They've got Pinot Grigio, Zinfandel and Syrah. Prairie du Sac, Wis.? Sangiovese and Riesling. Louisville, Ky.? Chambourcin and Chardonnay.
Wineries have been popping up all over the country (every state of the union now has at least one) and lately have received significant media attention, even those wineries and vineyards in what might seem like the most improbable places -- say, in the shadow of the red rock spires of Sedona, Ariz.
All this talk of wines from places other than the West Coast piqued the interest of the Times Tasting Panel. Arizona's, Texas' and New York's are the most developed -- and critically acclaimed -- of the emerging regions, but we wondered: How good \o7are\f7 these wines? So we recently gathered to taste a selection.
New York's a likely place to start, and though it was Merlot that put Long Island on the wine map, the Long Island Cabernet Francs fared best in the tasting. The standout was a softly luscious Cabernet Franc from Paumanok Vineyards in Aquebogue.
New York's reputation for wine has had its fits and starts, though its Long Island wines still are often overlooked, even by New Yorkers.
"There's a generation of wine drinkers who equated New York wines with kind of a sweet Concord style and never took them seriously," says Rory Callahan, president of Wine & Food Associates, a New York-based consulting firm. "But a new generation not burdened with that history is starting to embrace New York wines." Though even now, he says, "a lot of New Yorkers don't really know they have a wine district in their own backyard."
Most of the New York wines in The Times' tasting were from the North Fork, where Long Island's more than 30 wineries are concentrated. Long Island Sound, the Atlantic Ocean and the Peconic Bay surround the narrow peninsula. ("Lo and behold, it's a rather maritime climate," Callahan says, moderate with an extended growing season.) The most planted grapes are Bordeaux varieties such as Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc.
Chardonnay, another of the most widely planted varieties on Long Island, didn't attract many accolades from the panel, the exception being the 2004 Wolffer Estate Reserve Chardonnay. More appealing -- and interesting -- were the Sauvignon Blancs.
