Locally sourced, organic foods are all the rage, and that trend has certainly seeped into the winemaking industry. Donna Karger has more, as our weeklong look at 'The Grape State of New York' continues.
The farm-to-table movement of eating locally sourced food isn't only about what you eat - it's about what you drink.
Joe Czerwinski, managing editor of Wine Enthusiast Magazine, says that trend is very good for New York's wine industry.
"It’s been difficult sometimes for New York State wines to make inroads,” says Joe Czerwinski, Managing Editor at Wine Enthusiast. “But now as you see an increasing emphasis on the locavore movement, people eating and drinking local products, that’s something that’s started to change and you are starting to see more New York State wines available in New York City shops."
According to Hernan Donoso of Washingtonville, New York's Brotherhood Winery - the oldest winery in America - the trend goes beyond just consuming local products. "Organic" is the latest buzzword.
"In food we see it every day in the supermarkets; each time the organic section is bigger and bigger,” says Hernan Donoso, president of Brotherhood Winery. “And in the wine business, it's not that far. There's a lot of people working on developing organic wines and try to make them competitive. A lot of times it's quite expensive."
Barbara Shinn has pioneered organic, sustainable winemaking at her Shinn Estate Vineyards on the North Fork of Long Island. She denies claims that growing organic grapes is more expensive than non-organic grapes, and says it's about much more than costs.
"People are understanding now that drinking wine that’s grown sustainably is extremely important and wine that can be grown organically or even bio-dynamically is important,” Shinn says. “For anyone that’s growing wine, it’s just merely the farm environment that they’re working in, for it to be a clean and healthy environment to work in."
Ali Tuthill of the Long Island Wine Council hopes that clean, healthy environment makes for a better overall dining experience.
"Everything that is harvested or grown, it complements the wine that is made out here and it’s a beautiful thing when you get to buy your bottle of wine and go to a farm stand and get your produce and have it all come together in this locally sourced meal that just exists out here naturally. It’s wonderful," Tuthill says.
Thirsty for more? Tune in this weekend for "The Grape State of New York," Time Warner Cable News' hour-long look at wine across the state. That's this Saturday at 9 p.m. and Sunday at 6 p.m.