December 1, 2023 | Let's be Franc

We all know New York is capable of making a range of delicious wines. 

& while riesling is definitely its top white expression,
we'd contend cabernet franc is its best red. 

A cold-hardy variety that ripens relatively quickly, cab franc has thin skins and produces a slightly lighter, softer and less tannic wine that marries ripeness with restraint, and richness with acidity, and can flaunt savory and peppery characteristics just as well as fragrant, floral and fruitful qualities.

Though some believe the grape may have originated in Spain's Basque country, it's tied deeply to France, where it gained fame in Bordeaux and the Loire Valley—and where it initially crossed with sauvignon blanc to create its famous progeny, cabernet sauvignon. Sometime in the late 1800s, cabernet franc entered the US via California's Napa Valley, then traveled east, and today is grown throughout the Pacific Northwest, Virginia, Maryland and where it flourishes best, right here in our backyard.

According to the New York Wine & Grape Foundation, just under 500 acres of the grape are currently cultivated in our state, with its principle areas being Long Island, the Finger Lakes and the Hudson Valley.  & thanks to our long growing season and particularly wild climate, it's able to exhibits a breadth of styles from ripe and brooding, to herbaceous and mineral, to earthy and brambly. 

At today's (12.01!) tasting, we'll be pouring three very different versions, a rosé made right across the river in Milton, a Brooklyn-born bottling made with biodynamically grown grapes from Seneca Lake and a perfectly balanced, new-to-the-shop selection from Marlboro. Click the links below to read more about each bottle, then stop by from 4-7 for a taste!

Fjord Vineyards Rosé Hudson River Region 2022
Barbichette Wines 'Tête Bêche' Cabernet Franc Seneca Lake 2022 
Benmarl Winery Cabernet Franc New York 2021