May 25, 2013 Karen Thornton, American Viticultural Area
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May 25, 2013 Karen Thornton, American Viticultural Area Designations Regulations and Rulings Division Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau 1310 G Street NW Washington DC, 20220 [email protected] Dear Ms. Thornton, Please find included here a revised petition for the declaration of a new American Viticultural Area, entitled the Champlain Valley AVA. This petition was created on behalf of the Lake Champlain Grape Growers Association. I previously included an endorsement from our local congressional representative, Bill Owens, whose interest is in the economic development of this region and through his participation as a member of the House Agricultural Committee. Finally, I include a set of USGS maps that define the trail. I believe I have addressed the items you have requested in this revise and resubmit. Most importantly, I provided extensive climatological data to show how this region is differentiated from the Adirondack and western foothills region to the west, the Hudson Valley to the south, and Vermont to the east. Each of these regions has a growing season averaging two weeks longer than we do, and hence can grow the Vitis vinifera grapes that cannot be grown in this proposed region. Hence, the characteristic of grapes in the proposed region is almost exclusively North American hybrid. It is this factor that most profoundly defines and differentiates our proposed region. Should you need any additional information, please do not hesitate to contact me. Best regards, Colin Read North Star Vineyard 1383 North Star Road, Mooers, NY, 12958 Telephone 518-561-3828 Email [email protected] Regulations and Rulings Division Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau 1310 G Street NW Washington DC, 20220 A Petition to the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau of the Department of the Treasury to Establish the: Champlain Valley AVA (American Viticultural Area) Submitted by: An Association of Wineries in the Champlain Valley of New York State (1)Name Evidence [i] Name Usage The name of the viticultural area described is the Champlain Valley of New York. [ii] Source of name and name evidence. The Champlain Valley has been commonly used to describe the Lake Champlain Valley since the discovery and exploration of Lake Champlain by Samuel de Champlain in 1609. It is the area of land bordered by the Adirondack Mountains of New York to the west and the Green Mountains of Vermont to the east, the Taconic Mountains to the south and the St. Lawrence River Valley of Quebec to the north. Name evidence of Champlain Valley is widespread as the region has been known by the name since the exploration and settlement by early French and later English explorers. Lake Champlain and its valley were widely used for a route of travel and trade ever since its settlement by the Algonkians (various Algonquian speaking tribes) about 8000 years ago. One specific reference to Champlain Valley is on page 2 of the Soil Survey of Clinton County, NY [2], Another is on page 2 of the Soil Survey of Essex County, NY [3]. Multiple instances of the name appear in both publications. The Champlain Valley is home to one of only 49 National Heritage Areas in the United States, further evidencing the name usage [4]. Champlain Valley is also used extensively in the Lake Champlain Basin program (see map [5] physiographic regions). (2)Boundary Evidence The factor that most profoundly influences the types of grapes grown in this proposed region, and which differentiates this region with regions to the east, west, and south, is the length of the growing season. This predominant factor determines a preference for cold-hardy grape varieties, especially those developed by the University of Minnesota. The proposed region has a growing season about two weeks shorter than adjoining areas. However, across the proposed region, the temperature profile is remarkably consistent, despite its long and thin geography. This geographical shape was defined by geophysical forces that occurred in conjunction with the last ice age. These forces created a region of homogeneous soil types based on glacial silt above bedrock, with additional soils based on erosion into the Champlain Valley from the adjoining Adirondack Mountains, and from organic matter created by decay in the hardwood forest to the west of our region. The proposed boundary roughly corresponds to the portion of ancient Lake Vermont that lies in New York State, which was a glacial lake of about 12,000 years ago at the end of the last ice age that rose to an elevation that currently corresponds to the 500’ elevation contour. This lake is further described in the Geology section below. The boundary defined an area of similar underlying soils and bedrock, yet varies significantly from the adjacent Adirondacks. The area within the proposed Champlain Valley AVA has common underlying bedrock, soil types, rainfall, snowfall and temperatures. These also contrast markedly with the adjacent Adirondacks to the west. To the north of the region is Canada, while the southern terminus of the region is the beginning of another valley system, the Hudson Valley. The region is also distinct from the region immediately to the east because prevailing westerly winds over Lake Champlain create a moderating influence and longer growing season to the east. The moderating influence creates both a longer growing season and much lower probability of frost to the immediate east of the proposed region. Because of this moderating effect of the lake, the region to the east is able to grow distinctly different types of grape vines than the cold-hardy variety that thrive in the proposed region. (3)Distinguishing Features: The following table compares temperature ranges by month for four stations that span the proposed region, from south to north, and averaged across the entire region. It demonstrates that there are no significant temperature variations across a long and narrow region in the eastern wind shadow of the Adirondack Range. Maximum, Minimum, and Mean Temperatures Across the Proposed Region (for Ticonderoga, Peru, Plattsburgh, and Chazy, South to North, and Average) Maximum Temperatures Minimum Temperatures Mean Temperatures January 29.5/28.1/27.9/26.9/28.1 10/7.9/9/7.1/8.5 19.8/18/18.5/17/18.3 February 29.3/31.1/29.1/28.4/29.5 8.8/10.2/9.4/8/9.1 19/20.7/19.2/18.1/19.3 March 40.8/40.9/39.8/39/40.1 22.4/20.6/21.1/19.8/21 31.6/30.7/30.4/29.4/30.5 April 53.5/55.1/54.1/54/54.2 33.6/32.5/34/33/33.3 43.6/43.8/44/43.5/43.7 May 68/68.3/67.2/67.5/67.8 46/43.5/44.5/44.1/44.5 57/55.9/55.9/55.8/56.2 June 75.7/77.4/76.7/76.3/76.5 54.5/53.2/54.2/53.7/53.9 65.1/65.2/65.4/64.9/65.2 July 82.1/81.8/81.4/80.9/81.6 61/57.7/59.4/58.9/59.3 71.5/69.7/70.4/69.9/70.4 August 78.2/79.6/78.4/78.7/78.7 57.9/55.6/57.3/56.6/56.9 68/67.6/67.8/67.7/67.8 September 72/71/70.4/70.3/70.9 50.8/47.7/49.9/48.7/49.3 61.4/59.3/60.2/59.5/60.1 October 59.2/59.1/58.8/58.3/58.9 40/37.2/39.1/38.6/38.7 49.6/48.1/49/48.4/48.8 November 44.7/45.8/45/44.6/45 29.5/28.1/29.5/28.6/28.9 37.2/36.9/37.2/36.6/37 December 32.7/32.7/32.2/31.3/32.2 15.9/15/15.5/14.3/15.2 24.2/23.9/23.9/22.8/23.7 Annual Average 55.5/55.9/55.1/54.7/55.3 35.9/34.1/35.2/34.3/34.9 45.7/45/45.2/44.5/45.1 The proposed geography constitutes the relatively flat valley between the Adirondack Mountains to the west and Lake Champlain to the east. This valley land was once submerged when precursors to Lake Champlain were a larger lake and an inland sea during the last ice age. This Champlain Valley is differs from and is bounded by the north, south, west, and east in the following ways. Northern Boundary: The proposed region is bounded to the north by the border with Canada. In this next section, we establish that while temperature variations across the proposed region are minor, the growing season in the proposed region differs significantly from the growing seasons in the regions immediately to the west, south, and east of the proposed region. Southern Boundary: The flat region that defines the Champlain Valley extends to the southern terminus of Lake Champlain. The southern terminus of the Champlain Valley marks the northern boundary of the Hudson Valley, drained by the Hudson River, along what is known at the Champlain-Hudson Divide. The Hudson Valley region is distinct because it does not have the influence of Lake Champlain and instead acts as the drainage of the Taconic Mountains to its east. The Hudson Valley region is subjected to weather patterns that funnel up along the Mohawk Valley south of the Adirondack Mountains.