June/July 2021 Food&Wine BCWJ ~ Page 35

On the Wine Trail

mind an experience and food pairing opportunity that together continue this unique fl avor experience. Naturally the vintner’s art of blending, use of oak, yeast culture, and other vinifi cation and maturation techniques will add to and enhance this fl avor exploration of the sense of place. faces in phylloxera, lantern fl y, other viticultural areas of deer, birds, rabbits, rain, hail, note. This is happening in the In past articles, I have written frost, and more. It isn’t always Northeastern U.S. and all over about such places. The Mother Nature’s involvement the nation. From California’s Mendocino Ridges AVA, for though, since sometimes the newest Alisos Canyon AVA example, called Islands in the wrong clone, the wrong root which I wrote about in last Sky, is the only non-contiguous stock, the wrong planting year’s October issue to Oregon’s AVA in the U.S. since these direction, and other grower Willamette Valley, Washington’s seven peaks rise above the decisions will contribute to losing Red Mountain, Idaho’s Snake By George Parkinson cloud bank and offer similar a crop, the need for replanting, or River Valley, The Escondido if not identical measurements winery failure. Valley in Texas, Colorado’s West mentioned above, yet they are Elks AVA, and the Ohio River separated by the valleys below. These issues aside, the strength Valley AVA which covers three The AVA - It is one of these many growing of growing inside an AVA can states and more, the wines from American Viticultural Area areas that make this study provide a grower with the domestic U.S. producers are for many wine afi cionados advantage of knowing what some of the fi nest now being An American Viticultural Area interesting if not alluring. and where to grow and how to produced in this country and as defi ned by the U.S. TTB grow it as well. Recently there the world. (Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and According to the TTB, there are was an article on winebusiness. Trade Bureau) is a “delimited presently 258 such areas across com covering a virtual tasting The next time you venture into grape-growing region with the country, with more being of the Eastern European grape a wine shop to buy wine, ask specifi c geographic or climatic considered. In the Delaware Blaufrankisch grown and for AVA-specifi c wines and you features that distinguish it from Valley, we are currently blessed produced in New Jersey. The will fi nd a quality above the surrounding regions and affect with fi ve AVAs—the Lehigh Valley article written by Linda Jones others. To learn more about how grapes are grown.” AVA, the Central Delaware Valley McKee outlined the tasting American Viticultural Areas, AVA, the Warren Hills AVA, the chaired by the Garden State visit http://appellationamerica. This defi nition encompasses a Cape May Peninsula AVA, and Wine Growers Association and com and locally visit http:// number of categories including the Outer Coastal Plain AVA focused on four wineries that pennsylvaniawine.com or http:// soil type, annual and seasonal which is presently the largest produced wine made from newjerseywines.com rainfall, water table, length AVA in the country. These areas this grape grown in two of the of growing season, degree contain dozens of grape growers previously mentioned AVAs. days, altitude, longitude, and and wine producers. Some are The tasting made it clear to me latitude. It is the very defi nition well known both locally and that the strength of the science of the concept of Terroir, the nationally such as Karamoor of grape growing and important French term that can be simply Estate, Unionville Vineyards, information on AVA consistencies translated to the fl avor of the Beneduce Vineyards, Galen are allowing for the production of land. Vintners who are able to Glen Winery, and Penns Woods fi ner wines in the region. list a specifi c AVA on their label Winery, to name a few. will capture a higher price for We are living in a time now where the fruit or fi nished wine much If you read this column, you science can teach the grower the same as saying the grapes know I will often focus on some how to produce the best fruit to are estate grown. It gives the of these single- estate producers produce world-class wines and be consumer a site or, “there-there”, who grow the fruit and make the included in the conversation with that will pinpoint the place the wine as opposed to buying the vineyard is located. fi nished juice or purchasing fruit from other regions and states. George Parkinson is a member of the Court of Master The designation does more The diffi culty in production and Sommeliers Americas and a lifelong hospitality industry though since certain unique the wonderment as well come professional since 1978. He is the Director of Operations for fl avor spectrums become from these grape growers who Stony Run Vineyards & Winery located within the Lehigh attractive to a wine consumer. battle all the roadblocks that Valley AVA and has been writing about wine since 2007. He These unique fl avors, aromatics Mother Nature places in front of resides in Hilltown, Bucks County with his wife and family. and even natural color tones the them. It is said that fi ne wine can be expected before opening is produced in the vineyard. This He may be contacted at: [email protected]. the bottle and set up in the belief speaks to the struggle one