The Grapes of New York State

From Juice to Fine Wine

When most people think of New York, they picture the skyline of Manhattan or the glow of Times Square. But beyond the city lies a landscape of rolling farmland, tranquil lakes, and sloping vineyards that have quietly shaped one of America’s most diverse wine regions.

A State of Many Grapes

More than fifty different grape varieties are planted across New York State, with about a dozen forming the backbone of commercial wine production. Among the classic vinifera grapes, Chardonnay, Riesling, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot lead the way. Yet New York’s vineyards are also home to an array of other grapes that tell a story of experimentation and adaptation.

The native Concord grape best known for its deep purple hue and nostalgic aroma remains the most widely grown variety in the state, though most of it ends up not in wine bottles but in juice and jelly jars. Catawba leads among American hybrid crosses, while French-American hybrids such as Seyval Blanc, Vidal Blanc, Vignoles, and Cayuga thrive in cooler climates where European vines struggle.

The Grapes of (Welch’s) Wrath

Nearly half of New York’s grape harvest becomes juice rather than wine, making the state the largest producer of grape juice in the nation. The story begins in 1869, when Dr. Thomas Welch, an ardent Prohibitionist, developed a method to pasteurize unfermented grape juice creating the now-famous Welch’s Concord Grape Juice.

These Concord grapes flourish along the shores of Lake Erie, a vast growing region shared with Ohio and Pennsylvania. Were it not for Dr. Welch’s crusade for temperance, this region might have evolved into a powerhouse for wine production instead of juice. Today, roughly 95 percent of the grapes grown in the Lake Erie area are still Concords destined for juice, jam, and jelly rather than the cellar.

The Wines of New York

While the Lake Erie vineyards serve the juice industry, the real excitement in New York’s wine scene comes from the Finger Lakes, Hudson Valley, and Long Island. Here, winemakers craft elegant expressions of Chardonnay, Riesling, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon wines that reflect both the cool climate and the pioneering spirit of the state’s vintners.

Among the more distinctive bottles is Rkatsiteli, a light and floral white grape originally from Georgia (the country, not the state). It was introduced to New York in the 1950s by the late Dr. Konstantin Frank, whose work in cold-climate viticulture helped establish the Finger Lakes as a serious wine region.

Still, the star of the show remains Chardonnay. Unlike its rich, buttery California cousins, New York’s versions are leaner, crisper, and bursting with freshness flavors of just-picked apples, juicy lemons, and mandarin oranges that pair beautifully with the state’s abundant seafood, particularly from Long Island’s coast.

And then there are the Rieslings, perhaps the most ethereal produced anywhere in the United States. These wines, delicate and precise, embody what German winemakers call Klarheit clarity and transparency. To dismiss them as too light would be a mistake; as with music, wine’s beauty often lies not in volume, but in balance.