A Vintner’s Response
To the Editor:
Last month, Chronogram gave significant coverage to Hudson Valley winemaking in its Food & Drink section [“Full Bottle in Front of Me,” 6/09]. As an owner of one of the Valley’s wineries, a regular Chronogram reader, and a serious fan of its philosophy of regional focus and environmental sustainability, I looked forward to reading it. What I found was a patronizing and self-important piece that did a disservice to local wineries and Chronogram readers alike by casually dismissing an entire industry as producers of “picnic wine” based on one man (and his buddy’s) wine taste.
If there is one absolute I have learned in 10 years of pouring wine, it is that taste is intensely personal. No less an expert than Steven Kolpan, an award-winning author and professor of wine studies at the Culinary Institute, points out in a current article in the Valley Table: “When it comes to judging a great wine, there is only one arbiter of that greatness. It’s not Robert Parker, it’s not the Wine Spectator, it’s not the media, it’s not the ‘experts.’ It is you.” And for that reason, more than any other, anyone in the Valley with even a passing interest in wine—let alone a taste for what is regional or local—should dismiss the willingness of Chronogram’s writer to write us off, and instead come form their own opinion of what’s being done here.
It is worth noting that Kolpan’s article, “Tasting Great Wines: A New (York) Approach,” explores the specific qualities that make for truly great wine. “The classic wines of the world have long been identified with Europe,” writes Kolpan, but that “recently I’ve been tasting some extraordinary wines from New York, and I have found some great wines that have earned a place at the table with other great wines of the world.” And no less than two out of the four “great” New York wines he chose to describe came from our own Hudson Valley vineyards.
So here are a few thoughts about what Chronogram readers really need to know about the Hudson Valley wine industry, as reported by someone who has worked painstakingly to build a 26-acre, 3,000-case-a-year winery from an empty field over the last 15 or 20 years.
This is a unique region that combines incredible history and long traditions with vibrant growth. Just a few years ago we had less than 20 wineries. We now have close to 40—many with vineyards of their own.
We are adventurous and innovative, trying our hands at delicious new hybrids like Traminette—developed in New York, for New York—and classic, lesser-known Old World varieties like Gamay Noir and Tokai Friulano, in the search for grapes that will offer a true reflection of the region.
This is an exciting time here, with established vineyards growing stronger, and new people bringing in new ideas, energy, and resources
An increased investment of expertise and support from the research scientists at Cornell is bringing a solid base in enology and viticulture to help us grow. While Chronogram’s writer implied “technical acumen” could “inhibit winemaking,” in fact wine will always require the blend of craft, art, and science that is very much present here in the Valley.
Where many of the pioneering vineyards of Long Island have been bought out by big corporations, here visitors will still meet the owners and winemakers whose passion and energy are driving the business, making unique wines on an intimate—not an industrial—scale.
And where Chronogram’s writer admiringly noted that “a wine from Long Island recently broke the $100-per-bottle price mark,” visitors here will find wines priced to put on the table every night.
The bottom line is to do yourself a favor by coming out to form a first-hand opinion. It’s your backyard; see what’s going on. Keep watching, keep tasting, and enjoy the ride as we build recognition for Hudson Valley wines.
Spin Cyclists
To the Editor:
I wanted to write to thank you for your magazine generally, which I greatly enjoy. I also wanted to specifically comment on your recent “Spinning Menace” column [5/09]. It made me laugh out loud. I have been there—the complete lack of support you felt from anyone—the authorities, other cyclists—after your recent run-in while cycling to work. That Deptartment of Health study concluding the problem rests squarely on the shoulders of “sauced-up cyclists” was fall-down hilarious. But then I realized it probably isn’t that funny, and I should write to tell you not to take it all so personally, as you may be prone to do while nursing your injuries, and to encourage you to continue bike commuting.
What happened to you happens to lots of cyclists when they start to cross that border from casual into serious—you rammed straight into not just a car but also the politics of cycling as an adult in the US of A. It’s not a bike-friendly place! But soldier on. It’s worth it, as I think you know. The critical e-mails you got from cyclists reflects, I think, a curious kind of self-hatred that cyclists are subject to in this country. It says something like, “In order to be accepted we have to be ultra-, super-duper righteous.” The belligerence that cyclists are subject to from the motoring majority is, unfortunately, transmitted within the cycling community as well. Don’t let it get to you. In time, we will be the majority. There are miles and miles of new bike paths in New York. They closed Broadway in Midtown Manhattan to cars! It is happening, my friend. Just be patient. I would encourage you to read a great book on the subject, Effective Cycling by John Forester.
This man will explain in clear, nonbelligerent terms why it really does make sense for you to “join the line of cars and claim [your] rightful place in the flow of traffic.” Never mind the damage you are allegedly doing to “the cycling cause” by “reinforcing the negative stereotype of the urban pedal-pusher as an anarchic force bent on subverting the auto-dominant paradigm.” These are the confused, the self-hating—the blacks who call each other nigger, if you will. I applaud your efforts and I hope you will recover from this incident and be back on your bike. But please, for your own safety, wear your helmet.
To the Editor:
Thanks for the May editorial [“The Spinning Menace”]. I’ve been on the road on bikes with cars and in cars sharing the road with bikes for about 25 years. Yes, there is a different point of view, depending on where you are sitting. As a cyclist, one has to have very focused attention all the time for an hour or two peddling. It’s a lot of exposure in a high-to-medium-risk setting. Potholes, glass, sand, gravel, construction, animal crossings, narrow shoulders, and other unpredictable road conditions. There is weather: Really hot or cold is miserable, wind creates control issues, rain creates slick conditions, early morning and evening commutes pose visual challenges.
Then there is harassment. For some reason, some drivers are just plain ticked off at cyclists. Over the years, I have had cans thrown at me from cars, soda sprayed, been shot at with a BB gun, had someone try to grab me from their car, had curses lobbed at me, parked car doors open on the traffic side, had a pickup truck try to edge me off the road, and an all-terrain vehicle try to bully me off the rail trail. I have concluded it must be jealousy.
Most cyclists are aware that they have no armor around them like a car, so they know they have to be careful. A tire struck in a street drain slot could equal a broken collarbone. Safety is a high priority with all the bicycle owners I know. Regular maintenance, tune-ups, upgrades, and tire and brake checks every time you go out is critical. A breakdown, especially [one] in the middle of nowhere, is a great inconvenience since there’s no automobile club to call. The law and common sense have cyclists wearing helmets, ringing bells, and riding with the traffic while obeying the same respectful standard road rules. Given all that, it’s still fun.
According to the study cited regarding drunk biking, I would bet that the drunk drivers with DWIs just turn into drunk cyclists. So isn’t the problem alcoholism?
As a driver I’ve become much more alert when I see a lone rider or pack. No doubt cyclists who ride three abreast while chatting or riding in the middle on what they perceive as a country road, or night riders without lights wearing the death shroud of dark, nonreflective cotton, need to Google the American Wheelman Association for a refresher in safety tips and common sense.
People were meant to be outside in the beautiful weather, enjoying life at least part of the time. Choose your own reason. As the bumper sticker says: Share the Road.
Breast of Intentions
To the Editor:
Reader Tina Porte finds certain pictures in certain advertising in your magazine offensive and wants you to stop running these ads. [Letters, 6/09] Here we go again!
Censorship, even with the “best of intentions” (and it all always purports to have the best of intentions), is still censorship! If you don’t like the ad or the artwork or the poetry or the editorial, then don’t buy the product, don’t look at the picture, and don’t read the copy—but don’t ever tell others what they can and can’t look at or think about. That’s not political correctness, it’s the core principal of totalitarianism.
This article appears in July 2009.
