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News
New York region eyes AVA title
A northern corner of New York State that boasts just 15 acres of vineyard and cannot reliably cultivate vitis vinifera has submitted a request for AVA status.
Lake Champlain
The application to the US Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) seeks AVA recognition for an 82-mile long, 20-mile wide area to be known as “Champlain Valley of New York”.
The 500 square mile region, which is not covered by any other AVA designation, features six bonded wineries and 11 commercial vineyards, covering a total of 15.47 acres.
Despite this small scale, the submission presented by Colin Read, owner of North Star Vineyard, on behalf of the Lake Champlain Growers Association, outlines plans to expand plantings within the proposed region by 63 acres in the next few years.
The petition highlights Champlain Valley as being distinguished by its short growing season, which is not suitable for vitis vinifera but instead lends itself to hardier, disease resistant North American hybrids such as Frontenac, La Crescent and Marquette.
The region straddles Clinton and Essex Counties on New York State’s north-eastern border with Vermont, running north into the Canadian province of Quebec, although only the section of the valley that lies in the US can be put forward for approval by the TTB.
The TTB is now inviting comments on the proposals until 31 August before a decision is taken on whether Champlain Valley of New York should join the 230 other AVAs in the US.