Wine 101 - Catawba

“And the song of the Wine/This greeting of mine/The wines and the birds shall deliver/To the Queen of the West/In her garlands dressed/On the banks of the Beautiful River.” This Ode to Catawba Wine was written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow nearly 150 years ago, when Catawba wine was one of the most popular wines in the United States. The catalyst for Catawba’s rise was Nicholas Longworth who pioneered its development in Ohio and whose sparkling Catawba, America's first champagne, was the object of Longfellow’s poem. The Catawba grape flourished along the Ohio River and in the hills surrounding the city of Cincinnati. By the mid 1800’s, Ohio was producing twice as much wine as California and supplied 1/3 of the U.S. wine market. However, disease and neglect soon after the Civil War lead to the decline in Ohio winemaking and Catawba’s popularity.

Catawba is a hybrid of labrusca and other native species and is thought to have originated by a chance seedling in North Carolina. The grape is named after the Catawba River located in the state’s Piedmont region. It is generally used to create sweet wines and its high acid content is favorable to sparkling wine production. Catawba is also known for its “foxy” aroma - a unique aroma/flavor profile variously described as wild and musky.

In present day Ohio, Catawba is no longer produced in large quantities near its original home near Cincinnati, but is produced on a regular basis by the Ohio wineries located near Lake Erie. Klingshirn Winery, Heineman Winery, Dankora Winery, and Old Firehouse Winery are among these wineries which create several versions of wine from this grape.

In New York State, Catawba is very popular and in 2005 three Catawba wines won Governor’s Cup medals. One New York winery, Barrington Cellars has been growing Catawba for over 50 years and states that the American public has a strong desire for the sweet wines made from this grape.

The most famous winery to produce wine from Catawba is New York’s, Brotherhood America's Oldest Winery. As the name suggests, this is the oldest continually operating winery in the United States. The winery was founded in 1839, survived Prohibition by selling sacramental wine, and was probably the first winery to produce Catawba wines commercially. Cesar Baeza, the winery’s current wine master, possesses an extensive wine background, having studied and worked in such diverse areas as his native Chile, Spain, Germany, Romania, and Bulgaria. From this experience, he recognizes and appreciates that each region should produce wines that will demonstrate these regional strengths. Fortunately for American wine drinkers he has settled in New York to produce wine from Native American varieties. In fact, he has concluded that Catawba grapes are an ideal grape for making New York sparkling wine. The high malic acid in the Catawba grape and its low sugar content make it perfect for the "cuvee" for champagne. Historically, Brotherhood's sparkling wine has been internationally famous ever since the Catawba-based Brotherhood Champagne won a Gold medal at the 1900 Paris Exposition. Europeans still consider New York to be one of the best regions to produce "Methode Champenoise" (fermented in this bottle) sparkling wine.

When Mr. Baeza became the winery’s wine master in 1987, he decided to enhance Catawba’s reputation and engineer a premium wine from the grape so he reformulated their "Harvest Blush Catawba" to make it less sweet. In 1998, he entered the reformulated wine in the New York Wine & Food Classic, where it won a Gold medal. Since then, the Harvest Blush Catawba has received recognition in every competition it has entered. Unfortunately, Mr. Baeza is reluctant to enter this wine in more competitions since many wine writers and opinion makers look down upon this grape. Visitors to the Brotherhood winery have a different opinion as they purchase the entire stock of Catawba wine each year it is offered. The wine has a pleasant, tangy apple-like taste and the “foxy” characteristics, usually associated with labrusca grapes, have been minimized. Mr. Baeza strongly recommends serving Harvest Blush Catawba at Thanksgiving as the wine compliments the entire package: turkey, cranberry sauce and the stuffing. He continues, “In fact, if they drank wine at the Thanksgiving Dinner with the Pilgrims it was probably made from the Catawba grape so it should truly be called "The Thanksgiving Wine" - the "Native American Wine". “

Catawba has also found a home in other states such as Pennsylvania, where at least 20 wineries bottle this grape as well as in Illinois, Indiana, and Missouri. Eventually more wineries will be added to this list as Midwestern and Northeastern wines become more familiar to the American public.

Wine101.TV

Silver Springs Winery, located in Seneca Lake New York, has introduced an interesting concept for wineries - online tutorials at Wine101.TV. The tutorials consist of discussions on wine tasting and grape varietals. The first few episodes pertained to the labrusca varietals Catawba, Cayuga, and Delaware. The latest episode discusses Cabernet Sauvigon. The proprietors of Silver Springs Winery are Sari and John Zuccarino, whose Italian heritage includes 700 years of winemaking. The winery produces several types of vinifera and labrusca wines under the Don Giovanni and Silver Springs labels and some were recently recognized by Catherine Fallis (the world's fifth female Master Sommelier) in her latest book, Great Boutique Wines You Can Buy Online.

Wine 101 - Delaware

In 1812, Joseph Bonaparte, the former King of Spain and brother of Napoleon, fled political chaos in his home country and settled in Bordentown, New Jersey. There he built an estate called Bonaparte Garden. At the time, New Jersey wines were internationally renowned for their quality and London's Royal Society of the Arts had recognized two New Jersey vintners for their success in producing the first bottles of quality wine derived from colonial agriculture. Mr. Bonaparte planted vines on the fertile soil of his estate and legends suggest that vines from this estate led a grape revolution.

In 1837, Benjamin Heath, a blacksmith and wheelwright, moved to Concord Township from Frenchtown, New Jersey. He carried with him a grape that allegedly came from the Bonaparte Garden. Mr. Heath cultivated the grape for a number of years on his farm in Concord Township, Delaware County. Compared to other native varieties, this grape had a delicate fruity aroma and only a slight foxiness in the taste. He recognized the excellent qualities of the grape and shared cuttings with neighbors and friends. One of these neighbors, Abram Thomson, editor of the Delaware Gazette, was so impressed with the characteristics of the grape that, in 1855, he sent a specimen to the Massachusetts Horticultural Society for their study. The Society was thrilled with this new grape and called it the “Grape from Delaware, Ohio”.

The American Horticultural Society also recognized this grape and demand increased dramatically due to the world-wide marketing of its qualities. Delaware grapevines were sold in enormous quantities at prices ranging from $1 to $5 per plant - an exorbitant amount at a time when the average unskilled laborer made only about $1 per 12 hour workday, making the cost of the grapevines by today’s money from $72.00 to $360.00 each. This instigated a “grape fever”, similar to the California Gold Rush, where speculators attempted to grow and cultivate the grape in order to reap the enormous profits. As expected, most failed, since these entrepreneurs did not possess the necessary horticultural skills. Over time, demand for the vine declined and eventually leveled out after Prohibition.

Today, the Delaware Grape is grown throughout the Northeastern US, especially New York, and in Ohio, along Lake Erie. It is widely used in some premium champagne blends and in a few, used to produce a dessert wine and to make a light fruity semi-dry drinking wine.

One New York winery, Vetter Vineyards, is located along Lake Erie and vinifies the Delaware grape into a blush wine with apple, cherry and mild grape flavors. The winery’s owner, Mark Lancaster, has been making wine with this grape for almost 20 years and believes that it is a great regional grape. In fact it makes some of the most popular wines in Lake Erie region. He adds that entering the grape into competition would not increase sales since many people in the Lake Erie region are already familiar with the product or discover its great qualities after tasting it. Unfortunately, Mr. Lancaster predicts that cultivation of the grape will slowly decline since many vineyards are replacing it with Riesling in order to increase the yields of their vineyards.

This trend has not stopped a few wineries from producing excellent wine from the Delaware grape. New Jersey's Alba Vineyards produces an award winning dessert wine, Delaware Dolce, from grapes grown not far from Frenchtown. In Minnesota, Saint Croix Vineyards produces a drier wine that has won medals at the International Eastern Wine Competition and the Indiana State Fair. In sum, there are about 30 wineries making Delaware wine, primarily in Pennsyvania, New York, and Ohio. Hopefully one is near you.

Wine 101 - Rkatsiteli

Many people are surprised to learn that the third most planted grape in terms of hectare grown is the ancient vinifera, Rkatsiteli. Thought to have originated in the Caucasus Mountains bordering Armenia and Turkey, this grape is popular in the former USSR countries of Georgia, Azerbaijan, Moldavia, Ukraine as well as Bulgaria and Rumania. Wine historians believe that this varietal was growing in Georgia over 5,000 years ago and Georgia’s most famous wine is Tsinandali, a blend of Rkatsiteli and Mtsvane grapes. One manufacturer, Vaziani, has been producing this wine since 1886. You can learn more about Georgian Rkatsiteli wine at the Georgian Wine House. In Russia, the total acreage of the varietal declined during Gorbachev’s reign, but is starting to rebound. This grape is also popular in China, where it is called Baiyu.

Rkatsiteli is high in acidity with pleasant floral and spicy characteristics, similar to a Gewurztraminer or Johannisberg Riesling. It can be vinified into different type of wines: from dry to very sweet, to sparkling wines, and even to Sherry-like wines.

This grape is starting to catch hold in the United States, where a handful of wineries are producing Rkatsiteli wine. The first American winery to grow and cultivate Rkatsiteli was Dr. Konstantin Frank’s Vinifera Wine Cellars in Hammondsport, New York. The winery’s founder, Dr. Konstantin Frank, earned a PhD degree in viticulture at the University of Odessa in the Ukraine. After immigrating to the United States and settling in New York's Finger Lakes region, Dr. Frank's fundamental goal was to introduce the world's best Vitis Vinifera varieties to this region. Rkatsiteli was at the top of this list based on his experience producing the varietal in his native Ukraine. The winery is now run by his Dr. Frank’s son, Willy and grandson Frederick. According to Frederick Frank, Dr. Frank's Rkatsiteli has become somewhat of a cult wine – with a loyal group of wine consumers who love its unique qualities. Their version starts out tasting something like a Riesling, but lingers longer on the palate, and has spiciness reminiscent of, but different from, Gewürztraminer, evoking herbs, strawberries, and fresh ground pepper. Dr. Frank’s Rkatsiteli also receives numerous awards each year. In 2005, the 2004 vintage won double gold at the Great Lakes Wine Competition and gold at the New York Wine & Food Classic and International Eastern Wine Competition. While growing Rkatsiteli is very labor intensive and must be planted on east facing slopes, the winery believes that the final product and growing consumer demand justifies the work involved.

In New Jersey, Tomasello Winery has been growing Rkatsiteli since the early 90's, producing a vintage Rkatsiteli and a Sparkling Rkatsiteli. According to Jack Tomasello, it is one of his favorite wine grapes to grow and one of his favorite grapes to talk about. The grape grows well in New Jersey, remains healthy during the winter, and displays characteristics of a Riesling with pronounced hints of pear. Tomasello Winery educates their customers about this unique grape and has found that unique wines sell in New York and New Jersey. Their distributors have also found a demand for the product in local fine wine shops. Mr. Tomasello also foresees more interest on the West Coast. Recently a California nursery contacted him to request bud wood to graft some vines for next year.

Our first taste of Rkatsiteli occurred while visiting Horton Vineyards. This wine displayed characteristics much like a good dry Riesling: fruity aromas, citrus flavors and a long, crisp finish. We were immediately hooked and have always kept a bottle in our cellar. Located in Gordonsville, Virginia, Horton Vineyards started growing Rkatsiteli because it is a late bud breaking white grape and is extremely winter hardy. They cultivate the grape in the 5 acres directly in front of their winery. Marketed as R-Kats (so that consumers can pronounce its name) this wine is only sold where the buyer can taste the product: at the winery or festivals. In these environments, Horton has found that buyers are more than willing to experiment with new wines and it sells nicely. Eventually, as demand increases, they hope to sell the product in local wine shops.

Wine consumers in many countries are enjoying this ancient wine on a daily basis and it is very unfortunate that it is virtually unknown in the United States. As more wineries such as Dr. Frank’s Vinifera Wine Cellars, Tomasello Winery, and Horton Vineyards start to experiment with unique grapes, we hope this situation will change and that one day, Rkatsiteli will be a household name within the American wine community. To learn more about Rkatsiteli and other grape varietals, visit our Wine 101 section at Wine Compass.

Wine 101 - Norton

In 1873, the international wine community was stunned when a Norton wine was declared the “Best Red of All Nations” at an International competition in Vienna, Austria. At the time many European vineyards were just recovering from Phylloxera, and because of Norton’s relative immunity to disease and pests, this grape was designated as a possible savior to their ravaged vineyards. However, the vine’s intolerance to European soils lead to its quick fall from popularity. Today, Norton thrives in humid southern states, such as Virginia, Missouri as well as Arkansas, where it is referred to as the "Cabernet of the Ozarks".

Norton or Vitis Aestivalis is a native North American grape officially discovered in 1823 by Dr. Daniel Norborne Norton (1794-1842), a physician from Richmond. Dr. Norton cultivated and nurtured this new species in a small plot of land known as Magnolia Farm, just northwest of the city of Richmond, along with 26 other varieties. Modestly named after himself, Norton was not created intentionally, but resulted as a chance of nature through open pollination, possibly between Pinot Meunier and a now extinct hybrid known as Bland.

Shortly after his discovery, Norton was quickly adopted by many growers as a hearty varietal able to yield quality fruit for wine making. Based on sale documents, Norton is one of the oldest native grape varieties commercially used to make wine in North America. In fact, it was sold and used to make wines since 1830 as an inexpensive alternative to importing well-known European vinifera grapes, vines, and wines.

Norton exhibits hints of tart plums, sour cherries, or elderberries and has a spicy nose similar to Syrah. It is stronger in the front and mid-palette and has a velvety finish somewhere between a Merlot and Pinot Noir. Norton is often blended with other grapes like Tannat, Merlot, Syrah, and Petit Verdot to provide a more balanced wine. These blends are still referred to as “Norton” since, by law, as long at 75% of the wine is made from a single grape, you can still label it with the varietal name.

The largest producer of Norton in its home state of Virginia, as well as the Eastern U.S., is Chrysalis Vineyards. The vineyard’s owner, Jennifer McCloud, has made growing quality Norton grapes a personal crusade. Two of their better releases are 2002 Norton - Estate Bottled and 2002 Norton - Locksley Reserve. These wines were awarded an 89 and 88 rating respectively by the Virginia Wine Guide. Another successful Norton producer in Virginia is Horton Vineyards. Horton was the first Virginian winery to produce Norton after prohibition and their last release, 2002 Norton, was awarded a rating of 89 by the Virginia Wine Guide.

Although Norton, was "discovered" in Virginia, it is more popular in the American Midwest, where the grape is sometimes known as Cynthiana. Missouri has a proud wine producing history and was the first federally-approved American viticulture. In the late 19th century, the state was the second largest wine producing state in the United States. Norton has gained wide customer acceptance in Missouri and in 2004-2005, Norton wines won the Governor's Cup for the Best Missouri Wine: Augusta Winery’s 2002 Estate Bottled Norton in 2004 and Mount Pleasant Winery’s 2003 Norton in 2005. Mark Baehmann ofChrysalis Vineyards attributed Norton’s success in Missouri to its ability to produce quality wine while remaining disease resistant and hardy through winter. Another celebrated Missouri Norton is produced by Stone Hill Winery. Park Lukacs designated this wine as one of America's 40 greatest wines. In neighboring Kansas, Holy-Field Vineyard & Winery's Cynthiana won the 2004 Jefferson's Cup as the best wine made in the Midwest. And two of our favorites are produced nearby by Davenport Winery and Kugler's Vineyard.

Norton appears to be gaining popularity elsewhere in the United States. In New Jersey, Valenzano Winery’s Cynthiana won their 2005 Governor's Cup. Approximately 70 wineries in Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Indiania, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsyvania, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia are making Norton or Cynthiana wine. These numbers should expand as more consumers discover Norton wine. To view some of these wineries visit our Wine 101 section at Wine Compass.

Resources: “Red, White, and Norton” by Tolga Baki of Hillsborough Vineyards (http://www.hillsboroughwine.com) and the Virginia Wine Guide (http://www.virginiawineguide.com).