New York's White Hybrids
I recently wrote about red wine made in New York State focusing on the hybrids planted there, to which the producer I mentioned—Lakewood Vineyards—rightly commented that I hadn’t mentioned white hybrids, which winemaker Chris Stamp feels produce a range of interesting wines. I hadn’t tried much New York white wine made from hybrids before; several weeks later I received 21 bottles of wine from twelve wineries. This must be as complete an overview of white hybrids as I’ll ever taste, with an astonishing number of varieties and styles of wines.
The range of hybrids also applies to states other than New York such as Missouri and Indiana, as well as Canada. A common theme is high acid, sugar, and relatively low alcohol. Here’s a summary of the hybrids and what I learnt about them.
NY81.0315.17 (aravelle)
Hybrids are often developed in universities, and have scientifically numbered names—hence NY81.0315.17 which was a result of experimental crossings at Cornell University. Like a lot of hybrids, it’s a crossing of vinifera with another hybrid, in this case Riesling and Cayuga White. Now that it’s been grown commercially, it’s been given the more memorable and packagable name of Aravelle. Finger Lakes producer Weis Vineyards make a varietal wine called “Heart of the Lake” (which the variety was unofficially referred to before its renaming). Like many of the hybrid wines I tried, it’s medium-dry at 25-30g/l residual sugar, which balances the naturally high acidity. It’s aromatic, fruity, grapey, and Muscat like ($22; ✪✪✪).
melody
This featured in a number of the wines. Its history is quite complicated, indicating that the development of hybrids is long and involved. It was created at Cornell in 1965 by crossing two other hybrids, Seyval Blanc and Geneva White 5, and was first commercially released in 1985. Its parentage means that there are four vine species in its DNA.
I tasted three wines made from Melody, and was fairly impressed. Buttonwood Grove in Finger Lakes make a Pét-Nat at 11% ABV, which is fun, fruity, and extremely drinkable, and just 5g/l of sugar ($19; ✪✪✪✪). Their non-sparkling Melody is much sweeter—a common theme among New York hybrid wines—but very fresh and aromatic, also at 11% ($16; ✪✪✪✪). Wagner, another Finger Lakes producer, make a wine from Melody, which is off-dry (12g/l) and lightly floral with alcohol of 11.7% ($12; ✪✪✪).
cayuga white
One of the more historic and widely-planted hybrids, and also part of many hybrid crossings (which is where an understanding of hybrids gets quite involved). On its own, the wines I tried weren’t that interesting with neutral aromas and high acid—a general issue with wine made from hybrids. At the same time, those characteristics can be a useful part of a blend.
Lakewood Vineyards make extremely good-value wines and I tasted two featuring Cayuga White. The single-varietal wine, Bubbly Candeo, is medium-dry at 22g/l and lightly sparkling with the pétillance coming from carbonation; it’s fruity and aromatic, the spritz giving it some lift. At just 10.8% ABV, it’s not dissimilar to prosecco ($14; ✪✪✪). The “Long Stem White “ is 65% Cayuga White and 35% Vidal Blanc, off-dry with high acid, and a pleasant, enjoyable wine at a great price ($10; ✪✪✪✪). The Cayuga White wines from Bully Hill Vineyards (who have quite a story to tell; $10; ✪✪✪) and Fox Run (called “Arctic Fox”; $12; ✪✪✪) both had some residual sugar with citrus aromas. (For some reason, both Wagner’s Melody and Fox Run’s “Arctic Fox” were in blue-coloured bottles, reminiscent of Blue Nun.)
traminette
This is a Gewürztraminer based hybrid, and smells and tastes like it. Acid, however, is much higher. The result is a slightly strange but not unpleasant combination. Whitecliff Vineyards, from Hudson River, was very Gewürz like ($20; ✪✪✪); Fox Run’s version from Finger Lakes is more vegetal, earthy, and sugary ($15; ✪✪✪). The variety also featured in “The Perfect Bubbly” by Mazza from Lake Erie (who make an astonishingly broad range of wines), a carbonated sparkling wine that’s a blend of Traminette, Vidal Blanc, Cayuga White, and Riesling with 16g/l sugar ($16; ✪✪✪). The fruity aromatics make it a useful blending grape.
vignoles (aka ravat 51)
This is a hybrid developed in France rather than North America. The French prohibited hybrids for the production of quality wine in the 1950s, but several hybrids that remain important were developed there. The wines are often sweet, but the two examples I tasted showed that Vignoles can be made in a range of styles.
I tried two wines from Milea Estate, based in Hudson River, which were extremely impressive, one made from Vignoles and the other from Vidal Blanc (see below). The “Hudson Heritage” Vignoles was Sylvaner like in its earthy, vegetal character, and a much drier style than most of the other wines ($30; ✪✪✪✪✪). Some of the other Vignoles wines I tasted were a little too pineapple-like in their aromas: Bully Hill even have a drawing of a pineapple on the label.
vidal blanc
As a variety, Vidal Blanc is better known across the border in Canada where it’s used for ice wine. Like many other hybrids, it copes with the cold winters and springs: it’s grown in Sweden. It was developed in France in the 1930s, and is a crossing of Ugni Blanc and another hybrid called Rayon d’Or. The Milea Estate “Hudson Heritage” Vidal was excellent; dry, high acid, serious, and intense (both Milea wines had the highest levels of alcohol at 12.5%). ($30; ✪✪✪✪). Wagner make an ice wine in the Canadian tradition, with sugar of 165g/l, sweet, golden, and rich but lacking a bit of finesse ($30 for 375ml; ✪✪✪).
valvin muscat/moscato
I tasted two wines from this hybrid, and was initially confused. The sparkling wine from Stony Lonesome was labelled Moscato; the wine from Lakewood Vineyards as Muscat: how are these hybrid wines? But further research found that they are made from a hybrid called Valvin Muscat, which has quite a heritage as it’s a crossing of Muscat Ottonel and a hybrid called Muscat du Moulin which in turn is a crossing of several other hybrids.
But in essence the wines tasted exactly what one would expect from Muscat. The Lakewood Vineyards wines has a light spritz, is medium sweet at 11% ABV, and is fruity and aromatic ($12; ✪✪✪). The Stony Lonesome is carbonated and fizzy, and could easily be mistaken for Asti ($16; ✪✪✪✪). If one were to generalise about all these hybrids, Muscat and Gewürztraminer would be the obvious comparions although with higher acid.
The tasting demonstrated that good wine can be made from hybrids—but great wine is unlikely. Many of these producers also make vinifera wines, but are as just as proud of the wines they make from the hybrids. As with any tasting of multiple wines from one region, quality varied but the wines were all good at the very least. New York, other states, and Canada have cold climates: it’s not always necessary to plant hybrids but they clearly have a practical purpose which producers take advantage of to appeal to consumers who like a little bit of sugar in their wines. With consistent quality and history, both cultural and biological, these wines should not be underestimated.