Cabernet Franc Is Doing What Riesling Just Couldn’t
Why Cabernet Franc Will (Finally) Give New York Wine the World-Class Status It Deserves
If California’s signature grape is Cabernet Sauvignon, and Oregon’s is Pinot Noir, than New York’s is …. Cabernet Franc.
For decades, wine nerds *guilty as charged* believed that the grape that would earn New York’s its overdue due was Riesling. But. (Insert operatic, but completely factual tome here).
TL; DR: Riesling is a wine nerd’s wine. Normies are freaked out and confused by this grape and often, the wine it produces. Thanks to the curse of the Blue Nun and other similar sins against the palate, many still believe (erroneously! So erroneously!) that it produces a sweet, insipid wine full stop story over. While wine nerds continue the world over to scream into their pillows about this grave injustice, it’s time for New York vintners to move on.
Readers, the train vintners are boarding is *toot toot* powered by Cabernet Franc.
Hop On the Cab Franc Train Now
…. To maximize bragging rights later. This grape is on the cusp of worldwide fame.
“New York Cabernet Franc is in a very exciting place right now,” says renowned sommelier and wine buyer Kimberly Prokoshyn. Currently, she leads wine buying at Dunn & Son’s Wine and collaborates with The Pheasant and Baleine on grower-focused selections. She spoke at a masterclass on Cabernet Franc this week at Cab Franc Forward (CFF), held on Tuesday, February 3 in Manhattan. She shared the stage with one of the world’s most influential wine tastemakers: Kevin Zraly, Master Sommelier and beverage director for the NoHo Hospitality Group Josh Nadel, and VinePair’s tasting director Keith Beavers.
“This is the only place in the United States focusing on producing Cabernet Franc,” Prokoshyn says. “Across the state, the Cabernet Franc that is being produced is lifted, and fresh. It is food friendly, lighter in alcohol, and the value you get for money is incredible.”
While plenty of other grapes grow and thrive in the Empire State (134 to be exact), Cabernet Franc is impossible to ignore. From the Finger Lakes to Long Island, the Hudson Valley (and beyond), this noble grape is flourishing. There 638 acres of Cabernet Franc under vine in New York State, and it is the most-grown red vitis vinifera in the state. This week, tasting the fermented fruit at CFF, and seeing the palpable passion of both the vintners and members of the media highlighted and underlined the hypotheses Cabernet Franc is, indeed, the grape that will come to define New York’s viticultural future.
The New York-based collective is focused on showcasing the vintners dedicated to producing world-class Cab Franc here, but more than that, CFF is focused on drawing attention to the grape’s elegance, freshness, and complexity the different terroirs are capable of teasing out in different growing across the state.
Balancing, or Canceling the Dreaded Bell Pepper
To be fair for those dubious about New York’s ability to produce Cab Franc that doesn’t taste more like green bell peppers than red cherries, climate change has made for warmer, longer growing seasons that deliver consistently ripe (bye bye green veggies, hello red fruit), nuanced wines, while still delivering the high acid that makes New York Cabernet Franc so racy and exciting.
