New York State: A look at the ‘unpredictable’ 2023 vintage

Across the 14,164 hectares under vine in the 11 American Viticultural Areas that make up the state of New York, there was one definitive trend in 2023: unpredictability.

Shannon Brock of Silver Thread Winery in the Finger Lakes called the growing season ‘a wild ride with a soft landing.’ She ‘biointensively’ farms a 4.05ha property nestled into the eastern hills of Seneca Lake with her husband (and winemaker), Paul.

She notes with irony that the wines from 2023 seeming ‘typical’ given the growing season was anything but.

‘I wish all wine drinkers thought more about the fact that artisanal wine is an agricultural product and a reflection of nature,’ says Brock. The gap between customer understanding and producer reality broadens as the idea of ‘typical’ continues to dissipate.

Scroll down for the 25 top-scoring New York wines of the 2023 vintage

Climate change and a new ‘normal’

2019 might be considered the closest vintage to typical in hindsight, producing fresh wines with strong acidity. 2020 has been described as a dream: its warm days, cool nights and drought-like conditions offer pristine fruit and some of the state’s most powerfully beautiful wines.

Record-breaking rains and humidity brought on 2021’s challenging farming conditions. Many hoped 2022 would bring some relief with more favourable weather and generally clean fruit. However, winter damage led to a smaller crop than normal and a larger impact on producer livelihoods.

By 2023, the stakes were high. Financial challenges from the previous vintages paired with an early bud-break (nearly two weeks in some locations) and beautifully warm spring days brought high expectations.

‘The weather was an outlier, but the fruit quality was not,’ notes Brock. The season offered tumultuous weather conditions, with one extreme weather event after another tumbling through state lines.

The result is white wines that are bright and refreshing, with Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Gris producing standout glasses. Fruit-forward reds do best with a chill, and Bordeaux-style blends show promise for ageing. Across the board, higher acidity allows for easy pairing with foods.

Though unpredictability may be a hallmark of farming, it is also where the wine industry shines.

New York 2023: MJD’s top scoring wines of the vintage:

Living Roots Wine & Co., Shale Creek Chardonnay 2023, 93 points

Apollo’s Praise, Riesling 2023, 93 points

Nathan K, Cabernet Franc Primeur 2023, 93 points

Palmer Vineyards, Lake Harvest Gewürztrminer 2023, 92 points

Boundary Breaks Vineyard, Dry Rosé 2023, 92 points

Weis Vineyards, Zweigelt Dry Rosé 2023, 91 points

Challenge accepted

Across the lake on Seneca’s southwest side, Kelby James Russell, with his partner and co-conspirator Julia Hoyle, closed on their home vineyard, Lahoma, on 13 April 2023. Just over a month later, the overnight frost on 18 May ripped across the entire state, leaving behind crisp leaves and frozen vines.

Cold weather stayed put for up to six hours in some locations, resulting in 100% crop loss. For others, it caused minimal damage and caused a sigh of relief. Across the board, May’s weather was truly damaging to small farming businesses in rural New York.

‘Hell Kelb, I’m sorry,’ Russell remembers Harlan Fulkerson saying to him at 6am that morning after touring the damage. Russell had purchased the property from Fulkerson’s son, Ken, and both remain involved in farming the land. All three were unable to sleep that evening.

‘I had always been hyper-aware of the weather and potential threats,’ says Russell, who sourced fruit from Lahoma Vineyards for years as a winemaker prior to ownership. In the end, Apollo’s Praise suffered a 50% crop loss.

In short order, the unprecedented weather events continued. June heat led to wildfires in Quebec. Smoke plumes travelled more than 2,000 miles (3,220km), enveloping New York in an eerie cloud cover.

Click here for notes and scores of all the 2023 vintage New York wines tasted

Additionally, precipitation brought significant concern across the state, and in Lake Erie especially. ‘The rain mid-season did put significant disease pressure on a lot of blocks, which required more selection and grading in order to maintain quality,’ explained Mario Mazza of Mazza Chautauqua Cellars. The Mazza family has been farming grapes in the region since 1973.

Today, they farm over 240ha of grapes and grains in New York and Pennsylvania.

Though Lake Erie avoided the 2023 frost, the region ushered in the 2024 season with a freeze on April 25th. Crop sizes are likely to be small, but the full impact remains to be seen.

You get what you give

Meticulous farming was required statewide for high-quality fruit in 2023. Rains also brought concern to Hudson Valley and Long Island. In the Finger Lakes, disease pressure remained low despite nearly three times the average rainfall.

In response to the rain and smog, growers pulled leaves to increase circulation and sun exposure for the grapes. Seemingly overnight, sunburn caused by high UV rays emerged as a new concern, something rarely seen in New York.

Growing degree days played catch up in July and August, but sugar levels remained fairly moderate. Cool nights maintained acidity while grapes hung on vines as long as possible. Some locations were still harvesting fruit in November.

‘The extremes are what’s changing,’ explains Hudson Valley-based Matthew Spaccarelli of the volatile growing seasons in New York state. ‘It’s all normal in between. But when it rains, it really, really rains, and when it’s cold, it’s really, really cold.’

Spaccarelli runs Benmarl Winery and Fjord Vineyards and knows these extremes well. The cold cost him blocks of Albariño and Gamay.

New York 2023: Key producers of 2023

Apollo’s Praise

Fjord Vineyards

Living Roots Wine & Co.

Silver Thread Winery

Adapting to survive and thrive

Despite the loss, Spaccarelli says, ‘the growing season was actually pretty good. It’s definitely a year where we can’t complain about quality.’

He and his wife, Casey Erdmann, are gearing up for the next iteration of Fjord Vineyards on a new property with plans to plant more Albariño. He compares the variety to Sauvignon Blanc or Chardonnay in terms of hardiness.

‘Plant for the worst, hope for the best,’ he jokes.

At Apollo’s Praise, Russell and Hoyle will do the same, replacing a Riesling block in a cooler location with the cold-hardy German variety Scheurebe. Theirs is the first commercial planting of the grape in New York state.

The planting is a necessity. Having stretched their remaining crop across a small group of regional producers in need, they ran out of wine to finish their own projects. A kind neighbour in Boundary Breaks Vineyard provided the duo with Riesling to round out their Kabinett offering.

In reminiscing about this time, Russell remembers a sense of community at the forefront.

‘It is unbelievable that out of such a cold and dark moment, we have had so much excitement and love for our wines,’ he says, reflecting on the warm response to his initial launch, which is already sold out.

The obstacle is the way

‘I learn more in a challenging vintage,’ Plum Plummer confesses. He’s served as winemaker for Montezuma Winery since 2010 and sees tough growing seasons as an opportunity.

‘In years like 2023, where we’ve got all that bright acid, we can push the [ripeness] envelope without any fear of weighing things down.’

Vintages are spent chasing nuance, depth and complexity within the perfectly balanced wine. He sees Finger Lakes’ acidity as a gift and works to find equilibrium through fruit and texture.

Plummer powers through any risk aversion in the name of experimentation and education. ‘You get to take wild chances and learn things that you can take from vintage to vintage and integrate those lessons across the board.’

While it’s early to predict the 2024 vintage, Plummer, like his colleagues statewide, is cautiously optimistic. ‘I’m gonna knock on some wood right here.’

New York State 2023: value picks

Dr. Konstantin Frank Winery, Grüner Veltliner 2023, 92 points

Keuka Spring Vineyards, Brusco 2023, 90 points

Osmote, Pocket Wine 2023, 89 points

New York State 2023: a selection of the top wines

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