GOLD SEAL WINERI ES, fou nded i n 1 865, entered their modern phase of wine making i n the 1 940's with the arrival of Charles Fourn ier, o Chief Wine Master from France. He set about i m proving the wi nes, se
lecting native varietol s ond, with Ph i l i p Wagner, planting hybrids su ited to the New York cli mate. Next he e n l isted the aid of Dr. Konstantin Fra n k who, despite three centuries of failures by other vintners, be
lieved and proved that vinifera could be grown in New York State. All three a pproaches were crowned with success.
Gold Sea l 's top prem i u m wines, m arketed u n der t h e Charles Fournier sig nature, in
clude the Chablis Nature a n d the spark l i n g Fournier Blanc de 8/ancs, both made with Char
donnay g rown in the Finger Lakes Reg ion.
46
A large selection of prem ium varietals, generics, a n d cham
pagnes are sold under the Gold Seal label, such as:
Red Table Wines: Catawba Red, Concord Red, a n d Burg u n dy.
White Table Wines: Catawba White, Rhine, and Sauterne.
Rose Table Wines: Catawba Pink, and Rose.
Sparkling Wines: Gold Sea l Brut, Extra Dry, Pink, Sparkl i n g Burgundy, a n d C o l d D u c k .
A lower-priced selection o f s t i l l and s parkl ing w i n e s is sold u nder the Henri Marchant label.
GREAT WESTERN is the rnost famous of the wines mode by the Pleasan t Val ley Wine Com
pany, a leader i n New York wines s i n ce 1 860. A w i n ner of many i n ternationa l awards, Great Western received its fi rst Gold Medal in Paris in 1 867.
Great Western, l i ke many Eastern vi ntners, prides itself on the qual ity and fragra nce of its native g rape wines. A n u m ber of French hybrids have been added, as wel l as some Ameri
can hybrids. The vintners use traditional methods carefu lly coord inated with m odern tech·
no logy.
All Great Western Cham
pag n e i s ferm e n ted i n the bot
tle in the traditional man ner.
The Sherries and Ports a re blended a n d aged in soleras started a n u m ber of years ago, prod ucing wines of distinct qual ity a n d u n ique fl avor.
Red Table Wines: Varietals
Chelois, Baco Nair (Burg u n dy), and Vin Rouge. One generic is made, the Pleasant Val ley Red . White Table Wines: Varietals
Aurora (Sauterne), Dutchess (Rh i n e Wine), Delaware, Dia
mond, and Yin Blanc Sec.
Rose Table Wines: I sabella Rose, and Pink Catawba . Champagnes: Brut, Specia l Re
serve, Extra D ry, and P i n k .
BULLY H I LL V I NEYARDS, on the site of the orig i n a l Taylor Wine Compa ny, is awned a n d oper·
ated by the h i g h ly i n d ividualis
tic Walter S . Taylor, a direct de
scendant of the famous New York State wine fa m i ly.
In 1 970, only two wines were made using native and French
America n varieties. The g rapes, grown o n the estate and ad
joining lands legally cla i m the Estate-Bottled appellation.
The B ully Hill White Wine is a blend of Delaware, Aurora, and Seyval Blanc varieties.
The Bully H ill Red Wine is a blend of seven varieties.
To these two ori g i n a l wines a Rose a n d six varietals have been added: Delaware, Baco Nair, lves Nair, Au rora Blanc, Seyval Blanc, a n d D i a m o n d .
Wa lter Taylor is j ustly proud of his wines, closely su pervising each step of the process i n the vineyard as well as i n the win
ery. A man of many talents, he is proudest of his title af "vi
g neron.''
Vi neyards on the slopes of Lake Keuka, one of the Finger Lakes.
TAYL@l-R
Wa lter Taylor's original seven acres, bought i n 1 8 80, have multiplied more than a h u n dredfold, a n d several thousand acres of neigh boring vineyards help fill the many giant ferment
i n g ta nks in the modern winery.
Extensive French hybrid plant
ings are supplementing and sometimes replacing the native g rape. The wine from the hy
Varietal Whites: Delawa re, Ries
ling, Moore's Diamond, Ver
gen nes, and Elvira.
V I N I FERA W I N E CELLARS a n d vineyards a re the h o m e of D r . Konstantin Fra nk, t h e passion
ate apostle of Vilis vinifera i n t h e Eosl. D r . Fra n k's German pare nts had established vine
yards i n the Ukra i n e where h e developed h i s consi derable skills, bringing them to the Finger Lakes i n the '40s. There h e was befriended by that other g reat wine m aker, Charles Four
n i e r, and was able to prove h i s contention t h a t vinifera cou l d be g rown i n the N ortheast, us
i n g the three h u n dred years of previous failures as a n example of what should not be done.
D r. Fra n k's s ixty acres are all planted i n European vines, all of them th riving.
He has made a l l kinds of wines from these g rapes, some for m arketing, some j ust to prove h i s point, such as the Jo
h a n nisberg Trockenbeeren Aus
lese which sold for forty-five dollars a bott l e l
Although h is wines a re o n the market, primarily the Jo
h a n n isberg Riesl i n g Notur S pat
lese, Pi not Chardon nay Natur, and GewUrztra m i ner, his oper·
ation can not be considered a true com m ercial enterprise. He is a lways d e monstrati ng, for t h e benefit of the vintners wh o will follow him, the s u perlative ex
cellence of v i n ifera wines a n d t h e demand they create a mong d iscri m i nating consumers.
H e has also produced Caber
net Souvignon, Pinot Gris from the o n ly com m ercial planting of this Alsatian g rape, Pinot Noir, a sweet wine from the Russian g rape Sereksia, Gamay Beau
jolais, and Aligote. The last i s a Burg u n d ia n g rape producing a light, fresh wine with a pleas
ant tartness. The mere existence of these varieties . i n New York State caused a mazement in the 1 960's, a n d the next step for their maker was to make the public. realize their excellence.
Dr. Konstontin Fro n k exa m i n i n g his Rieslin9 g rapes after t h e fl rst frost, i n H a m mon dsport.
49
THE HUDSON RIVER VALLEY'S