Can Vermont produce good wine? Let’s try one.
Wine in Vermont
Vermont is not an ideal place to cultivate wine grapes because it’s too cold and humid. Therefore, besides trying to grow cool climate grapes like Riesling, Vermont relies on hybrid grapes (I just tasted some hybrids grown in Ojai, California).
Hybrid grapes are a cross of the typical species of almost all wine grapes, Vitis vinifera, and other Vitis species of grapes. These hybrid grapes are crossed and bred to make new grape varieties that are more resistant to disease and climatic problems.
The tiny Vermont wine industry was helped by the University of Minnesota, who created cold-resistant hybrid grapes such as Frontenac, La Crescent and Seyval Blanc that can do well in Vermont’s climate. However, the Vermont wine industry is still in its infancy and hard to find. It’s much more well-known for its maple syrup and whiskey.
One producer, whose wines made their way to a shop in California for me to find, is La Garagista. They are a biodynamic, low intervention producer that makes 35 different wines and ciders. Besides the hybrid varieties mentioned above, they also grow other hybrids like Brianna and Marquette. I bought a bottle of their Vinu Jancu La Crescent, which is sort of their flagship wine, and had it with Nepalese/Indian food.
Tasting Notes
2020 La Garagista La Crescent Vinu Jancu Vermont
La Crescent is a hybrid grape: 45% V. vinifera (including the Muscat family), 28% V. riparia, 10% V. rupestris, labrusca and aestivalis. Open vat fermentation. 8-12 weeks skin contact. Aged in local clay amphora. I’m guessing it’s the same clay from the clay and limestone soil it’s grown on at the edge of Lake Champlain. Natural winemaking with no added sulfites. I see that a recent vintage only produced 33 cases of this, so it’s quite rare.
The color is cloudy, orange. The nose is very skin-contact with dry leafy, vegetal and some oxidative notes. On the palate, you get similar notes but there’s more fruit. On the cidery side and lots of acidity. A touch of tannins. Low alcohol. Medium+ body. It really demands food with the acidity and vegetal notes. Something like Indian or Afghani food, which I often turn to to pair with skin contact wines. But some may find it fun on its own if you like something like an unsweetened Arnold Palmer. I really like the palate. It’s more open and expressive than the nose. 92