Finger Lakes Wine and the Legacy of Dr. Konstantin Frank
Finger Lakes Wine and the Legacy of Dr. Konstantin Frank

Author: Tom Russ

Publisher: Arcadia Publishing

Published: 2015

Total Pages: 160

ISBN-13: 1626197342

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Oenophile Tom Russ presents the remarkable story of Dr. Konstantin Frank, the father of Finger Lakes wine. Dr. Konstantin Frank forever changed the palate of American wine. Forced from his home in Soviet Ukraine during World War II, he was astounded by the terroir when he arrived in the Finger Lakes region. Against popular notions, he believed that the vinifera grapes that produced some of Europe's and California's finest wines would prosper in New York. He proved his detractors wrong, and by sharing his knowledge freely with others, Konstantin's innovativeness has allowed the region to produce some of the world's finest Riesling, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and other varietals. Four generations of Franks have continued his legacy, and their winery has won record numbers of prestigious awards every year.

Circle of Vines
Circle of Vines

Author: Richard Figiel

Publisher: SUNY Press

Published: 2014-09-22

Total Pages: 210

ISBN-13: 1438453809

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Traces the history of the New York wine industry as it evolved across the state. Winegrower and journalist Richard Figiel offers the first comprehensive history of New York wine, following its turbulent evolution across the state and emerging as a dynamic player in the world of fine wine. He begins by examining New York’s distinctive viticultural roots and the geologic forces that shaped the state’s terrain for winegrowing. Starting with early efforts to grow grapes for wine in the Hudson Valley, the story moves west to the Finger Lakes and Lake Erie, circles around the state from Long Island to the North Country, and, finally, to contemporary New York City. Through industry booms and busts, he explores the New York wine industry’s continuing process of reinvention by resourceful immigrants, family dynasties, giant corporations, and back-to-the-land dreamers. Moving across centuries of winemaking, Figiel unfolds an extraordinary array of grape species, varieties, and wines. “This is a clear and coherent theme—the evolution of an important modern wine industry in New York. It is the most complete history of this topic.” — Ian A. Merwin, viticulturalist at Cornell University, coauthor of A Grower’s Guide to Organic Apples “What works is when the book weaves between providing basic history and then anecdotes that illuminate that history. I had difficulty putting the book down because it was entertaining. This should make a very fine contribution to the literature of wine-making in New York.” — John C. Hartsock, author of Seasons of a Finger Lakes Winery

Over a Barrel
Over a Barrel

Author: Thomas Pellechia

Publisher: SUNY Press

Published: 2015-02-11

Total Pages: 272

ISBN-13: 1438455496

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How a small family company in the Finger Lakes became one of the most important wine producers in the United States, only to be taken down by corporate greed and mismanagement. In 1880, Walter Stephen Taylor, a cooper’s son, started a commercial grape juice company in New York’s Finger Lakes region. Two years later, wine production was added, and by the 1920s, the Taylor Wine Company was firmly established. Walter Taylor’s three sons carefully guided the company through Prohibition and beyond, making it the most important winery in the Northeast and profoundly affecting the people and community of Hammondsport, where the company was headquartered. In the 1960s, the Taylor family took the company public. Ranked sixth in domestic wine production and ripe for corporate takeover, the company was sold to Coca-Cola in 1977. Three more changes of corporate ownership followed until, in 1995, this once-dynamic and important wine producer was obliterated, tearing apart the local economy and changing a way of life that had lasted for nearly a century. Drawing on archival research as well as interviews with many of the principal players, Thomas Pellechia skillfully traces the economic dynamism of the Finger Lakes wine region, the passion and ingenuity of the Taylor family, and the shortsighted corporate takeover scenario that took down a once-proud American family company. In addition to providing important lessons for business innovators, Over a Barrel is a cautionary tale for a wine region that is repeating its formative history. “Over a Barrel offers various cautionary lessons that can be applied to all too many businesses. The Taylor paterfamilias began making wine from grapes in the Finger Lakes region, and his three sons improved it. But when the world of wine consumption changed, the Taylors didn’t, and they eventually sold out. Subsequent corporate owners gradually destroyed the wine and the farmers who grew the grapes. Only the black sheep grandson stayed true to the family code, ranting from his perch on Bully Hill.” — Mark Pendergrast, author of For God, Country, and Coca-Cola: The Definitive History of the Great American Soft Drink and the Company That Makes It, Third Edition, Revised and Expanded