June 25, 2003 -- In Alabama, wines are as sweet as a Southern ice tea. But up near Buffalo, New York, ice is the key word as vintners let grapes freeze on the vine to produce the unique and precious icewine.
You probably already know about California's world-renowned wine-growing regions, but all 50 states now offer their own varietal tipples -- and offer tours of beautiful local wineries. If you can't roam far from home this summer or fall, you've probably got a winery within a few hours drive, and a leisurely visit to see vines and taste wines can be a terrific short break.
Summer is a beautiful time to visit wineries. The grape vines are in bloom and you can sit on the winery's patio, sipping the local specialty in a shady breeze while munching on a picnic lunch.
California, Oregon and Washington
California, California, California. The wineries of Napa and Sonoma Counties and the Central Coast get so much press, we're going to focus on lesser-known wine-growing areas. But if you insist upon only the best, check out our guides to Napa (www.frommers.com/destinations/napavalley), Sonoma (www.frommers.com/destinations/sonomavalley) and the Central Coast (www.frommers.com/destinations/centralcoastwinecountry). But enough about California.
If you're not a wine buff, you might not know that many Oregon and Washington wines are considered as good as their southern cousins. A recent article from Wine Spectator magazine (www.winespectator.com/Wine/Main/Feature_Basic_Template/0,1197,1641,00.html), the oenophile's bible, celebrates Oregon Pinot Noirs and a range of Washington reds. The northern Willamette Valley is the heart of Oregon's wine country and produces the region's finest Pinot Noirs. Check out our guide online here: www.frommers.com/destinations/northwillamettevalleywinecountry.
Eastern Washington, near Spokane, is where you'll find many of that state's wineries. The countryside near Yakima is full of industrial agriculture and thus less than scenic -- but charming -- Walla Walla, about 155 miles south of Spokane, makes a great base for a wine tour. Check out our full guide here: www.frommers.com/destinations/wallawalla.
The Northeast
New York is the Northeast's empire state when it comes to wines. With four wine-growing regions -- the Niagara valley near Buffalo, the Finger Lakes area in the center of the state, the Hudson Valley north of New York City and Long Island east of the city -- New York produces the most celebrated American wines that aren't from the west coast.
"Clearly New York is a huge producer of wines -- and they've got good wine," says Bob Hodge, a retiree who for the past three years has run AllAmericanWineries.com , a Web guide to wineries in all fifty states.
For a full guide to New York's wineries, check out www.nywine.com; if you'd like to specialize in the fine wines of Long Island, grown out on the sea swept North Fork, head to www.liwines.com. Wineries all across the state offer tastings.
New Englanders are generally quiet types, so perhaps that's why Connecticut's wine industry hasn't gotten much press. The state has ten vineyards and a great Web site (www.ctwine.com/visiting.html) offering a self-guided tour of all ten; perhaps their products aren't as polished as the finest Napa cabernets, but their vineyards are just as beautiful.
The Mid-Atlantic
The land stretching from Pennsylvania to North Carolina is another burgeoning wine region, with its mild, moist climate.
"Pennsylvania and Virginia probably have 75-80 wineries in each state, and North Carolina just went to 26. I've been absolutely blown away by the quality of wines I've tasted in North Carolina," Hodge says.
Pennsylvania wines don't get quite as much respect as their southern neighbors, but there's a huge cluster of wineries within two hours' drive of Philadelphia. Find tours and trails online at www.ctwine.com/visiting.html.
If you're interested in tasting only the best mid-Atlantic wines, turn to the Virginia Wine Guide (www.virginiawineguide.com), where they've tasted and rated dozens of local wines and offer a downloadable wine tour brochure. Additionally, you can virtually tour 21 different Virginia area wineries on the site.
They Grow Wine There?
Whether you're living in Missouri, Michigan or Montana, there's probably a winery near you. Hodge's Web site www.allamericanwineries.com is a marvel: click on "Winery Locator by State" in the upper left hand corner to find links to your nearest wineries.
You might not think of Texas or New Mexico as wine country, but both have growing viticulture industries. Fourteen wineries have sprung from the dusty soil between Albuquerque and Santa Fe; the site www.nmwine.net offers several daylong driving tours. The Lone Star state offers seven wine trails, with six wineries within easy driving range of Dallas. Check out www.texaswinetrails.com/trails.htm for a complete guide.
Even the coldest states can get in on the wine act. Minnesota, northern New York and the Canadian province of Ontario are famous for their ice wine, a precious product squeezed from frozen grapes. Freezing draws water from the grapes, producing a concentrated juice that ferments into a dessert wine with rich, strangely tropical flavors; it may be the only wine you ever taste where you'll find hints of papaya and mango. The mecca for icewine lovers is Inniskillin Winery near Niagara Falls, Canada (www.virginiawineguide.com), but while you're up there, you might as well catch a few other producers on the Ontario Wine Route (www.wineroute.com/home.htm).
Lastly -- wine in Alaska? Are we nuts? No! Three hardy wineries call the Last Frontier home. Grapes aren't grown in Alaska, so the Denali Winery ferments and bottles juice from grapes grown elsewhere. But two wineries on Kodiak Island make decoctions from local fruits and berries. If you'd like to taste Wild Rose Mead, stop by Alaska Wild Wine www.alaskawildwine.com when you're up North.