Vines, Wines, and Regional Identity in the Finger Lakes Region

Abstract

Although the regional climate is unfavorable, microclimatic effects of the lakes and their valleys make viticulture possible. Production based on native American grape varieties that yield sweet wines is declining. Introduction of vines to produce dry wines has led to changes in operations and vineyard location that may create a new, positive image for the regional wines. W INE making has been described as the most geographically expressive of agricultural activities.1 This characterization highlights the ensemble of environmental and human factors that produces distinctive landscapes with viticultural activities. Part of the distinctiveness is similarity. Vineyards are highly visible wherever they are, and a trained eye can easily identify the associated structures and technological paraphernalia. Considerable regional diversity combines with similarity. The stately chateaux and small vineyards in the Loire valley look nothing like the new functionally designed buildings, set amid acre after acre of irrigated vines in the Hunter valley of Australia; nor would the German Rheingau be mistaken for Sonoma, California. The geography of wine does not end with a landscape. Color, smell, and taste of wine, including judgments about quality, most often stamp a region with its identity. The expressiveness of wine thus goes beyond what is usually observed and measured in geography. During the course of time, some regions have achieved such worldwide repute that a wine is virtually synonymous with them. For example, the Medoc portion of the Bordeaux region epitomizes how wine style and esteem can identify a place. Other examples where a wine and an area form an inseparable regional image are Champagne, Jerez, and the Moselle. At the other end of the scale are areas with limited identity, an example of which is the Finger Lakes region of New York State. Wine has been produced there for more than a century, and it has been designated an approved U.S. viticultural area (Fig. 1). However, the region does not have a strong reputation as a wine-producing area. If the Finger Lakes region conjures an image, it tends to be of the past glaciers and the distinctive lakes that they left behind. Nonetheless, wine production is important in the region, and recent changes require a reassessment of old perceptions. The shifts have a potential for both expanding and enhancing the identity of the region as a wine-producing area. H. J. De Blij, Wine: A Geographic Appreciation (Totowa. N.J.: Rowman and Allanheld, 1983), xii. * DR. NEWMAN is a professor of geography at Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York 13244. This content downloaded from 207.46.13.51 on Sun, 19 Jun 2016 05:56:06 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms THE GEOGRAPHICAL REVIEW FIG. 1-The Finger Lakes viticultural area.