The grapes of New York

by U. P. Hedrick

The topography is more or less rough and broken. The steep hillsides of the lakes were formed not only by erosion but by the tilting of the land. Beside these hillsides of the lakes to give character to the topography of the region, there are ranges of hills and the remains of some moraines, so that in general the land is very uneven. This is especially true of the parts of it devoted to grape-growing though in some grape sections there are many stretches of smooth and regular vineyards.

The soils of this great region vary much, as is always the case when land is made by glacial erosion and deposit of glacial drifts. On a single farm the soil may be thick and fertile in one part and thin and poor in another; it may consist largely of clay in one part and of sand and gravel in others. The grape soils in the Central Lakes region are, in particular, of miscellaneous types, embracing, in one place or another, nearly all of the soils in the Dunkirk series described in the discussion of the Chautauqua district. Probably the Dunkirk clay loam, often very shaly and stony, is the most common of the several soils of the region. There are also considerable areas of a shaly soil which possibly do not belong to the Dunkirk types, not having been influenced by water action as are true Dunkirk soils. On the slopes and hillsides the land is sometimes rough and stony with but a thin covering of soil and with out-croppings of bed rock. The influence of the various soils on the grape has not been studied as in the Chautauqua district but, as noted, the soils in the two districts are in many cases similar so that the discussion of the influence of the several types given for the Chautauqua district will apply in large part to the Central Lakes district.

The Central Lakes have a very perceptible influence on the climate of the region. The lakes are deep and conserve warmth. The water of Seneca Lake is so deep, and consequently warm, that it has been known to freeze over only a few times in the past hundred years. The winter climate in this region is much less severe than in adjacent territories. Not only does the water modify the severity of the winter climate but the enclosing highlands materially assist in keeping in the warmth of the valleys. Since the lakes run, generally speaking, north and south, the winds are deflected to these directions very largely. In the summer, both days and nights are cooler and the climate more equable near the lakes. These modifications of climate are all favorable to grape-growing.

The first grapes grown in this district, so far as records show, were set by the Rev. William Bostwick at Hammondsport in 1830. The varieties were Isabella and Catawba and these he succeeded in raising to perfection. From this time onward scattering vines were planted in gardens about the three lakes. About 1836 Mr. J. W. Prentiss, originator of the Prentiss grape, planted a small vineyard at Pulteney from which considerable fruit was sent to market from time to time and the vineyard was constantly enlarged. In 1853 a commercial vineyard was set out by Andrew Reisinger, a German vine-dresser, consisting of two acres of Isabella and Catawba at Harmonyville in the town of Pulteney. Reisinger trained, pruned and tilled his vines, operations unheard of before in the district, and was rewarded with crops and profits which stimulated grape culture in his and nearby neighborhoods.

In 1855 the Hon. Jacob Larrowe and Mr. Orlando Shephard planted small vineyards of Isabella and Catawba in Pleasant Valley near Hammondsport and were so successful that in 1858 their vineyards were greatly increased and others in the valley embarked in the business of vine-culture. Viticulture was now fairly started and the industry grew apace from 1858 onward. In 1860 two hundred acres of grapes were set in Pleasant Valley alone and elsewhere on Keuka Lake large plantings were made. Grapes brought from fifteen to thirty cents per pound and a bearing vineyard at this time was as good as a gold mine.

Plantings were begun in the Yates County portion of the Keuka district in 1855 when Mr. W. W. Shirland set a small vineyard of Isabella in Benton township.

There seem to be no records as to the first plantings about Seneca and Canandaigua Lakes but all available information indicates that plantings about these two lakes came in the spreading of the industry from Keuka Lake. E. A. McKay of Naples seems to have had a vineyard of some extent as early as 1848 from which he sold fruit. There must have been vineyards of considerable size about Avon in Livingston County in the early fifties; for Larrowe, Shephard and others obtained cuttings at this place in 1855 for their vineyards in Pleasant Valley. Who owned these Avon vineyards, and what their extent was, does not appear.

The first commercial shipment of any considerable amount beyond the towns nearby was made in 1854 when Mr. J. W. Prentiss shipped a ton of Isabella packed in tubs to New York City. The tubs were made by cutting apple barrels in half and were packed half full when a thin board partition was put in after which the tub was filled and covered. The consignment reached the city in fair condition and brought fifteen cents per pound but a second ton shipped in the same way “broke” the market.

John Mead of the town of Benton introduced the Concord in this region in 1861 and the same year Henry Rose of Penn Yan set the first Delaware to be planted commercially in the district. The Concord soon took the place of the Isabella but could not displace the Catawba as it did in the Chautauqua district. The Delaware grew in favor and rapidly assumed third place in the list of varieties about the three lakes, a position which it still maintains, though it is closely followed by the Niagara.

By 1860 grape-growing had become so general that the need of further outlets for the fruit was felt and the Pleasant Valley Wine Company was formed for the manufacture of wine and brandy. For several years following, this company used about one-third of the output of Pleasant Valley, helping very materially to steady the market for the whole district. A few years later another large company, the Urbana Wine Company, was formed; and when still later it was discovered that the champagne made about Keuka Lake was superior to that made in any other part of America and that, with experience in making, it rivalled the champagne in France, wine-making became an important adjunct to grape-growing in this district. Now there are about twenty-five companies making wine and champagne on or near the shores of the three lakes, the industry having its center on Keuka Lake. Wine-making is still in its infancy and because of the demand it creates for grapes, and the high prices paid by the wineries, will continue to exert a most favorable influence on the viticulture of the district. There is but little unfermented grape juice made about the Central Lakes.