Bedell Cellars, 2019 Cabernet Franc, North Fork of Long Island, New York, USA
Bedell Cellars is one of Long Island's pioneering wineries. Kip and Susan Bedell planted their first vines at the estate in 1980, and by the early 1990s the winery was garnering attention and accolades for its wines. Bedell Cellars has been in the loving hands of the Lynne family since it was purchased by Michael and Ninah Lynne in 2000. Their winemaker, Rich Olsen-Harbich, has been at Bedell Cellars since 2010, and with over 40 vintages under his belt, and the person who authored the Federal American Viticultural Area applications for the North Fork of Long Island, The Hamptons, Long Island and the Long Island AVAs, one could argue that if you had to name the father Long Island wine, Rich would most certainly be that person.
As I have done some videos featuring Cabernet Francs from the Finger Lakes, and this is my first video featuring a wine from Long Island, this is a perfect opportunity to look at the Cabernet Franc picture in New York state as this is a very important variety here. Cabernet Franc is the 4th most planted vitis vinifera variety overall, 2nd most planted red variety after Merlot and current acreage in the state is around 495 acres, around 200ha. The majority of the Cabernet Franc plantings are split between the Finger Lakes and Long Island, with approximately 236 acres in the Finger Lakes and 215 acres in Long Island.
Located on the northeastern coast of the US and stretching about 115 miles or over 180km from Brooklyn, NY in the west, to just past Montauk on the south fork in the east, Long Island is essentially a low lying peninsula that is surrounded by three large bodies of water: the Atlantic Ocean to the south, the Long Island Sound to the north and the Great Peconic Bay in the east which divides the peninsula's north and south forks. The majority of the viticultural activity take place on the eastern part of Long Island, and the region is comprised of 3 AVAs, the Hamptons, Long Island AVA which lies along the south fork of the peninsula and was established in 1985, the North Fork of Long Island AVA which was established in 1986, and finally the Long Island AVA which encompasses the entire peninsula and was established in 2001.
Because of these three major bodies of water and the lower elevation of the peninsula, they have a major influence on the growing environment, and while we are at a lower latitude, about 41N latitude, which is similar to that of northern Portugal, the microclimate can characterized as cool maritime. These bodies of water temper the harsh winters and help to moderate the warmer temperatures in the summer, delaying budbreak in the spring, and extending the growing season in the fall, giving Long Island a relatively gentle, long, and moderate growing season.
Now, Bedell Cellars and its vineyards are located in the North Fork of Long Island AVA, and there are some key elements that contribute to the unique growing environment here. So the North Fork begins about 65 miles or 105km east of New York City. It stretches about 30 miles or 45km towards the northeast, and it is quite a narrow peninsula, about 6 miles of 10km wide at its widest point to about 2 miles or just a little over 3km at its narrowest point. The elevation is quite low, only 6m up to about 20m above sea level. To the north we have the Long Island Sound, and in the south the Great Peconic Bay. And while the influence of the Atlantic Ocean is still quite evident, its influence is a little less on the North Fork because the South Fork takes the brunt of the influence. So the North Fork is a little warmer, and the growing season a touch longer, about 233 days, which gives the North Fork of Long Island AVA the longest growing season of any AVA in New York state, which is good for a later-ripening variety like Cabernet Franc.
The growing season temperatures are warm, but tempered by the constant, cooling southerly breezes from the Atlantic Ocean, and while the region experiences a moderate amount of precipitation, about 1000mm of precipitation annually, the majority of which falls in the winter, and actually the North Fork is one of the driest regions in all of New York State. The fall temperatures cool more gradually, with very little risk of frost in October and into November, than what we tend to see in more interior areas like the Finger Lakes, which experiences more of a continental climate, and this allows for longer hang-time, and a gradual ripening of sugars and phenolics leading up to harvest.
Now, looking at soils on Long Island, they are of glacial origin, and are categorized as silt-loams and sandy-loams, with a sub-soil of sand and gravels, both of which are deep, well-draining with low to moderate fertility, and moderate water holding capacity. The soils tend to be heavier towards the centre of Long Island and get lighter and sandier as you get closer to the ocean. On the North Fork, we have two soil series present here, Carver-Plymouth-Riverhead sandy-loam and Haven-Riverhead loam, and both of these soils tend to be lighter textured, with less silt and loam compared to the soils on the South Fork.
Bedell Cellars has around 75 acres of vines, or about 30ha, planted across three vineyard sites on the North Fork, and they have about 12.5 acres, so about 5ha, of Cabernet Franc vines planted. And in addition to their single-varietal Cabernet Franc, the grape finds its way into a few other wines, and in recent years they have made in small quantities a white Cabernet Franc in a still, blanc de noir style. For the 2019 Cabernet Franc, this is coming from about 2.5ha or 6 acres of vines from their Corey Creek vineyard site, which has a southern exposure, and sits at about 11m above sea level. The vines were planted between 1996 and 2015. The soil here is haven loam, but Rich said the soils in this site are a little more sandier, and tends to produce some of the best and most complex Cabernet Franc fruit.
For the winemaking for this wine, the fruit is all hand-picked, hand-sorted and destemmed. The fruit is lightly crushed and transferred via gravity into an open-top, stainless steel tank. They did a 24 hour cold soak in advance of alcoholic fermentation. The fermentation is done with indigenous yeast, and Rich will do about 10 pump overs during the active fermentation. The total time on skins is about 21 days. Aging is in neutral French oak barrels as well as some larger neutral French oak vats for about 10 months before bottling.
Key wine wine facts below:
Producer: Bedell Cellars
Region: New York State
Sub-Region: Long Island
AVA: North Fork of Long Island
Soils: Haven-loam (sandy textured loam), sandy-gravelly sub-soil
Alcohol: 12.5%
