Bedell Cellars, 2019 Cabernet Franc, North Fork of Long Island, New York, USA
Cab Franc du Jour #95
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 hands of the Lynne family since Michael and Ninah Lynne purchased it in 2000. Winemaker Rich Olsen-Harbich has been at Bedell since 2010, and with over 40 vintages behind him and the authorship of the Federal American Viticultural Area applications for the North Fork of Long Island, the Hamptons, Long Island, and the Long Island AVAs, one could make a strong case that Rich is the father of Long Island wine.
Cabernet Franc in New York State
This being the first Long Island wine featured here, and having previously covered the Finger Lakes, it is a good moment to look at the Cabernet Franc picture across New York State as a whole, where the variety plays a genuinely important role. Cabernet Franc is the fourth most planted vitis vinifera variety overall in the state and the second most planted red variety after Merlot, with current acreage of around 495 acres (about 200 hectares). Plantings are split fairly evenly between the Finger Lakes and Long Island, with approximately 236 acres in the Finger Lakes and 215 acres on Long Island.
Long Island Wine-Growing Environment
Long Island is a low-lying peninsula stretching about 180km from Brooklyn in the west to just past Montauk on the South Fork in the east, situated on the northeastern coast of the United States. It 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 to the east, which divides the North and South Forks. Most viticultural activity is concentrated on the eastern end of the peninsula, home to three AVAs: the Hamptons along the South Fork (established 1985), the North Fork of Long Island (established 1986), and the Long Island AVA encompassing the entire peninsula (established 2001).
The three surrounding bodies of water, combined with the peninsula’s low elevation, exert a defining influence on the growing environment. Sitting at around 41N latitude, similar to northern Portugal, the climate is cool maritime rather than what the latitude alone might suggest. The water moderates harsh winters, tempers summer heat, delays spring budbreak, and extends the growing season well into fall, giving Long Island a gentle, long, and moderate season well suited to Cabernet Franc.
The North Fork of Long Island AVA
Bedell Cellars and its vineyards are located in the North Fork of Long Island AVA. The North Fork begins about 105km east of New York City, stretching roughly 45km to the northeast, and is a narrow peninsula, around 10km wide at its broadest to just over 3km at its narrowest, with elevations of only 6 to about 20m above sea level. The Long Island Sound lies to the north and the Great Peconic Bay to the south. The Atlantic Ocean’s influence, while still present, is somewhat moderated on the North Fork, as the South Fork absorbs the brunt of it. As a result, the North Fork runs a touch warmer overall, with a growing season of around 233 days, the longest of any AVA in New York State, which is particularly advantageous for later-ripening varieties like Cabernet Franc.
Growing season temperatures are warm but kept in check by constant southerly breezes off the Atlantic. Annual precipitation is around 1,000mm, with the majority falling in winter, making the North Fork one of the driest regions in New York. Fall temperatures cool gradually, with very little frost risk through October and into November, allowing for extended hang time and a slow, even development of sugars and phenolics before harvest.
Long Island’s soils are of glacial origin, broadly categorised as silt-loams and sandy-loams with a subsoil of sand and gravel. They are generally deep, free-draining, with low to moderate fertility and moderate water-holding capacity, becoming lighter and sandier closer to the water. On the North Fork specifically, two soil series predominate: Carver-Plymouth-Riverhead sandy-loam and Haven-Riverhead loam, both lighter in texture with less silt and clay than the soils found on the South Fork.
The Vineyard
Bedell Cellars farms around 75 acres (30 hectares) of vines across three North Fork vineyard sites, with approximately 12.5 acres (5 hectares) of Cabernet Franc. In addition to a single-varietal red, the grape appears in several other wines and, in small quantities in recent years, as a blanc de noir still white wine.
The 2019 Cabernet Franc is sourced from approximately 6 acres (2.5ha) at the Corey Creek vineyard, which faces south at about 11m above sea level. The vines were planted between 1996 and 2015. The soils here are Haven loam, but Rich notes they run on the sandier side within that series, which tends to produce some of the most complex and expressive Cabernet Franc fruit from the estate.
In the Cellar
The fruit is hand-picked, hand-sorted, and destemmed before being lightly crushed and transferred by gravity into an open-top stainless steel tank. A 24-hour cold soak precedes alcoholic fermentation with indigenous yeast, during which Rich performs approximately 10 pump-overs. Total skin contact is approximately 21 days. Aging takes place in neutral French oak barrels and larger neutral French oak vats for approximately 10 months before bottling.
Wine Details
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%