One of the areas of rapid growth in the New York industry is in winery operations outside the traditional viticultural areas. (New York now boasts wineries in 32 of its 62 counties.)

Some of these wineries grow their own grapes and others purchase grapes from growers or wineries in other regions. The best part of this growth is that soon visitors to almost any region of New York will be able to visit at least one winery while visiting other attractions in the Empire State. So if you find yourself in Sterling for the Renaissance Festival, in Syracuse for the Erie Canal or Everson Museum, or stretching for the brass ring in the Binghamton area, you can also find a winery within a short drive.

For more information on the other attractions across New York State, visit the State Tourism site www.iloveny.com

A note on “Viticultural Areas”—The Federal Government (Department of the Treasury, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms) considers and approves “viticultural areas” similar to the “appellations of origin” in France, which may be used on wine labels and in advertisements. While Central New York is not a designated viticultural area, wine produced here obviously can be labeled New York State wine (as long as 85 %of the grapes used were grown in New York).

This region has developed just recently and has not historically been a separate section in our industry surveys. Watch for the results of the 2001 survey to see the growth and change experienced by our industry.