HV Food and Beverage Alliance gets going

Conference in Hyde Park. (Westfair Online photo)

• From Westfair Online

Combine dairy farmers, meat producers, vegetable growers, and beverage makers, sprinkle in some unique niche food businesses, toss with some packaging companies and distributors so each can find the ingredients it needs to work expeditiously, and you’ve created a winning recipe for harnessing the power of agri-business in the Hudson Valley.

That’s the goal of the new Hudson Valley Food and Beverage Alliance, which held its first roundtable at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park on February 2. More than 200 companies, economic leaders and home-grown food and drink purveyors attended the standing-room-only conference.

PepsiCo, Gillette Creamery, Crown Maple Syrup Farm, Tuthilltown Spirits and restaurateur Peter X. Kelly were just a few of the dozens of attendees representing Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Sullivan, Ulster and Westchester counties.

[Go here for the full story.]

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NYers get 16 double golds in Tampa

TAMPA, FL -- New York wines collected a whopping 155 medals at the Florida State Fair International Wine & Grape Juice Competition held Thursday through today.

(OK, I don't know at what point a total begins to "whop," but 155 seems a reasonable amount.)

Of that count, 16 were double gold (unanimous vote of the tasting panel), 22 gold (majority ote of the panel), 65 silver, and 52 bronze, led by a trio of double golds for Liberty Vineyards & Winery's entries -- Purple Haze, 2010 Riesling, and White Side of the Moon.

Other New York double gold medals went to Americana 2009 Finger Lakes Chardonnay, Lawyer Family Winery; Arbor Hill Healthy Purple (grape juice); Glenora 2010 Finger Lakes Late Harvest Riesling and 2003 Finger Lakes Brut Methode Champenoise; Hazlitt 1852 Vineyards 2010 Finger Lakes Homestead Reserve Riesling and 2010 Finger Lakes Chardonnay; Heron Hill 2009 Finger Lakes Ingle Vineyard Riesling and 2010 Finger Lakes Semi-Sweet Riesling; Keuka Spring 2011 Finger Lakes Riesling; Lakewood 2010 Finger Lakes Chardonnay; Montezuma Finger Lakes Fat Frog Red; Swedish Hill 2010 Finger Lakes Riesling and Viking Red; and Wagner Vineyards Finger Lakes Sparkling Riesling.

Gold medals were awarded to Americana 2010 Finger Lakes Crystal Lake; Anthony Road 2010 Finger Lakes Gewurztraminer; Brookview Station Hudson River Region The Conductors Cassis; Casa Larga 2008 Finger Lakes Estate Fiori Delle Stelle Vidal Ice Wine; Chateau Frank 2006 Finger Lakes Estate Bottled Blanc de Noir; Dr. Frank 2010 Finger Lakes Dry Riesling, 2010 Finger Lakes Muscat Ottonel, and 2010 Finger Lakes Semi-Dry Riesling; Fulkerson 2010 Finger Lakes Vidal Blanc Iced Wine; Hazlitt 2010 Finger Lakes Vidal Ice Wine; Heron Hill 2010 Finger Lakes Dry Riesling;

Also, Hunt Country Finger Lakes Classic Red and 2010 Finger Lakes Estate Bottled Cayuga White; Keuka Spring Finger Lakes Harvest Blush; Lakewood 2010 Finger Lakes Rielsing, 2010 Finger Lakes Dry Riesling, and 2010 Finger Lakes Borealis; Owera New York Bettys White; Swedish Hill Finger Lakes Riesling Cuvee and Spumante Blush; Torrey Ridge Finger Lakes Niagara and Finger Lakes Diamond.

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Niagara Wine Trail gets a 'world's best' designation

• From the Batavia (NY) Daily News

The Niagara Wine Trail, which extends into Orleans County, has been named one of the top 10 wine trails in the world.

The Weather Channel announced the list ... putting the Niagara Region, in both the United States and Canada, as the No. 7 top wine trail.

That’s a major declaration for a wine trail that didn’t even exist 15 years ago. Since then 16 wineries have opened along the Niagara USA trail ... . The Niagara Wine Trail USA already is using the bold proclamation from the Weather Channel in a marketing push.

[Go here for the full story.]

Multi-county restaurant week lineup unveiled

Hudson Valley Restaurant Week, which actually runs more than a week, has unveiled the final lineup of participating restaurants.

During the March 18-31 promotion, three-course lunches are $20.95 and three-course dinners are $29.95. Whether a restaurant will offer both or only one is up to the individual establishments. Reservations are strongly suggested.

The participants list, complete with details about each restaurant, is available here.

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New York Beer Co. puts craft brewers on the map

 
NEW YORK -- The New York Beer Company is nothing if not an equal-opportunity beer plugger.

People who drop in for a mug at the craft beer emporium should feel welcome no matter what part of New York they call home. That's because of a wall-size map of New York, showing the location of every craft brewery in the state.

The huge beer hall, created by the craft brewmasters from the House of Brews in Hell's Kitchen, also boasts a running stock market-style ticker displaying all sorts of information, from sports scores to current beer prices. Some of the communal tables have their own beer taps.

The beer list includes 40 taps and 50 bottles and focuses largely on a lot of lesser-known brews.

The New York Beer Company is located at 321 West 44th Street. Phone: (631) 475-6944.

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• NYS Brewers Association
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'Wine in markets' push just won't die

It may have failed in successive budget tries under Governor David Paterson and been ignored by Governor Andrew Cuomo who has been quoted as saying the potential benefits won't outweigh the potential costs, but the idea of allowing food markets to sell wine won't go away.

Rather than pushing Individually for such a change, the New York Wine Industry Association, New York State Wine Grape Growers Association, New York Farm Bureau, Business Council of New York State, Food Industry Alliance of New York State, New York State Restaurant Association and allied businesses are jointly calling on the governor to change his stance.

"New York Farm Bureau has long supported the sale of wine in grocery stores because of the enormous opportunities that it would provide to New York’s wineries and grape growers," said Dean Norton, bureau president.

"Studies have shown that making this common sense modification in state law would create more than 6,000 jobs in wineries and related industries and produce more than $70 million in new sales tax revenue. It’s long past time that we remove this barrier to consumer choice and job creation and become the 36th state to make this important change."

The alliance cites the marked change in the number of businesses allowed to sell wine in 1974 compared to today, as well as the marked increase in the number of wineries in the same period.

They use the 1974 benchmark because that is the year a push began to get then-Governor Hugh Carey to reformulate the state's winery license law to make it easier for farm wineries to operate more profitably. In 1976, he did so.

In 1974 there were 4,500 liquor stores in the state through which the then-existing 19 wineries could sell their farm product to consumers. Now, there are fewer than 2,500 liquor stores through which more than 378 New York wineries can sell their farm product to consumers. Thus, the alliance contends, wineries no longer have enough retail outlets to reach consumers.

Opponents continue to insist that mom and pop liquor stores would be severely harmed if other businesses are allowed to sell New York and other wines.

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• NY Farm Bureau
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VT's Healthy Living and Market Café coming to Saratoga

The cafe area in the Vermont original.

SARATOGA SPRINGS -- A Vermont company will open a branch of its Healthy Living and Market Café in now-vacant space at the Wilton Mall.

Kathy Lesser, CEO of Healthy Living, says the market/cafe will occupy approximately 35,000 square feet and offer shoppers natural groceries, fresh organic and local produce, locally sourced meats and poultry, artisan breads and cheeses, health and beauty products, a vitamin/supplement department, freshly prepared foods and "a broad selection of microbrews and wine."

I purposely put that part of her announcement in quotation marks because, unless New York State changes its laws, grocery stores are prohibited from selling wines. Beers, OK.

Construction is scheduled to begin this summer to convert the space left vacant by the departure of JC Penney five years ago, according to an announcement made today. Opening day is projected for mid-winter 2012.

"We took a long time to find the ideal place for our second location,” she explained. “The energy and spirit I see in Saratoga Springs matches the kind of environment we love to support; a community that’s passionate about a certain quality of life, where good food and agriculture play important roles. We’re anxious to begin partnerships with businesses and farmers, schools and organizations in the area, and start working to become part of the community."

The cafe area will offer eat-in or takeout foods, including vegetarian and vegan options for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and a full barista area with a variety of coffee and tea drinks. The Learning Center area will offer cooking demonstrations, hands-on cooking classes, and community lectures that focus on wellness.

Healthy Living started as a small health foods store in South Burlington, VT, in 1986, and has grown to a full-service supermarket, cafe and learning center with a staff of more than 150.

Wilton Mall is located at 3065 Route 50. Phone: (518) 583-2138.

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Hamburg winery adding gallery space

Ten Thousand Vines Winery

HAMBURG, NY -- The Ten Thousand Vines Winery has teamed up with the Centennial Art Center to become a gallery space for local artists.

The initial show, scheduled to open with a reception from 7 to 8:30 p.m. next Tuesday (February 7), will feature the works of David and Joe Lesinki.

David’s specialty is still life and portrait paintings. Joe, his son, concentrates on wildlife. Their works will be on display through March and available for purchase.

The reception is open to the public at no charge. The winery is located at 8 South Buffalo Street in the village's onetime firehouse.

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