Another "Grand Cru" Finger Lakes winery...
not that they need any such validation from us.
The delightful view of Keuka Lake from the tasting porch of Dr. Konstantin Frank Winery.
In a recent Saturday Night Live appearance, women's basketball phenom Caitlin Clark graciously thanked a quintet of her trailblazing WNBA predecessors who had "kicked down the door so (she) could walk inside." Similarly, while the Ukraine-born vine scientist Dr. Konstantin Frank (1899-1985) isn't quite solely responsible for "kicking down the door" in the Finger Lakes region, all who strive to produce fine wines along the shores of upstate New York's long, deep lakes credit with deep reverence his pioneering efforts.
The original "Big Four" Finger Lakes wineries-- Widmer, Taylor, Pleasant Valley, and Urbana (see history HERE) -- built their gigantic businesses on the native American grape species and the hybrids thereof. That is because efforts at growing Vitis vinifera-- the species responsible for all the great wines of Europe-- had by the late 1800's proved confoundingly futile in the soil and climate of America's northeast. But then in the 1950's Dr. Konstantin Frank came over from Soviet Georgia armed with fluency in nine languages (none of them English) along with vast academic and practical knowledge about cold-climate viticulture.
Dr. Frank at work in his cellar. It seems impossible to overstate his impact and influence.
By 1900 the phylloxera vine louse-- the ravenous little monster that had so destructively lunched on European vine roots-- had been scientifically thwarted, and yet upstate New York's relatively short growing season and frigid winters remained substantial obstacles to fine wine production... or so almost everyone thought. But then in 1958 Dr. Frank purchased land above the western shore of lower Keuka Lake and established Vinifera Wine Cellars, where he eventually planted some sixty different varieties of Vitis vinifera. Some performed better than others, but Dr. Frank generally succeeded in refuting the New York wine industry's entrenched opinions about what was possible in the vineyards surrounding the Finger Lakes. Rather than attempt to summarize the existing and voluminous written history of Dr. Konstantin Frank and his momentous impact on the American wine industry, for our purposes here we shall focus instead on the present state of what is now known as the Dr. Konstantin Frank Winery in Hammondsport, New York.
DannyM. with Dr. Frank's grandson Frederic Frank, the current company President. The book in my hand-- FINGER LAKES WINE AND THE LEGACY OF DR. KONSTANTIN FRANK (Tom Russ, 2015) -- is an autographed and generous gift from Fred.
Come for the Rieslings...
Dr. Frank made his first indelible mark on American wine-making with his 1962 Riesling Trockenbeerenauslese, a German jawbreaker of a name that translates, approximately, to "individually-harvested (Riesling) grapes desiccated to otherworldly lusciousness by the botrytis mold, a.k.a. the 'noble rot.'" Although Riesling will likely never catch up to Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc in popularity (see THE ROYAL SISTERHOOD) it is nonetheless rightly considered a "noble" grape variety and accordingly enjoys a loyal following. The Riesling grape was dear to Dr. Frank's heart and has remained to this day a priority of the winery he established; indeed, it was a recent tasting of this winery's astonishingly delicious 2022 Reserve Medium-Sweet Riesling that inspired our recent visit. Current Dr. Frank Rieslings range from bone-dry to sweet and include special vineyard-specific bottlings named for some of the significant women in the winery's history-- "Eugenia" for Dr. Frank's wife, and "Margrit" for the wife of Dr. Frank's son Willy. (Additionally, "Hilda" Chardonnay is named for Dr. Frank's daughter.)
The "medium sweetness" is perfectly and spectacularly balanced
by bracing acidity, making this perhaps the ideal lobster wine.
Be sure to try the Georgians...
Among the five dozen viniferae planted by Dr. Frank were two ancient varieties from (Soviet) Georgia-- the red Saperavi (sah-pear-AH-vee) and the white Rkatsiteli (either "ar-CAT-sit-ELL-ee" or CAT-sit-ELL-ee," depending upon whom one asks.)
Dr. Frank's Rkatsiteli has long enjoyed something of a cult following among serious wine geeks, but will likely never challenge the "Royal Sisterhood" of white wine grapes in spite of its surprisingly widespread plantings worldwide... in excess of 300,000 acres, compared to Chardonnay's half-million acres. Devotees appreciate Rkatsiteli's refreshing, food-friendly acidity... and, perhaps, its comparative obscurity in North America.
While full-throttle red versions of Saperavi are available, this delicious rosé
features a joyous riot of red fruit flavors underpinned by perky acidity.
$24.99, available only at the winery; for more info click HERE.
Saperavi, meanwhile, has recently become a red-hot item in the ever-shifting tastes of the wine-loving public. Saperavi is a teinturier variety, i.e., a "dyer," with pink- or red-colored interior flesh... which means that it more easily yields a dark-colored wine... and which also means that it can be readily vinified into a fantastic and beautifully-hued rosé. Upon my very first sip, the Dr. Frank's Dry Rosé of Saperativi shown above has become my new favorite rosé of all time.
Chateau Frank's riddling racks... infant sparkling wine the cellar,
patiently reposing on its expired yeast as complex flavors slowly evolve.
And then there's the Bubbly...
Dr. Frank's son Willibald ("Willy") Frank (1925-2006) purchased a neighboring Hammondsport property in 1982 and established Chateau Frank, specializing in producing méthode champenoise sparkling wines from --of course!-- Vitis vinifera grape varieties. Their line of award-winning bottlings includes traditional Brut, Blanc de Blancs, Blanc de Noirs, and Brut Rosé made from the usual suspects Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier as well as sparklers fashioned from Riesling, Rkatsiteli, and other varieties.
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I had the honor of meeting Willy's son Frederic when we recently visited (see photo above.) Fred's daughter Meaghan is now the torchbearer for the fourth generation of the Frank wine dynasty, determined to grow and adapt the winery to future needs while honoring her family's history and traditions. Come to think of it, I'm starting to notice an encouraging trend-- more and more women are taking leading roles at wineries everywhere, including in the Finger Lakes region... brava, I say!
Dear Reader, I HIGHLY recommend a visit.
NOTES:
Dr. Konstantin Frank Winery
9749 Middle Rd.
Hammondsport, NY 14840
Open every day 10AM-5PM
(Last tasting 4PM)
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