You helped give it a name, and now Finger Lakes winery Goose Watch will be helping new Cornell variety Aromella make a name for itself, by releasing the first wine pressed from the great grape.
Aromella was developed at the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva in 1976 from a cross between two other grapes, Traminette and Ravat 34 under the name NY-76.0844.24. It was first planted in 1978, named in 2013, and until now has not been released as a varietal labeled wine anywhere in the country.
Aromella is a “winter hardy” grape and should result in high productivity within the Finger Lakes as it has sustained temperatures as low as -16F. It has thrived for nine years in vineyards owned by the Peterson family located on Route 414, about a mile up from Cayuga Lake. The family has collaborated closely with Cornell, using some of its vineyards to help test promising varieties and offering feedback which has helped determine whether the new selections will become commercially named and released.
Goose Watch owner Dave Peterson said he is anxious to offer this new varietal to consumers at their Romulus tasting room. He describes it as an aromatic semi-dry white wine that boasts some of the favored flavors from the Muscat grape used in the trending Moscatos, such as peaches and tropical fruits, but with less sweetness which is not typical for these flavors.
“We are the first winery in the nation to produce a varietal Aromella, which is fitting given our philosophy to ‘take the less traveled road’ and to make varietal wines that are out of the mainstream,” he added.
Goose Watch Winery is located at 5480 Route 89 in Romulus, NY on the Cayuga Lake Wine Trail with a satellite tasting room on Main Street in Lake Placid, N.Y. For more information about Goose Watch Winery and the wines they produce, click here.
