Can anyone tell me why.....

[Thomas]

Roberto, we often agree--but this time, you are out to lunch. Here are the many reasons behind the lack of NY wines on the West Coast--or any coast other than East, but first please be aware that there is much more to NY wine than Long Island (it is a big state, you know). There are over 100 wineries spanning four major districts: Finger Lakes, Long Island, Hudson Valley and Lake Erie. Finger Lakes district has the highest number of producers (more than fifty).

In quality: it is there, but it is quite spotty.

Great Rieslings in the Finger Lakes--the greatest in this country, thank you very much. Also, some fine Gewurztraminer and Cabernet Franc, with a smidgeon of un-oaked Chardonnay that remind of Macon or Chablis. Great producers: Glenora, Vinifera Wine Cellars, Prejean, Fox Run, Hermann Wiemer, and about six others.

On Long Island, Merlot does best (in my opinion). Long Island has to overcome the fierce and tenacious vegetable overtones planted their by years of potato and other vegetable farms that have been turned into vineyards. One of my favorites: Lenz (winemaker worked at Mondavi and somewhere else in Ca, plus in disclosure, he is a friend of mine.) I also like Bedell wines and one or two other producers.

Hudson Valley has some good wines, plus lots of general stuff to go around that is of no major significance. The best producer I have found: Millbrook.

Lake Erie--not much that interests me here.

Reasons for lack of wine in your neck of the country: NY wines are consumed primarily in the home market, secondarily by tourists. Scarcity of land and financial resources limit planting and growth. There is so little wine that distributors aren't interested. Most winery operators in NY have no clue about marketing, and they have yet to figure out if they want to be in the national realm, although they continually complain that nobody writes about them (they do not seem to understand that national writers cover wines that are available nationally).

Having said all that let me make this suggestion: instead of waiting for NY wine to come to you, why not go to it? You do this with Italian wines, and I suppose others when you travel abroad. It seems to me that while the NY wineries want it both ways, so do the retailers who complain about not getting NY wine. Create your own access and you might be surprised at what happens.