On Friday night at the East End Seaport Museum, Gibson Campbell of Macari Vineyards stood before a packed crowd and championed a bold new vision for New York wine: a unified industry built around a single red grape — Cabernet Franc. “Cabernet Franc,” he said, “is our grape.” The evening’s educational wine tasting event is part of a new grassroots campaign that brings together winemakers from across the state to shine a spotlight on Cabernet Franc as New York’s signature grape. Campbell is part of a growing movement who believe the underdog red wine variety — long used as a supporting player in Bordeaux-style blends — has the power to unite the state’s disparate wine regions and become its global calling card. That movement now has a name: “Cab Franc Forward.” Last fall, eight wineries from Long Island, the Finger Lakes and the Hudson Valley announced the formation of the group — including Macari Vineyards and Paumanok Vineyards from the North Fork, Wölffer Estate Vineyard from the South Fork; Milea Estate Vineyard and Fjord Vineyards from the Hudson Valley; and Boundary Breaks Vineyard, Hermann J. Wiemer Vineyard and Dr. Konstantin Frank from the Finger Lakes. “When you think of Napa, you think of Cabernet Sauvignon,” Campbell told Friday’s audience. “When you think of Bordeaux, you think of Pauillac. When you think of Italy, you think of Chianti and Sangiovese. So, you know, New York — we kind of have an identity crisis.” By aligning behind Cabernet Franc, winemakers hope to give the state a clear and unified message — one grape to rally behind in marketing and promotion. Friday’s event follows last year’s successful educational tasting at Greenport’s East End Seaport Museum & Marine Foundation, featuring McCall Wines. That event, Campbell said in an interview, was “just kind of a huge success,” prompting a wave of enthusiasm and feedback that ultimately led to this year’s Cabernet Franc-focused gathering. An ascendant grape The ‘Cab Franc Forward’ campaign marks a strategic shift for New York’s wine industry, which is still often regarded as a patchwork of boutique producers without a singular identity. While the Finger Lakes has long been praised for its Rieslings, and Long Island has earned a reputation for great Merlots and rosés, the industry has lacked a unifying varietal to market nationally and internationally. “Cab Franc is a thread we can weave through the whole state,” Campbell said. “It grows well in every major wine region here — and it expresses each of them in distinct and beautiful ways.” Cabernet Franc is now the most widely planted red vinifera grape in the state, according to the New York Wine & Grape Foundation. Unlike its more famous offspring, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc ripens earlier and is more cold-hardy, making it well suited for New York’s varied climates, from the icy slopes above Seneca Lake to the porous maritime soils of Long Island’s North Fork. The grape also offers an appealing middle ground: lighter than most Cab Sauvs, more herbaceous and nuanced than Merlot — and endlessly food-friendly. “You can have it with salmon, mushrooms, pizza, or just on its own,” Campbell said. “It’s got that freshness, that energy, that length.” Recognition at last In February, Cab Franc Forward held its first major tasting event at the Prince George Ballroom in Manhattan, drawing more than 500 industry professionals, critics and buyers. The event proved a turning point. “We were floored,” Campbell said. “It was a little bit of a song and a prayer. But the feedback was overwhelming.” Soon high scores began to roll in. “Reviewers who never returned our emails are now reaching out to us,” Campbell said. “It feels like the tide is finally turning.” Last month global wine authority James Suckling conducted one the largest-ever critical assessments of New York Cabernet Francs. In a tasting of 132 wines, 95 were awarded 90 or more points (out of 100), while six scored a 94, leading Suckling to conclude that “New York is home to some of the most compelling Cab Francs being produced in the United States.” Jonathan Cristaldi of Decanter magazine recently did a tasting of 250 New York wines, including 90 Cabernet Francs, saying the Cab Francs “stood out as particularly dynamic — earthy and finely structured … they leaned savory, with fine-grained tannins and an herbaceous edge that felt unmistakably New York. Not quite Loire earthy, and not sun-scorched California herbs — this was something uniquely its own with a deep forest, spicy, aromatic fresh factor.” ‘Terroir matters’ Cabernet Franc’s rise has been slow and steady — and almost accidental. Long Island’s first winemakers, Louisa and Alex Hargrave, planted Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir in 1973. Macari founder Joseph Macari followed a couple decades later, placing an early bet on Cab Franc. “When we made our first single varietal Cab Franc in 1997,” Campbell said, “people were skeptical. But it’s always been one of our standouts.” The wine’s appeal is partly technical — it performs well in New York’s cool climate, thrives in sandy loam soils and resists disease pressure better than many grapes. It’s also deeply rooted in its environment. “What we love about Cab Franc is that it reflects place,” Campbell explained. “Terroir matters. Cab Franc from Long Island shouldn’t taste like Cab Franc from France or California. It should taste like here.” Numerous East End Cab Francs have won industry awards, including a gold medal for Macari’s 2022 Lifeforce Cabernet Franc at this year’s TEXSOM awards, and a gold medal and 93 point score for Wölffer’s 2020 Caya Cabernet Franc at last year’s New York Wine Classic. Soil to cellar That sense of place is carefully nurtured. At Macari, vineyard workers hand-pull leaves to increase airflow and sun exposure around the grapes — a tedious, labor-intensive process designed to minimize mildew without chemical sprays. At Wiemer, viticulturists have gone further, achieving Demeter-certified biodynamic status, a rarity on the East Coast. And with clones of Cabernet Franc being propagated and shared among wineries statewide — including from Wiemer’s own nursery — the grape is becoming a literal unifier, its genetic material passed from region to region like a shared language. Cabernet Franc also offers winemakers creative range. Some produce sparkling pét-nats using the méthode ancestrale. Others craft refined, oak-aged reds with whole-cluster fermentation for added depth and complexity. The through-line is a commitment to small-batch, handcrafted wine made without shortcuts — and without mega-purple, powdered tannin or other industrial crutches that dominate the $8 bottle market. While Cabernet Franc’s roots stretch back 2,000 years to southwest France — where it parented both Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot — its future may now be staked in New York soil. “The vines here are 40, 50 years old now,” Campbell said. “They’re producing better and better fruit every year. And we’ve got the winemakers and the climate to match.” For all the accolades and momentum, Campbell knows that changing minds takes time. “Ten years from now, everybody will know Cabernet Franc,” he said, breaking into a broad grin. “But we’ll know we got there first.”
