S2 EP0027 - Wine Reads - The Future of Winemaking is Hybrid

If you like this podcast, please be sure to rate us 5 stars in Apple podcasts and like our videos on YouTube, and visit my winery in the Finger Lakes at Missick Cellars.&#160;<br/><br/>Episode 0027:<br/><br/>Wine Reads &#8211; December 2, 2021<br/><br/><a href="https://wineindustryadvisor.com/2021/09/02/winemaking-hybrid-grapes">https://wineindustryadvisor.com/2021/09/02/winemaking-hybrid-grapes</a><br/><br/>TRANSCRIPT<br/><br/>Hi, this is Chris Missick, and welcome to Viti+Culture, and our segment Wine Reads, where we take a look at some of the most interesting, compelling, and even controversial stories and articles in wine.&#160; With harvest behind us and winemaking ongoing in the cellar, I had bookmarked a story from September, that I thought would shed a fascinating light on an entire category of winegrapes that many grape growers on the West Coast of the U.S., and certainly in many of wine growing regions around the world, have very&#160; little experience with, than is hybrid grapes.&#160; Although I personally farm vitis vinifera, Riesling, Cabernet Franc and Chenin Blanc, I work with growers and make wines from a wide variety of hybrid grapes here in the Finger Lakes.&#160; From Seyval Blanc, Vidal Blanc, and Cayuga, as white varietals, to Marechal Foch, De Chaunac, Marquette, Baco Noir, Chambourcin as red varietals.&#160;&#160;<br/><br/>Some receive their own bottling, most are components in delicious, but cost effective blends, and all are worthy of more attention and some discussion.&#160; I&#8217;ve enjoyed some wonderful hybrid wines from Switzerland, and tasted some remarkable hybrid wines from places like Missouri, Michigan, and Tennessee.&#160; These varietals make winemaking possible, where vinifera otherwise wouldn&#8217;t survive or thrive.&#160; They also lend a new light on sustainability efforts, requiring less sprays, and less concern over certain aspects of canopy management or cold damage.&#160;&#160;<br/><br/>Coming to us from the Wine Industry Network ADVISOR, Kathleen Willcox discuss