Dr. Frank, who came from eastern Europe, and he found out how to grow many European grapes in the eastern US. He used some techniques he knew from areas of eastern Europe that had very cold winters. He found one main problem was the root stock used for the graft. In the past, attempts to grow European grapes in the northern US usually resulted in the death of the vines very soon because of the very low winter temperatures.He established a vineyard in the Finger Lakes region of NY many years ago which has grown greatly. Dr Frank and then a son ran the vineyard. His grandson now runs the vineyard. Frank has a rather detailed site at
Dr. Frank introduced the Rkatsiteli grape to the US. It comes from the slopes of Mt. Ararat in eastern Europe.
The Rkatsiteli 2006 is very light yellow and is ready to drink. It is well balanced, even when quite young. I don't know if it would age well, but unlike many Rieslings, it does not seem to require age to smooth out initial harshness. It has a very fruity, intense, and complex bouquet and taste, even more so than most Rieslings. This is a very unique wine that would not be mistaken for many other wines. Riesling might be the best comparison, but that is a bit misleading. The fruit reminds me more of mixed melons with perhaps hints of tropical fruits than of the apricot and peach notes of many Rieslings. Unlike many Rieslings, I detect no petrol character. Then there is something floral that gives a hint of some exotic perfume made up of many components. The wine, although very intense in bouguet and taste, is not at all heavy in body. There is enough of very clean acidity to balance and just a bit of residual sugar.
Some have suggested that this wine is a good match for some Asian food such as Chinese and perhaps is a better match than Riesling. It will stand up to more highly seasoned, sometimes slightly sweet, Asian food that is overpowering for a Riesling. Of course it would not stand up well to a dish loaded with hot pepper or swimming in some of the very aromatic fish sauces.