It quickly becomes a frustrating and unhelpful cycle.
“If you have the name of a producer, I can try and order that for you,” they said.
It was the same line over and over from different wine shops of varying size — boutique and larger-scale retail.
Even if they aren’t yet ingrained in the collective imagination of broader society, it remains surprisingly difficult to track down a reliable source for bottles of wine made from hybrid grapes in New York City.
Most wines with which people are familiar are made from grapes stemming from the European vitis vinifera species, which include the most widely known and popular winemaking grapes (Sauvignon blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot gris, Merlot, et al). Wines made from hybrid grapes, meanwhile, are the product of crossing vitis vinifera with other species, such as North American vitis labrusca or vitis riparia.
Generally speaking, grapes used for making wine grow almost exclusively between 30° and 50° north and south of the equator. Above this zone, the winters are too cold, spring frosts too damaging, and the sun’s warmth and light too scarce for grapes to fully ripen. Below that zone, hot and humid weather can lead to fungal disease and pests that vines find tough to withstand.
For decades, winemakers have played with hybrid grapes, in part, because of our changing climate. They have proven more adaptable to withstanding frosts, pests, heatwaves, and unpredictable weather patterns.
So why — in light of the climate crisis — is it still tough to find wines made from hybrid grapes? The problem, while multi-faceted, isn’t difficult to understand.
- Building demand is an uphill climb. Baby Boomers (people born between 1946 and 1964) still lead all age groups in share of wine consumption, according to the Silicon Valley Bank 2023 State of the US Wine Industry (PDF) report. At this age, most of those wine drinkers have settled into their comfort zones, routinely returning to grape varieties with which they are familiar—virtually all of them from the vitis vinifera species. That wouldn’t be bad news if the overall wine industry was growing. But it isn’t. It’s become increasingly apparent that the wine industry faces a demand problem that extends beyond the Millennial generation (those born between born between 1981 and 1996). Consumers are drinking across beverage channels, and those under 60 don’t have the same appreciation for wine as those over 60, Silicon Valley Bank reported.
- Bottles are expensive. Wines made from quality hybrid grapes often come from younger vineyards and vintners. Producing wine is an expensive proposition, so newer vineyards will charge more for cases, and that can translate to bottles being more expensive at the counter for consumers. It isn’t clear how much more expensive on average. To my knowledge there are no official databases providing that information. But anecdotal evidence from conversations with wine shop owners convey as much. At the end of the day, the makers of wines sourced from hybrid grapes are gunning to grow market share with younger consumers with less fixed palates and a willingness to explore names they don’t recognize. But this is also a group that has less spending power. Price points matter.
- Name recognition is tough. Humans have spent centuries developing tastes for vitis vinifera grape wines, so it’s going to be tough to interest them in wines sourced from grapes with names they don’t recognize. Are you more likely to choose a glass of dependable Gewürztraminer or try your luck with a new Traminette (the latter was originally bred at the University of Illinois in 1965).
- Hybrid grape growers lost the plot. When you start to investigate coverage of wines made from hybrid grapes, the reviews are scattered. For every article I’ve run across that described a hybrid grape wine as being delicious, aromatic, and well-balanced, there seemed to be multiple others that compared them to cheap swill. Of course, just as in traditional wines, not all are created equal. Still, there is a distinct undertone of inferiority that vintners must overcome for hybrid wines to take off.
My curiosity in hybrid grape wines has everything to do with climate change and an untrained palate. I’ve not sipped wine long enough to develop grape loyalties or expertise in the space, but I am an under-60 consumer interested in food and drink production that recognizes and contends with the indisputable fact that climate change is real, and that human activity intensifies its impact. As I invest time and energy exploring the space, it’s important to me to remain mindful of sourcing and sustainability practices.
So when I walk into wine shops, I’ll continue to ask. When a hybrid grape wine is available, I’ll continue to try them. And even if today it’s an exercise in exaggeration, I’ll continue to wonder: How far off are we from asking about a vitis vinifera wine, only for the shopkeeper to say: “If you have the name of a producer, I can try and order that for you.”