{"version":1,"type":"rich","provider_name":"Libsyn","provider_url":"https:\/\/www.libsyn.com","height":90,"width":600,"title":"From Napa to Lake Champlain: A Winemaker, a Blank Canvas & the Future of New York Wine","description":"What would make a Napa winemaker leave Cabernet country and head almost to the Canadian border to work with grapes like La Crescent, Marquette and Petite Pearl? For Kyle Mizuno, Director of Winemaking and Head Winemaker at Rolling Hills Estate Winery, it was the opportunity to help write a wine story that is still very much in its beginning. In this episode of Uncork Your Mind, Kyle joins me from Westport, New York, to talk about his journey from studying biochemistry at UC Davis to entering the Napa wine industry\u2014and ultimately trading an established wine region for the possibilities of New York\u2019s Champlain Valley. Kyle describes Napa as a place where the picture has largely been painted. You can make the blues deeper, the reds brighter and the greens bolder, but consumers often know what they expect the finished picture to look like. The Champlain Valley gave him something different: A brand-new palette and a blank canvas. We talk about the challenges of growing grapes this far north, the moderating influence of Lake Champlain, dramatically higher acidity, short harvest windows and what happens when a California winemaker discovers that October really does mean the end of harvest. We also get into some grapes you may\u2014or may not\u2014know: La Crescent, Marquette, Petite Pearl, Frontenac and Frontenac Gris. Kyle shares why La Crescent reminds him of \u201csunshine in a bottle,\u201d what he sees in Marquette and Petite Pearl, and why his goal isn't to make hybrid grapes imitate Cabernet Sauvignon or Chardonnay. Instead, he's applying the attention to detail he learned making high-end Napa wines to discovering what these cold-climate grapes can become when allowed to express their own personalities. Perhaps most exciting is the bigger picture. Rolling Hills Estate Winery has planted 20 acres in a region that is still developing its wine identity, and Kyle sees an opportunity not just to build a winery, but to help build a wine community. Could today's Champlain Valley be experiencing its own pioneering wine moment? Pour yourself a glass and join us for a fascinating conversation about taking risks, rediscovering winemaking and helping write the next chapter of New York wine. Because sometimes the most interesting wines aren't the ones whose stories have already been told. They're the ones whose stories are just beginning. ","author_name":"Uncork Your Mind","author_url":"http:\/\/uncorkyourmind.libsyn.com","html":"