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Picture: Meaghan Frank and Christian Schiller. See: The 2017 American Wine Society National Conference in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania, USA: Seen Through Christian Schiller's Camera Lens
This posting is based on the invitation prepared by Sandra Cruz, a summary report prepared by Carl Willner and my previous postings on the Dr. Konstantin Frank Winery:
Dr. Frank Wines from Finger Lakes Featured at State Luncheon for Chancellor Merkel in Washington, D.C., USA
German Wine Makers in the World: Dr. Konstantin Frank (USA)Meaghan, Frederick, Willy and Dr. Konstantin Frank
Meaghan Frank is the fourth generation to run the winery. She is the great granddaughter of the founder, Dr. Konstantin Frank. Meaghan earned an MBA in wine business from the University of Adelaide, Australia, a Masters in enology from Cornell University, New York, and the WSET Diploma from the Wine & Spirit Education Trust. Meaghan was a most gracious and knowledgeable guide to her family’s vineyard and its varied wines.
Meaghan`s father, Frederick Frank, President of the winery, remains involved. Frederick is a graduate of Cornell University and attended the Geisenheim Research Institute for Viticulture and Enology in Germany.
Frederick took over from his parents,
Willy and Margrit Frank. Margrit was borne in Hamburg, Germany, and
emigrated as a young woman to the USA, where she met Willy Frank.
Founder Dr. Konstantin Frank (1897 -1985) was born in Europe, Odessa, then part of the Tsarist Russian Empire, now Ukraine into a Russian-German family. Dr. Konstantin Frank ignited the so-called vitis vinifera revolution, which changed the course of wine growing in the Finger Lakes and, more generally, in the north-east of the USA.
Dr. Konstantin Frank earned his Ph.D. in Viticulture in the Ukraine from the University of Odessa. He was 52, when he arrived in the USA. When the first vintage of the Dr. Konstantin Frank Winery was released in 1962, he was 63 years old.
Pictures: Zoom Tasting with Meaghan Frank of the Dr. Konstantin Frank Winery, Finger Lakes, New York State: USA, Germany, Ukraine, Russia
Dr. Konstantin Frank Winery and Germany
Founder
Dr. Konstantin Frank was born in the Tsarist Russian Empire into a Russian-German family. The Germans came in waves
from the West to Russia and settled there from the 16th century onwards.
A big wave of German immigration occurred in the 18th century under
Catherine the Great, who herself was a German from Anhalt.
The
Frank
family belongs to the Black Sea Germans. They settled in the territories
of the Black Sea in the 18th and 19th centuries. It was Meaghan`s great
great grandfather, who was borne in Germany and followed the invitation
to settle in the Black Sea region. The Frank family lived there in a
German enclave.
At the time Dr. Konstantin Frank was born, Odessa belonged to the Tsarist Russian Empire. When Dr. Konstantin Frank, surviving the Russian Revolution and two World Wars, left and moved to the USA in 1951, it was part of the Soviet Union.
After the breakdown of the Soviet Union 40 years later, it became Ukraine.
I have met Frederick Frank several times. We always communicated in German. Fred got his wine growing and wine making training in Geisenheim in Germany.
Dr. Konstantin Frank Winery and the Vitis Vinifery Revolution in the Finger Lakes
With extensive experience growing the vitis vinifera
varientals in below freezing temperatures back in his home land, Frank
knew it would be possible with the grafting techniques that he developed
to plant vitis vinifera varietals in the cool Northern fringes of
the North-eastern US. The struggle to do this goes back many centuries.
In the original charter of the 13 colonies was a royal commission to
pursue three luxury items that England was unable to provide for
itself: wine, silk, and olive oil. Every colony made attempts to satisfy
the requirements of its charter, but made only limited progress. The
problem was that on the one hand there were the native American grapes.
All these native American grapes were cold tolerant and disease and pest
resistant, but not that well suited for wine making, due to their
coarseness, high tannins, and foxy flavors. On the other hand, the vitis
vinifera which settlers brought from Europe, were well suited for wine
making, but uniformly unable to survive long enough to produce a crop.
Despite many years of failure, the early Americans persisted in
their efforts. And they had some success. A big step forward was made in
1740 when a natural cross pollination occurred between a native
American grape and a European vitis vinifera. Other successful crossings
followed.
So, only native American grapes and European American hybrids were
grown in the Finger Lakes area, when Dr. Konstantin Frank arrived in the
United States in 1951, finding work at a Cornell University
experimental station in the Finger Lakes region. Having grown vitis
vinifera back home in regions so cold that "spit would freeze before
touching the ground" Dr. Frank believed that the lack of proper
rootstock, not the cold climate, was the reason for the failure of vitis
vinifera in the Finger Lakes region. He thought that European grapes
could do well on the rolling, well-drained hills around the Finger Lakes
provided they were grafted onto early maturing American rootstock.
With the help of the French champagne maker Charles Fournier, Dr.
Frank put his ideas into practice. He developed the right root stock and
grafted European vitis vinifera on them. He planted these vitis
vinifera in the slate soil around Lake Keuka and he opened a winery,
Vinifera Wine Cellars, in 1962. Despite his success, other winemakers
still doubted him for many years and he had trouble getting New York
distributors to handle his wine.
Today, Dr. Konstantin Frank is recognized as having led the revolution in wine
quality in New York State and the East Coast.
Dr. Konstantin Frank Winery and the American Wine Society
Dr. Konstantin Frank is the founder of the American Wine Society.
I
have been a member of the American Wine Society for many years. For
several years now, Annette has led tastings at the Annual Conventions of
the American Wine Society. At the 2017 National Convention in
Pennsylvania, we celebrated the 50th Anniversary of the American Wine
Society with the Frank family.
See: The 2017 American Wine Society National Conference in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania, USA: Seen Through Christian Schiller's Camera Lens
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