New hybrid grapes help grow wine industry in cold US regions

CORINTH, N.Y. (AP) — The Marquette grapevines clinging to a steep, rocky hillside in the southeastern Adirondacks are among a host of new grape varieties that have enabled a boutique wine industry to take root in areas of the Northeast and Midwest that were previously inhospitable. There were about 2,000 wineries in the U.S. in 2000; today, there are more than 8,000, according to the industry publication Wines and Vines. “Across the country we’ve seen a huge expansion in wine and grape production and wine-related tourism.”