A winery from the Finger Lakes will be the first winery from New York state to sell their products in Puerto Rico.
That winery is Dr. Konstantin Frank Winery, located near Keuka Lake. Governor Kathy Hochul and other state officials note that the collaboration is historic and helps tap into a growing Puerto Rico wine market.
"Puerto Rico has shared so much of its culture, vibrancy, and creativity with New York, and our history and future are intrinsically intertwined," Hochul said in a statement released this week after the collaboration was announced.
The sale of the New York wines in Puerto is being coordinated through the New York State Office of Trade and Tourism and Serrallés Imports which is working to distribute the wines in Puerto Rico.
The announcement was toasted on Monday at a wine-tasting launch in San Juan.
Meaghan Frank is the great-granddaughter of Konstantin Frank, and is currently the winery’s vice president. She is hoping the entry of their historic winery into Puerto Rico will open the door for other Finger Lakes wineries to do business there.
“It's important to get the word out, about the Finger Lakes, and about all the wonderful things we're doing here in this region,” said Frank, who said that the Steuben County winery hopes for there eventually to be “a group of producers available, so that the brand of the Finger Lakes is known internationally and throughout the U.S. as well.”
Valerie Venezia-Ross, a marketing official with the New York Wine & Grape Foundation, noted that the NYS Office of Trade and Tourism has said that the wine market in Puerto Rico is a $150 million market and even though New York wines will be competing with products from Washington, California and Oregon, “there’s certain room for us to kind of integrate into the market and become part of the fabric.”
Dr. Konstantin Frank Winery will be providing its Riesling varieties and Rosé wine for export.
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