Senator Clinton Hosts New York Farm Day
in Washington, DC

 Local Produce from across New York, including Long Island, the Hudson Valley, the Finger Lakes, Western New York and the North Country, Showcased in the Nation's Capital

Washington, DC - New York farm-fresh products, award-winning wines, and fine restaurants were on display in the nation's capital as Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton hosted her annual "New York Farm Day" in the Senate Russell Caucus Room at the crest of Capitol Hill.

In the past four years, New York Farm Day has become one of the most popular receptions on Capitol Hill and last night was no exception. Senator Clinton hosts Farm Day annually to show Congress, the Administration, and others, that New York is a major agricultural state, and agriculture is a major part of the state’s economy. As a reminder of this year’s Farm Day feast, all U.S. Senators and New York Representatives received a gift basket with a bottle of New York wine, McCadam Cheese, and an Empire Apple.

The event was organized according to the State’s major wine-producing regions—Long Island, the Hudson Valley, the Finger Lakes, Lake Erie (Chautauqua) and The Niagara Escarpment—as well as the North Country. Each region offered local agriculture products and wines to complement the selections.

With over 500 hundred guests, Farm Day attendees included Members of Congress, Congressional committee staffs, legislative chiefs of staff, agricultural specialists in Congress and the Administration, members of the Washington media, top area restaurants and fine wine shops.

"Every year I am thrilled when we can bring so much of New York's incredible produce down to Washington, to be showcased in the nation's capital. Farm Day gives us a unique opportunity to promote some of the best food and wine that New York has to offer, not only to lawmakers but to restaurants and writers and so many others. I am very pleased that we had so many products on display from across the state, giving everyone a true taste of New York," Senator Clinton said.

"Last night's presentation just proves New York has it all – great foods, great wines, great restaurants," said Jim Trezise, President of the statewide New York Wine & Grape Foundation, which organizes the event. “When most people think of New York, they think of the Statue of Liberty, Broadway, or Times Square. But New York is much greater than those wonderful attractions, and it was fun to watch people discover that fact. We applaud Senator Clinton for using New York Farm Day to raise awareness among her colleagues, the media, and others that New York State produces some of the world’s best foods and wines, which some of the world’s best chefs turn into mouth-watering magic."

From Long Island, came Long Island Potato Chips; Mesculun Salad Mix with Fresh Tomatoes, and Goat Cheese; Fresh Oysters and Clams; and Boneless Free Range Long Island Duck Breast. Chef/Owner Tom Schaudel of Cool Fish Restaurant offered Duck Proscuitto with North Fork Peaches with Verjus-Blue Cheese Drizzle/Saba—accompanied by wines from Castello di Borghese, Palmer Vineyards, and Shinn Estate Vineyards.

The Hudson Valley region was represented by Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture which served Fresh Eggs and Mixed Greens and Cornell Cooperative Extension’s Hudson Valley Fruit Project featured a Chocolate Fountain with Assorted Fruits for Dipping; Assorted Fruits and Vegetables and New York's Finest Apple Berry Juice Blends. The Culinary Institute of America’s gustatory offering of Hudson Valley Harvest Blondies, Concord Grape and Spiced Apple Jelly's was accompanied by wines from Clinton Vineyards, and Rivendell Winery.

Appropriately located between the large apple-producing regions of the Hudson Valley and Finger Lakes, the New York Apple Association featured Fresh New York Apples and Fresh New York Apple Cider.

New York City’s Savoy restaurant served Corn (from Sheldon Farms) Pudding with Pepper Braised Tamworth Pork Shoulder from Flying Pigs Farm.

From the Finger Lakes region, farmers and chefs involved with "Finger Lakes Culinary Bounty" displayed the abundance of fresh produce and specialty items created upstate including Nunda Mustard, Marc Anthony Specialty Sausage & Sopresata, Crackerman of Etna Crackers, Whole in the Wall Pesto, Franjo Farms Onion Jelly, Chutney Fever Organic Chutney, Lively Run Goat Cheese, Ithaca Bakery Bread, Bisco Salsa, Red Jacket Orchards Fruit Butter, Martin's Red Pepper Jam, and Dr. Chingadilla's Corn Salsa.

Chef Debra Whiting of Red Newt Cellars Winery & Bistro, Chef Jack Carrington of Sheldrake Point Vineyard & Café and Chef Frank Caravita of Fox Run Vineyards & Café demonstrated how Finger Lakes wineries have taken the lead in creating fine cuisine in that agriculturally rich region by offering, respectively, Red Jacket Orchard’s Empress Plum & Lively Run Goat Farm Chevre Torte with Plum Coulis; Wood Fired McDonald Farm Lamb Chop with a Cranberry Peach Chutney; and FreshLink Farms Baby Greens with Lively Run Goat Cheese, Red Jacket Orchards Apples, Spicy Nuts and Fox Run Riesling Dressing.

Participating Finger Lakes wineries included Americana Vineyards Winery, Anthony Road Wine Company, Casa Larga Vineyards, Chateau LaFayette Reneau, Dr. Frank’s KonstantinVinifera Wine Cellars, Fox Run Vineyards, Fulkerson Winery, Glenora Wine Cellars, Goose Watch Winery, Hazlitt 1852 Vineyards, Heron Hill Winery, Hosmer Winery, Hunt Country Vineyards, King Ferry Winery(Treleaven), Knapp Winery, Lakewood Vineyards, Pleasant Valley Wine Company, Red Newt Cellars, Sheldrake Point Vineyards, Swedish Hill Vineyards, and Wagner Vineyards.

The Lake Erie region, where "Concord is King!", and the Niagara Escarpment were represented by National Grape Cooperative/Welch Foods, featuring Concord and Niagara Sparkling and Still Grape Juice as well as Welch’s Fruit Snacks. Wines from Johnson Estate Winery, Merritt Estate Winery, Mazza Chautauqua Cellars, The Winery at Marjim Manor, Vetter Vineyards Winery and Warm Lake Estate were also featured. Cornell University's Potato Variety Research for the Culinary Arts featured Flavorful Adirondack Reds, Adirondack Blues and NY-79 varieties of potatoes developed specifically for New York's growing conditions and combined into a patriotic "Red, White and Blue" Potato Salad by a regional chef. FreshLink Farms, a hydroponic greenhouse, offered Mixed Greens and Micro Greens.

The North Country was represented with a potpourri of offerings including Saranac Beer, McCadam Cheese, Swiss'er Sweet Maple Sweet Shot, Pierce's Sugar Spigot Maple Lollipops and Maple Hard Candies, Harvest Herb Company Hand Blended Oil/Herb Dipping Sauce, Merrick's Bakery Artisan Bread, Upstate New York Growers & Packers Cooperative Butternut Squash Cookies, Kilcoyne Farms All Natural Pasture Raised Beef Jerky, Northern Lights Creamery and Mercer's Ice Cream A La Port Wine Ice Cream.

The New York Maple Producers Association presented a broad array of products including maple syrup, maple cream, and maple sugar. Ice Wines from Casa Larga Vineyards, Hunt Country Vineyards, and Sheldrake Point Vineyards rounded out the bounty of New York products.

In addition, New York City was represented by Savoy Restaurant. The “Farm Tables” and a centerpiece "Cornucopia" created by Bill Sanok of Cornell Cooperative Extension (retired) on Long Island included everything from A to Z (apples to zucchini), with a bounty of fresh vegetables, fruits, dairy products, meat and seafood illustrating New York’s diversity as an agricultural state. Though few farmers attended because the event is in the middle of the fall harvest, they generously contributed their products for this event.

New York Farm Day was sponsored by Constellation Brands, Farm Credit Associations of New York and CoBank, Long Island Farm Bureau, MasterCraft Glassware, McCadam Cheese, New York Farm Bureau, the New York State Restaurant Association, the New York Apple Association, Special Event Management Services and the New York Wine & Grape Foundation. The event was organized by the New York Wine & Grape Foundation in conjunction with numerous other organizations and individuals who contributed their time, products and services for the good of New York.

Farming is a $3.6 billion industry vital to New York’s economy. About 25% of the State's land area, or 7,650,000 acres, is covered by 36,000 farms. New York is among America’s major agricultural states, ranking #2 in apples and maple syrup, #3 in dairy, grapes, wine, and corn silage, #4 in pears, and #5 in floriculture.

"Senator Clinton has become a true missionary for New York agriculture, including the grape and wine industry," said Jim Trezise. "This food and wine showcase is designed to facilitate her strong advocacy of New York agriculture by tastefully showing her colleagues that New York has some of the best foods, wines, and restaurants in the world."