Chepika Catawba Sparkling

Catawba

Finger Lakes, New York

Chëpìka is a project between Finger Lakes native winemaker Nathan Kendall and Pascaline Lepeltier. The name, coming from the Lenape language spoken by the Native American tribe of the Delaware, means “root”. The name was chosen as a tribute to the history of northeastern America, the presence of the Native Americans and the wild American grapes growing in this region, heritage that is unfortunately often overlooked. The goal of chëpìka is to go back to the roots of the wine history of the FLX region, by crafting with care wines made with the original hybrids growing around the lakes since the early 18th century. A hybridization between native American Vitis Labrusca and European Vini Vinifera, Catawba and Delaware were among the very first varieties to be used for quality wine production in Northeastern USA, after many trials to make some grapes survive with a palatable taste and a decent enough yield. They were major component of an industry of world-renowned sparkling and fortified, until Prohibition hit. After the repeal they became use mostly as table grape, juice, and mass-market sweet table wines. Yet these hybrids - with also the Concord, the Niagara, etc. - still represent today more than 70% of the planted acreage of the Finger Lakes region, certain able to grow with little to no need of chemical products.