Local Vineyards Brace for Spotted Lanternfly's Inevitable Arrival

In its 50 years, the Long Island wine industry has faced an array of challenges — from combating mold and mildew to managing meddlesome birds, destructive pests and the impacts of climate change.

So far, the vineyards have survived them all.

And so, when considering the latest in this barrage of trials and tribulations — the spotted lanternfly — local winemakers say they are largely unconcerned, at least for now.

“Who knows? We’ll have to face it when it comes,” said Roman Roth, winemaker and partner at Wölffer Estate Vineyard in Sagaponack. “It’s hard to imagine that it’s like a whole locust plague, like Moses or something. I doubt that that’s happening, but it certainly is another thing to worry about.”

As most East End vineyards enter their harvest, which will unfold over the next six to eight weeks, vintners are paying attention to their grapes, heat and rain, and any approaching hurricanes or inclement weather, not the spotted lanternfly.

“At this point, we’re just keeping our eye open,” said Richard Olsen-Harbich, winemaker at Bedell Cellars in Cutchogue. “But right now, we’ve got harvest coming, and it’s not on our mind at all, quite honestly. Maybe it will become something we have to pay attention to down the road, but as of now, we haven’t had the issue at all.”

It is too late in the season for the spotted lanternfly — which feeds on grapevines among other plants — to pose a serious risk for the 2023 season, according to Kareem Massoud, winemaker at Paumanok and Palmer Vineyards, and president of Long Island Wine Country.

But next year could be a whole different story.

“I have yet to hear of a sighting in a vineyard,” he said. “So far, we’re still dodging bullets, but, unfortunately, it appears to be just a matter of time.”

While there are no reports of local infestations, there have been individual sightings on the East End.

Last week, Andy Gates, the principal environmental analyst in the East Hampton Town Department of Land Acquisition and Management, spotted two lanternflies on Ailanthus altissima — also known as the tree of heaven, the insect’s food of choice — in a preserve at 41 Three Mile Harbor-Hog Creek Road.

“Since then, I’ve found five more at the same site and two at a town preserve on Old House Landing Road,” he said. “I’ll be keeping an eye out, especially at properties with trees of heaven. I even spent some of my personal time looking at public lands in Hampton Bays this past weekend.”

Spotted lanternfly sightings can be reported at agriculture.ny.gov/spottedlanternfly, or by emailing photos and the location to spottedlanternfly@agriculture.ny.gov. And, most importantly, James Christopher Tracy, partner and winemaker at Channing Daughters Winery, offered the same advice as state officials: “If you see them, please kill them.”

In Southampton Town, Public Safety & Emergency Management Administrator Ryan Murphy is also encouraging residents not to become “inadvertent transporters” of the pesky insects or their eggs, which can be found on vehicles, in containers and on all sorts of surfaces.

“It is up to all of us to be aware and take action to help stop the spread of the spotted lanternfly,” Southampton Town Supervisor Jay Schneiderman said.

An invasive plant-hopper native to China, the spotted lanternfly is thought to have arrived in the United States on a stone shipment in 2012, according to Cornell University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. The first infestation was found two years later in Berks County, Pennsylvania, and despite a quarantine and efforts to eliminate the pest, the spotted lanternfly has spread to several states.

“On one hand, it’s scary, because when you see an infested plant or infested grapevine, it’s pretty disturbing, because it’s totally infested. It seems like it’s moving because there’s so many of them,” Massoud said.

“On the other hand, the key thing to keep in mind here is that the vineyards in Pennsylvania have been dealing with this now for nine years, and that industry is still going. So it is possible to manage it, but it is certainly a problem we’d rather not have.”

In 2020, New York State populations of spotted lanternflies were found in Staten Island and Ithaca. By the following year, they expanded through New York City to Long Island, the lower Hudson Valley and into Binghamton. Infestations were also reported in Massachusetts and Indiana.

In Suffolk County, the farthest east that an established population has been confirmed is Wading River, reported Jola Szubielski, director of public information for the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets.

“The department is concerned about spotted lanternfly on the East End of Long Island, in particular, because of its potential to cause damage to vineyards and other agricultural crops,” she said, “which could have a major economic impact on the region.”

While the spotted lanternfly is not dangerous to people or animals — they do not bite or sting — they can be destructive to the environment and agriculture, particularly grapes.

“Basically, what it does is, it literally will suck the sap out of the vine,” Massoud said. “One insect’s not a big deal, but when the vine is covered with these things, to the point where you can’t see the vine anymore — which is what happens with these infestations — you can potentially lose the vine.”

Until that day comes, it’s a waiting game for most vineyards, the winemaker said. There isn’t much that can be done to prepare for their inevitable arrival, he said, or to mitigate it.

“For many years, for us on eastern Long Island in the wine grape industry, it’s been recognized as a matter of when, not if, it makes it here,” he said, “and so we’ve been bracing ourselves for years.”

At Wölffer Estate Vineyard, which practices sustainable farming, Roth said they work to minimize the use of herbicides and insecticides, and “try to really look after the land,” both figuratively and literally, by frequently monitoring the vines.

If there’s a spotted lanternfly, someone is bound to see it, he said.

“We’re ready for that and we’ll see,” Roth said. “The rest we’ll have to see. But, I mean, it’s not going to be the plague or out of the Bible, I think. Hopefully, there will be a balance in life — and in the vineyard, of course.”