Have you considered the hardier Kristin cherry?

We are also in VT (Champlain Valley) and have several types of sweet Cherries. Kristin is the hardest Red we have, followed by White gold then black gold. We have Hudson and the Ebony series which are less hardy bud wise. We also have a couple of "Starks Gold" cherries which are hardier than Kristin. While they are good, (Sweet and juicy) they do not have the "Cherry" flavor the reds have. We sort of consider them a fruit type of thier own, and they are very productive.

Thanks guys,

I had considered Kristin but thought I had read that it was relatively crack prone compared to the others mentioned here. I will look into it some more.

Plumhill, It is interesting to see you placing whitegold ahead of blackgold on the hardiness spectrum. I usually see it the other way around. How far ahead of Blackgold do you see whitegold blooming?
I will have to keep an eye out at Jubilee farms for your gold cherries and give them a try. Last spring you gave me some scion from it when I was getting all that plum wood. The gold didn't take (almost all the plums did, thanks again).
Are you guys growing any tart cherries? I am wondering if it is true that the gold blooms late enough fro them to act as pollinators if one has no other sweets