Thanksgiving this year brought us to New York to spend some quality time with my brother and sister-in-law. To persuade our visit to their coast, they offered to take us up to the Finger Lakes wine region the day after Thanksgiving - they know us too well. I've read good things about the area, so I was interested in checking it out.
The Finger Lakes are a series of narrow north to south running lakes that were formed by glacial activity. It's served as farming region and a vacation destination for quite a while. There's been winemaking going on in the Finger Lakes for a very long time, though the area didn't find the acclaim that West Coast wines have until recently. It's not an easy place to grow grapes due to the colder climate, and for a long time wineries felt that Vitis venifera grapes (the species that makes up almost all mainstream wine) could not grow in such a cold climate. Instead the fledgling wineries grew American grape varieties, like Concord and Norton, and later hybrid French/American grapes like Vidal Blanc, Vignoles, and Baco Noir. Often times these grapes were made into sweet wines, which is what folks came to expect of the area. A dramatic shift occurred when Dr. Konstantin Frank emigrated the region to work at nearby Cornell University. Based on his experience in Ukraine successfully growing Vitis vinifera, he showed that grapes such as Riesling, Gewürztraminer and Pinot Noir could grow well in the area if they were grafted onto native grape root stocks. Based on his winery's success, others followed suit, and the Finger Lakes began to gather a reputation as a quality wine region.
While preparing for the trip, I came across Evan Dawson's excellent book:
Summer in a Glass. He's a news reporter for a Rochester TV station, and has become a big fan of the wines being made in the Finger Lakes. The book focuses on the stories behind the winemakers and the growth of the region. The book heightened my excitement for the trip and gave me guidance for what wineries were must visits.
We assumed was that it was going to be cold, however I took this to mean that it would be rather chilly, I did not expect it to be snowing and cold as hell the whole time. It wasn't anything out of the ordinary, but a bit surreal for my wife and I. California is a pretty temperate place, so snow in the vineyards is a funny thing to see.
Saturday (Seneca Lake)
Anthony Road Wine Company ($2 tasting, wines $9-$28)
'10 "Art Series" Riesling, '12 Pinot Gris, '12 Gewürztraminer, '12 Semi-Dry Riesling, '12 Rosé of Cabernet Franc, NV "Devonian" Red Blend (Cabernet Franc/Lemberger/Pinot Noir), '12 Pinot Noir, '12 Cabernet Franc/Lemberger, '12 Semi-Sweet Riesling, '12 "Sweet Dream" (Vignoles), NV "Tony's White" (Cayuga White)
I wasn't sure what to expect from New York wineries. Quite honestly the snow and ice in the parking lot freaked me out. The atmosphere inside Anthony Road was mellow, it seemed like a large and rambunctious group was leaving just as we were coming in, and the staff were relieved that the big group was leaving. I did find the setup to be a bit strange. The was a cash register at the very front of the room, and there were shelves with the wines displayed like a regular wine shop. There must be some rule about New York wineries running their commerce in such a way, because all of the other places that we visited (aside from Kemmeter) had the same setup. Maybe it's not a state rule, maybe it's a regional trend, but either way it's not something that I've seen except for at the very large wineries in California.
I was interested in visiting Anthony Road because it's winemaker - Johannes Reinhardt - is heavily featured in the Evan Dawson book. Johannes' winemaking skill is spoken of very highly in the book, and I figured it would be good to see what the big deal is. Johannes is the winemaker at Anthony Road, and has recently opened up his own winery - Kemmeter - just across the road. I made sure to make an appointment at Kemmeter and figured while we were in the area we could try his Anthony Road wines.
Anthony Road was established by the Martini family, who are still the owners today. Initially they planted all hybrid grape vines, but have since replaced all those vines aside from the Vignoles with
Vitis vinifera. They have a long list of wines, allowing tasters to try five (also a practice that almost every other winery in New York embraced). Since my wife and I were both tasting, we split our tastes and covered ten of the wines. The wine list showed a wide diversity of wines for varying audiences that the wine list was directed at: a variety of sweet wines, easy and inexpensive wines, and slightly higher priced, but still reasonable wines. The staff person that attended to us was sweet and calm. When I asked if there was another common name for the Dornfelder, she fished out a wine book and shared with me that the other name is Blaufrankisch - a wine that we'd see by either name throughout our visit.
The wines were solid, not amazing, appealing in a mainstream yet respectable way, with narrow flavor variety. The dry and semi-dry whites had a nice variety of flavors, though didn't have very much depth. The "Art Series" Riesling was the most enjoyable, loads of pineapple and lemon, with a syrupy body. The Rosé was a strange profile, tobacco box and watermelon rind, and somehow light with lots of tongue drying tannins at the same time. The reds were tart and a bit too thin. We all really enjoyed the semi-sweet and dessert wines, especially the "Sweet Dream." It was candied grapefruit syrup with a nice and varied profile. The residual sugar was 14.2%, so definitely not for the diabetics.
Experience: B / Wines: B-
Kemmeter Wines ($0 tasting, wines $24-$30)
'12 Riesling - Red Tail Ridge, '12 Riesling - White Pine, '12 Riesling - Sheldrake Point, '12 "SanSan" Riesling
After reading the Dawson book, the one place that I knew I had to visit in the region was Kemmeter. Johannes Reinhardt just opened up his personal winery in August, but already there are people raving about the wines. I hoped that the experience would be unique and informative --- it was that and a whole lot more. On our arrival Johannes was immediately welcoming, handshakes and smiles, while gently ribbing my brother about his Arsenal scarf, Johannes was wearing a Bayern Munich hat.
As we settled in, Johannes gave us an in-depth overview of our tasting. He's a strong believer in the Finger Lakes region, and truly believes that with better farming practices the region can create great wines. Johannes comes from a family of winemakers in the famed Riesling region of Mosel, Germany, so he's likely to know a thing or two.
Our tasting comprised of four Rieslings, the first three were made to be emblematic of the diversity of the region. The Red Tail Vineyard Riesling exhibited the characteristics of Seneca Lake - the lake that Kemmeter is on, as well the basic center of the region. The White Pine is a from a vineyard close to Lake Ontario, the the far Northwest of the region. And the Sheldrake Point is from the Cayuga Lake, more of western part of the area. The SanSan was a sweeter wine, also from Red Tail Ridge. Johannes is beginning the process of preparing the land at the recently purchased site to be converted over to a vineyard, which will eventually be the source of his wines.
The diversity of the wines was astounding. All had great acid and great balance. The Red Tail Ridge was deeply serious, a kind and candied nose gave way to layers of lemons that rushed to cover my palate. The White Pine was more light, with pie crust. The Sheldrake Point had a neat profile and a funny diet 7-Up aspect, as well as green apples. Finally the SanSan, oh the SanSan. It was made in a
spätlese style,which means that it's a late harvest wine. It showed a great amount of complexity - white and green pepper, golden cider, as well being super smooth. I was a big fan.
Visits like the one that we had with Johannes are the quintessential experience that I seek out in the world of wine. He's very passionate about making great wine. He takes great pleasure in what he does and his enthusiasm is infectious. It's a great thing to partake.
Experience: A / Wines: A-
Red Tail Ridge Winery ($2 tasting, wines $12-$23)
'12 Unoaked Chardonnay, 12 Barrel Fermented Chardonnay, '12 Dry Riesling, '12 Riesling, '12 Semi-Sweet Riesling, '12 "Good Karma" (Riesling/Chardonnay), '11 Pinot Noir, '11 Blaufränkisch
Oh man, going from Kemmeter to Red Tail Ridge is a shock to the system. Kemmeter is positive, excited and artisanal. Red Tail is cranky and rigid. I had high hopes for our visit, having heard good things from the Evan Dawson book and others in the area, but we did not have a positive experience.
The owners bring their previous professional experiences into running Red Tail Ridge. The wife of the team previously was a VP at a large corporate winery in California. The husband was an executive in the financial sector. They work together to make the all of the decisions about winemaking and the business management. One of the things that piqued my interest was their environment focus - having a
LEED certified facility and utilizing sustainable farming techniques. I assume that wineries that focus on the environment are also focused on creating a calm and enjoyable customer experience. This was not at all the case on the day that we visited.
The woman that attended to us in the tasting room didn't seem to be in the best mood, robotically pouring and delivering the scripted talking points about the wines. Between certain wines, like from dry wines to semi-sweet, and whites to red wines, she insisted on pouring water into our glasses - instructing us to drink the water while clearing the glass. My wife even asked that she not do that, but the woman was unrelenting. Somehow this led to her telling us that the owners are very watchful about how much wine gets poured in the tasting room - there's an equation that adds up the number of tasting room visitors and measures that against the amount of wine poured, if those two don't match up the tasting room staff gets in trouble.
Things about the wines were hinky too. At some point I asked about the alcohol level of a wine, and was told that it was 12% - and that all of the wines were 12%. That sort of sets off alarms for me, that the wines are made to stand on their own merits, instead that no matter the variety they are built to fit into the same box. Across the spectrum the wines were limited in profile, though the primary flavors were enjoyable and the acid characteristics were enjoyable. I'm guessing that the wines were made with a eye toward being easy and moderate pleasing to a wide range of audiences rather than being true and/or interesting. The Rieslings were the most enjoyable for me, the reds were the least.
Experience: C- / Wines: C+
Hermann J. Wiemer Winery ($5 for regular tasting + $5 for premium tasting, wines $11-$36)
NV Rosé (Pinot Noir/Cabernet Franc/Chardonnay), '11 "Frost Cuveé" (Riesling/Chardonnay/Gewürztraminer/Sauvignon Blanc), '12 Chardonnay, '12 Gewürztraminer, '12 Dry Riesling, '12 Semi-Dry Riesling, '09 "Field Cuveé" (Cabernet Franc/Pinot Noir/Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot/Lemberger), '11 Cabernet Franc, '12 Late Harvest Riesling, '12 Reserve Dry Riesling, '12 Dry Riesling - Magdalena, ' 10 Cabernet Franc - Magdalena
Wiemer is one of the cornerstone wineries in the region. Hermann Wiemer emigrated to the region from Germany in the 1960's, bringing with him the knowledge gained from his family's many generations of winemaking in the Mosel. In 2003, Fred Merwarth took over as head winemaker after being Hermann's longtime apprentice. In 2007, Wiemer retired and began shifting full control of the winery over to Merwarth.
Upon our arrival, staff greeted us pleasantly, though they were a bit stiff. There was what appeared to the main tasting area, which was a cozy bar area by the main entrance. Though we were lead into the winery, which was a much bigger and open space, which had a larger bar area. My guess is that on busier days this is where they do their tasting, as there were three or four other groups in this area. Unfortunately for us, this area was also not as well climate controlled, and was cold as hell. The lady who poured our wine for us was wearing a thick fur jacket, gloves and seemed off-put by the cold as well. She wasn't the most astute tasting room attendant, but was amiable and patient.
Amiable and patient may also be the most accurate way for me to describe the Wiemer wines. Aside from the reserves, all of the wines had a similar profile - cute, quaint, and generally easy. I enjoyed them but found their sameness a bit odd. The reds were a bit more interesting, especially the Cabernet Franc. The attendant was nice enough to do side by side pourings of the reserve Dry Riesling next to the Magdalena Riesling and the regular Cabernet Franc next to the reserve. It was surprising to see how much more dense and action-packed the Magdalena Riesling and the Reserve Cab Franc had next to their brethren. Those comparisons really spoke volumes about how much vine selection plays into making higher quality wine.
Experience: B / Wines: B
Sunday (Keuka Lake)
Dr. Konstantin Frank Vernifera Wine Cellars ($0 tasting, wines $15-$70)
'08 Blanc de Blanc Sparkling, '10 Pinot Blanc, '11 Grüner Veltliner, '12 Rkatsieli, '12 Dry Riesling, '12 Gewürztraminer, '11 Reserve Gewürztraminer, '11 Cabernet Franc, '11 "Old Vines" Pinot Noir, '11 Pinot Meunier, '11 Cabernet Sauvignon, '07 Blanc de Noir Sparkling, '08 Bunch Select Late Harvest Riesling
As I mentioned at the top of this post, Dr. Frank is the granddaddy of them all, showing the region that Vinifera varity grapes can succeed, and not just rely on native and hybrid grapes. The winery has also employed folks that went on to become winemakers at other Finger Lakes establishments - such as Johannes Reinhardt, who's now at Kemmeter and Anthony Road.
The winery sits on a hill overlooking Kueka Lake. Standing on the deck by the entrance affords a lovely panoramic view of the surroundings. It was a cold morning so we took in the sights quickly and headed inside. Immediately upon entering the foyer there was a velvet rope strung across the entrance to the tasting room. An employee lifted the rope, and directed us to an open counter space. We were some of the first guests that day and it was quiet inside, but apparently the rope is used at all times. I thought it was a weird choice to have a setup like this, but I guess it must get quite busy. Our knowledgeable host appraised us of the situation - we were allowed five tastings each off of a very long list. Being the clever drinkers that we are, my wife and I teamed up to cover a good amount of the wines.
Since Dr. Frank was such an staunch advocate for Vinifera grapes that would succeed in the region, I saw the varietals that I expected to see - Riesling, Gewürztraminer, and Pinot Noir. All three were just okay, but definitely not taking any risks. I was excited to try the Rkatsiteli. It's a grape that I've never had before - it's an old Eastern European varietal - it was watery and had a limited profile, probably why it's not popular anymore, but it was neat to try. I found the Pinot Meunier enjoyable - nice light berry notes and hints of bark. My clever wife was able to persuade the attendant to allow us a taste of the Bunch Select Late Harvest Riesling - a rare bottling of their noble rot (aka "
trockenbeerenauslese"). It was indeed quite delicious, a golden apple pie syrup, with hints of sage.
Experience: B / Wines: B-
Heron Hill Winery ($5 tasting, wines $14-$25)
'11 "Eclispe White" (Chardonnay/Pinot Gris/Pinot Blanc), '12 Reserve Pinot Gris, '12 Dry Riesling, '12 Reserve Riesling, '11 Muscat, '12 Reserve Gewürztraminer, '12 Semi-Dry Riesling, '11 Riesling - Ingle, '11 Pinot Noir, '11 Cabernet Franc, '11 Reserve Blaufränkisch, '11 Late Harvest Vidal Blanc
I was a bit hesitant about going the Heron Hill, it's website exudes a hyper-corporate vibe, but I had a random conversation with a guy from New York awhile back and he was enthusiastic about it. So visit we did. Heron Hill looms from its hilltop perch - a sprawling art deco-ish space. It's a very pretty building with tons of space for customers and tons of stuff for sale. The tasting room was nearly empty when we arrived and stayed that way through our whole visit. Because of that, the staff person there was able to give us lots of attention and cheerfully chatted with us throughout our visit. He was a friendly character, as was the woman running the cash register that we talked to when purchasing wine at the end.
As with Dr. Frank, the wine list at Heron Hill was extremely long. Once again we were allowed five pourings, though the pourer was loose with the juice and was happy to pour us whatever regardless. I found that the wines at Heron Hill very different from the ones at Wiemer. Instead of being overly restrained and structurally similar regardless of the grape, the wines at Heron Hill were quite varied in flavors and generally more wild. In essence the wines were vibrant, but at times sloppy. The Rieslings that we tried had pretty good levels of structure and nice flavors. The Pinot Gris had a silly banana scented nose, but was too round on the palate. The first taste of the Gewürztraminer that had was pretty off-putting - my wife described it as "a flooded engine." We asked the guy behind the counter what he thought and he agreed that it tasted poorly, and that it probably got janky overnight. He opened another bottle. The fresh wine was more tight, but had a limited profile. As was the case at most of the Finger Lakes wineries, the reds were mediocre. Though instead of being too weak the Heron Hill reds were off-balance, too jammy, too acidic, and/or too peppery. The Late Harvest Vidal Blanc was enjoyably pretty, with a hint of ocean nose and a blend of apricot and tropical fruit.
Experience: B+ / Wines: B-
Ravines Wine Cellars ($5 for 5 + $1 premium wine tasting, wines $13-$30)
'12 Dry Riesling, '12 Sauvignon Blanc, '12 Gewürztraminer, '12 "Keuka Village White" (Cayuga/Vignoles), '12 Chardonnay, '11 Pinot Noir, '11 Cabernet Franc, '10 "Meritage" Cabernet Sauvignon/Cabernet Franc/Merlot), '12 "Keuka Village Red" (Noiret/Cabernet Franc), '11 Late Harvest Vignoles
Ravines is one of the more acclaimed establishments in the region. The owner/winemaker was raised on a vineyard in Provence, was trained at a well-esteemed wine program in France, and then brought that knowledge with him to the US. The space exuded a classy yet spartan vibe. It's a charming space that overlooks the lake. The view was made even more enjoyable while we were there as it began to snow and dusk settled in.
Sometimes you go into a place and the staff enriches experience.
Sometimes the staff dampens the experience. At Ravines, things were
made more intense by the woman that attended to us. We were one of two groups there at that time. We were directed to our own counter, where our pourer gave us the run down as through she was enthusiastically reading from a script. A regular tasting was $5 to choose five wines from a list of ten. For an additional $5 one could choose a cheese pairing (which my wife and sister-in-law did) or a chocolate pairing (which my brother did). For those that had the pairings the attendant was quite instructive and insistent: "Take a bite of the chocolate, let it melt onto your tongue, then try the wine. You should be tasting a cherry cordial. Did you taste it? Did it 'pop' for you? There it was! I saw your face, it popped!" Kind of annoying when you're just trying to enjoy wine.
Ravines wines were a nice mix of the Wiemer structure and the Heron Hill vibrancy. They weren't all amazing, but they had some authentic characteristics and nice overall body. The Riesling was one of the most impressive on their - lots of bold acid and flavor. The Gewürztraminer had promising aspects but had a greeness that bothered me. I liked the Pinot Noir, it was well layered and a variety of flavors. I had heard good things about the Meritage, and there were neat flavors to it, but it was too brooding for me, perhaps an older vintage would have been more enjoyable. The Late Harvest Vignoles was crazy sweet, though it had a very nice body, marmalade notes, and enjoyably dense viscosity.
Experience: B- / Wines: B+
Throughout our visit to the Finger Lakes I was noting the contrasts that the region has with the
California wineries that I've visited. There are unique differences. We saw much greater focus on white wines rather than red, not surprising since it is a cold-growing climate, but remarkable nonetheless. The tasting lists had lots more choices with a large number of different varietals being used. Seeing the hybrid and native grapes was definitely unique. I enjoyed the Vidal Blanc and Vignoles dessert wines that we tried at a handful of places. Instead of talking about the alcohol levels of the wine, the focus on was residual sugars. All of the wines were low alcohol, which made waking up in the morning easier. Since it's more of a nascent wine region, the quality to price ratio was much better than all of the California regions that I'm familiar with aside from the Sierra Foothills.
So the big question is whether the Finger Lakes will become more of a powerhouse wine region. If Johannes Reinhardt is right, the region can make a better quality product. He strongly believes that the region will begin to embrace more rigorous growing and winemaking practices and make better wine.
I'd really like to see that. The Finger Lakes is a gorgeous region and enjoying a crisp glass of well crafted Riesling is a wonderful way to enjoy it.
