Finger Lakes Riesling Summit 2008

The Finger Lakes Riesling Summit 2008 in New York City was presented by the Finger Lakes Wine Alliance, an association 102 winemakers from the Finger Lakes wine region in upstate New York. The summit was hosted by Joshua Greene from Wine & Spirits Magazine. In his well-researched and very informative 60-minute lecture, Mr. Greene outlined the different soil types and microclimates in the vineyards around lake and pointed out that the soils around Keuka generally have a lower pH level and the vineyards around Seneca lake, the deepest of the Finger Lakes, enjoy up to 5° F more in the cold winter months.

Finger Lakes AVA with its big brother to the north
Photo courtesy of The Finger Lakes Wine Alliance

All Finger Lakes are influenced by a very big body of water in the north: Lake Ontario. The lake that gave the Canadian province its name acts like a gigantic heat reservoir. During the cold season warm winds blow south towards the Finger Lakes, thus mitigating the harsh winter climate of upstate New York. Joshua Greene: "Without Lake Michigan, there would be no viticulture in the Finger Lakes." (In a previous article I described the influence of lakes on vines in more detail).

In terms of plant material and vinification techniques, the region is still in its infancy. Only a handful of vineyards are planted with Riesling vines which are older than 20 years and literally all winemakers use cultured yeasts in order to preserve the fruit character and get as much alcohol as possible from grapes which generally have high acidity levels. As Frederick Frank from Vinifera Wine Cellars pointed out: "The Mosel region had 300 years to get where it is now. We've had only 30 years. Hopefully it won't take us as long."

During the lecture we were tasting 10 wines, all from the 2006 vintage, in an east (Cayuga Lake) to west (Keuke Lake) direction, as follows:

Treleaven Dry Riesling

Very pale lemon color. Floral and mineral nose. Light body. Medium intensity of citrus fruit and ripe apple. Medium length. From vines b/w 10 and 23 years old. 10.9% alcohol.

Buttonwood Grove Dry Riesling

Aromas of apricot, quince and hints of smoke. Medium body. Medium(+) intensity of ripe peach and spice with a slightly creamy mouthfeel. Medium length. Vines 8 years old. 12% alcohol.

Sheldrake Point Reserve Riesling

Pale lemon color with a green tint. Medium intensity of peach and grapefruit aromas, as well as minerality. Dry palate. Medium body. Medium intensity of apple flavor. Lack of a mid-palate, ending in a rather short length. 12.2% alcohol.

Standing Stone Riesling

Pale lemon color with greenish tint. Medium intensity of quince and grapefruit aromas. Dry, but with a hint of residual sugar. Medium body and acidity. Medium intensity of cooked vegetables, citrus fruit and minerality. Medium(+) length. Quite elegant! From 35-year old vines. 11.8% alcohol.

Chateau LaFayette Reneau Johannisberg Riesling

Medium(+) intensity of elderflower, citrus and spice. Off-dry, medium body. Medium(+) intensity of jammy apricot and spice. Medium(+) length. The palate was fuller than the flowery nose had suggested. From vines aged b/w 4 and 20 years. 11.5% alcohol.

Red Newt Cellars Riesling Reserve

Medium intensity of grapefruit and minerality. Dry palate, medium body. Medium to high acidity. Medium to light intensity of quince, apple and minerality. Medium(+) length with a mineral finish.

White Springs Riesling Red Label

Pale lemon color. Medium intensity of aromas of minerals, cooked vegetables and spice. Off-dry to sweet palate. Medium acidity and body. Medium intensity of candied fruit. From 4-year old vines. 11.8% alcohol.

Hermann J. Wiemer Dry Riesling

Medium intensity of floral and perfumed aromas, rose petals. Dry, medium body. Medium intensity of very ripe, juicy apricots, smoke and minerals. Medium length. From 25-30 year old vines. Very complex. 12.7% alcohol.

Fox Run Reserve Riesling

Pear and mineral aromas. Off-dry, with medium acidity and body. Candied fruit and mineral flavors. Well balanced, but the fruit is a bit too candied for my taste. 12% alcohol.

Dr. Konstantin Frank Dry Riesling

Pale lemon color. The nose has a medium intensity of elderflower, pear, minerals and florals. Dry, medium(+) acidity, medium body. Flavors of ripe pear, minerality, white pepper and hints of smoke. Medium(+) length. Complex. 12% alcohol.

The lecture was followed by a go-around tasting of Riesling from 22 producers, with most winemakers present to answer question. To demonstrate the wines' natural affinity with food, four chefs from local Finger Lakes restaurants had prepared dishes ranging from pasta with a mushroom cream sauce to lamb.

Conclusion

The Finger Lakes are certainly not the Mosel and I assume they don't event want to constantly be compared to Riesling's probably most famous growing region. Those vineyards with older vines such as Wiemer, Dr. Frank and Standing Stone produce Riesling wines of exciting complexity. Others like Ravines follow a strict mineral path with their expression of the Riesling grape. In any case, the 2008 Finger Lakes Riesling Summit showed some of the diversity this relatively young Riesling region produces. To enter the cellars of the Riesling aficionados around the globe, however, the wines need to prove that they age equally well. It would have been interesting to compare the 2006 vintage here and there with a wine that has already aged for 5 or 6 years, in order to find out how Finger Lakes Rieslings develop.

Related articles

The Finger Lakes wine region
Finger Lakes Riesling 2006 vintage tasting