On Wednesday, I had the privilege of participating in a Virtual Tasting of Rieslings from New York’s Finger Lakes region.  In an earlier post, I wrote about a visit to Lamoreaux Landing in January.  I was really happy about what I had tasted, so when this opportunity arose, I jumped at the chance to get more of an idea of what they are producing in my home state. 

We tried eight Rieslings in all.  The first flight was composed of dry Rieslings and the second flight was semi-dry, in order of residual sugar.  For each flight, winery representatives were available for questions and discussion.  The order, with some tweeted tasting notes, was as follows:

Flight One

Hosmer Winery 2010 Vintners Reserve Riesling -Nice nose, dry stone fruit
Fulkerson Winery 2010 William Vigne Dry Riesling-Alsatian style, big mid-palate, paired well with brie/apricot
Red Newt Cellars 2010 Riesling – Sawmill Creek Vineyards-Nice minerality, stone fruit.  Balanced and delicious
Silver Thread Vineyard 2011 Dry Riesling-Wow!  A lot going on. Sweet, floral nose and taste with crisp finish

I invited three other ladies to taste with me and, while we enjoyed them all, the stand-outs in the first flight were the Red Newt Cellars and the Silver Thread.  Great fruit, minerality, and acidity.

Flight Two

Keuka Spring Vineyards 2011 Riesling-Balance of citrus and stone fruits, classic drier Riesling
Lamoreaux Landing Wine Cellars 2010 Red Oak Riesling-Great stone fruit and acid, lovely elegant finish
Thirsty Owl Wine Company 2010 Riesling-more fruit, less acid, would be great with Thai
 Penguin Bay Winery 2011 Riesling-Viognier nose, sweet perfume of muscat, tropical fruit

Of this flight, I think the Lamoreaux Landing and the Penguin Bay were the favorites.  Very different wines, but each interesting and balanced. 

We were all really excited about what we were tasting.  After seeing the price points, we were thrilled.  As I stated in “Taste of Home,” the shipping laws vary from winery to winery.  Some in the region can ship to Texas and some cannot.  I highly recommend taking a closer look at these wine if you are able to get you hands on them.  Each wine was equally friendly for food or sipping on a summer evening.  If you are able to try any of the above, please do. You won’t be disappointed.

As I talked about in an earlier post, Sprechen Sie Riesling, many people have a very narrow view of Riesling.  They think of a sweet, flat one they may have tried and then write off the whole varietal.  If this sounds familiar, please check out what they are doing in the Finger Lakes.  Lots of floral, stone fruits with great acidity and minerality. All very different and all delightful.  Yet another reason why I still love New York.

Many thanks to Finger Lakes Wine Alliance for providing me with these samples and for all you are doing to promote your local wineries. Cheers!