My wife and I along with some close friends took a trip to the Finger Lakes region of New York recently.
In the mornings we hiked (Robert Tremen and Watkins Glen State Parks, both amazing). We went to museums (The Corning Museum of Glass exceeded my expectations and got me hooked on the Netflix series “Blown Away”, The Glen Cutis Museum taught me about an underrated American inventor, and the Finger Lakes Boating Museum make me wish we lived in simpler times. In the afternoons we tasted wine at 10 different wineries. I am going to give you brief ratings and summaries of the wineries we visited below but first some observations.
The white wines are much better than the reds. Rieslings obviously take the lead but I was particularly impressed with how they make Gruner Veltliner. I have always enjoyed Gewurztraminer but I think the way they make them in the Finger Lakes may be my favorite. I also enjoyed a couple of the Chardonnays I tasted and most of the Rose.
With a couple of exceptions, the reds still have a way to go. That said I was particularly impressed with their Blauburgunder/Lemberger (same grape but it is called Blauburgunder in Austria and Lemberger in Germany), and they do a good job with Cabernet Franc. I would avoid the Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and the Pinot Noir. One of the reds, something called Baco Noir from Heron Hills may be the worst tasting wine I have ever had in my life (more on that later).
Covid caused many of the wineries to serve each of the wines in a small carafe instead of pouring it directly into the glass. It was wonderful, especially if you and others in your groups want to share and taste more wines. It is probably a lot more work having to clean all of those carafes but I hope this is something the wineries continue doing.
The price points of Finger Lakes wines are quite reasonable when compared to wines of comparable quality from other regions. I will definitely be buying more of them.
The ratings below may not be entirely fair. They are based on tasting a small amount of each wine without having the right food to accompany it. But what the heck this is my blog and my opinion so I am going to do it anyway. If you disagree (or agree), please comment I would love to hear your perspective.
The ratings below are on a 100-point system 95% of the score is the average score of the wines tasted, 5% is for the tasting room ambiance/view, and service. You can view 85-87 as good. 88-89 very good. 90+ Outstanding.
I will highlight some of the wines that I thought were particularly impressive, as well as the Baco Noir. I will also point out some tasting room highlights and observations.
These ratings are from lowest to highest score but I can honestly say that if you visit any of them you will have an enjoyable experience.
Ravines – 85.8
I found all the wines to be good to very good. Nothing objectionable nothing outstanding. Probably would have scored higher on the list if our server would have known something about the wines. In all fairness, it was the server's first week on the job but you would think some wine knowledge or at least some training would be appropriate. Their top scoring wine was their Pinot Noir Rose (88 Points, $17.95)
Heron Hills – 85.9
Most of the wines were OK. Again, a Pinot Noir Rose was at the top of the list (88 Points $18.99). Beautiful tasting room but the serving staff seemed a bit confused and scattered. As I mentioned earlier, they did serve the only truly awful wine on the trip, their 2018 Reserve Baco Noir (74 Points). They dropped the price $5 a bottle (from $29.99 to $24.99) and I see another price drop in the future. Baco Noir is a hybrid of two different grape species and was invented to be an easier growing version of Pinot Noir. My tasting notes include the words medicine and rotten meat.
McGregor – 86.6
Expansive, rustic tasting room with a nice lake view. Solid wines were the overpriced 2018 Rob Roy Red (88 Points, $50.00) and the even more overpriced Black Russian Red (89 Points, $60). The Rob Roy Red is 60% Cabernet Franc, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 20% Merlot. It has grippy tannin and red stone fruit. One of the wonderful things about this trip is that I got to taste some wines that I had never tasted before. The Black Russian is a field blend of Saperavi and Sereksiya grapes. Saperavi originated in the Republic of Georgia and Sereksia originated in Romania and Ukraine hence the name. This peppery and spicy wine has round tannin, coconut, and black fruit flavors.
Fox Run - 86.9
Fun tasting room with an energetic staff. If you like buttery, Oaky Chardonnay you will enjoy the Kaiser Chardonnay (88 Points, $17). I also thought their 2018 Lemberger (88 Points, $21) with its dark plum and baking spices was quite tasty.
Standing Stone - 87
Beautiful tasting room and views with great service. Outstanding Gewurztraminer (90 Points, $18.50) they make a Select Gewurztraminer ($25.00) that I did not taste, can’t imagine that it would be much better. A pleasant surprise with the 2018 Barrel Select Saperavi (88 Points, $35). Dark fruit flavors with spice, smoke, and nice acidity.
Shalestone - 87.2
Cozy tasting room with an engaged and knowledgeable staff. Unique among wineries in the area in that they only produce red wines. It’s a tough job to grow quality red wines in cooler climate areas and they have pulled it off. Some highlights are the 2017 Cabernet Franc (88 points, $25), 2017 Cross Rows (88 Points, $22) a field blend of Merlot, Syrah, and Lemberger, and their 2017 Syrah (88 Points, $28).
Dr. Konstantin Frank - 87.5
Dr. Frank is one of the most widely distributed wineries from the region, and for good reason. It is interesting that the winemakers at the top two wineries on this list got their start working for Dr. Frank. Their 2019 Gruner Veltliner (91 Points, $14.99) features Apricot, Green Apple, and lime with an amazing lingering finish. The 2020 Dry Riesling (15.99, 90 Points) displayed flavors of mango, petrol, and lime with a smooth silky finish. None of the 12 wines I tasted scored below an 87. Being as popular as it is Dr. Frank attracts a lot of visitors. We signed up for a progressive tasting where we tasted our wines at different stations. It was nice to move around but the experience was fairly rushed. We felt they wanted us to get through the tasting and into the wine shop as quickly as possible. When we were at that 3rd station the young man that was serving us was chastised for giving us too much background and answering too many questions. He was told his job was to keep us moving. It was kind of odd that they would have that conversation with him in front of customers.
Hermann J. Wiemer – 88
Wonderful tasting room experience. You are seated in an open area on wood furniture. The staff was knowledgeable and eager to engage. Two outstanding wines were the 2017 Bio Riesling (90 Points, $45.00) and the 2019 Gewurztraminer (90 Points, $25.00). The Bio Reisling gets its name from the fact that it is farmed Biodynamically. A small percentage of this wine is aged in oak which softens the wine a bit and gives it a creamy finish. The Gewurztraminer has floral and lychee fruit flavors with a bit of spice on the finish. Other highlights include 2019 Reserve Dry Reisling (88 Points, $29.00), 2019 Josef Reisling (88 points, $39.00), and the 2018 Magdalena Cabernet Franc (89 Points, $37.00).
Weis - 88.1
Weis was not on our list of wineries to try. On our first night in town we stopped off at a wine shop and the clerk went on and on about how wonderful their wines are. We bought a bottle of their 2019 Gruner Veltliner (90 Points, $19.99) enjoyed it so much we decided to visit their tasting room. Their Small tasting room in a converted schoolhouse features knowledgeable staff and a nice view of Keuka Lake. The other 90-point wine is the 2019 Winzer Select Late Harvest Riesling this wine has a sophisticated well-integrated sweetness that highlights and does not dominate the fruit. The other highlights include the 2019 Terroir Slate Riesling (89 Points, $34.99), and the 2020 Zweigelt Dry Rose (89 Points, $22.99).
Kemmeter - 90
Based on several recommendations this was the place I was most looking forward to visiting, and it did not disappoint. The tasting room is small and only accommodates 6 people at a time. The tasting room is only open Thursday through Saturday with appointments only available once an hour from 1:30 until 5:30 PM. That is a maximum of 30 people a day, 90 people a week. The owner Johannes Reinhardt left his family's wine business in Germany in 1999 to work for Dr. Frank and after becoming the winemaker at another area winery started Kemmeter in2013. His wife, Imelda, runs a carryout dumpling business (absolutely delicious) in another building on the farm. In addition to tasting wine, we discussed taking risks, spirituality, and family. It was perhaps the most amazing wine tasting experience I have ever had. Very small production (6 acres of vines, 1200 cases per year). He only had 4 Rieslings available for tasting, all of them outstanding. Balanced fruit and minerality they are all among the smoothest and most sensual Rieslings I have ever tasted. I was worried that the whole experience had seduced me into thinking the wines were better than they were. The opposite happened. I opened up a bottle when I got home and it was even better than I remembered. If you plan to visit the area, make sure you plan ahead and score a visit with Kemmeter.
