Wine Spectator Likes Finger Lakes Riesling -- But is There a Glass Ceiling?

By Lenn Thompson, Founder and Publisher

If the Napa Valley is cabernet sauvignon country and Long Island is the land of merlot (and cabernet franc), the Finger Lakes region is definitely the U.S. region where riesling shines brightest. The deep, narrow lakes that give the region its name gather and hold a significant amount of heat in the warm summer season, extending the grape-growing season just long enough to ripen grapes as well as protect vineyards against potentially catastrophic early frosts.      

Recently, James Molesworth, on WineSpectator.com rated several Finger Lakes Rieslings well — in the high 80s — with Anthony Road Winery’s 2006 Semi-Dry Riesling receiving the highest rasting, an 89. Several wines were awarded 88-point scores, including Atwater Estate Vineyards 2006 Riesling, Chateau Lafayette Reneau 2006 Johannisberg Riesling, Fox Run Vineyard’s 2006 Riesling Reserve, Red Newt Cellars 2006 Reserve Riesling, Anthony Road Winery’s 2006 Dry Riesling and Atwater Estate Vineyards 2006 Dry Riesling. Several wines also received scores between 85 and 87. I've tasted most of these wines, and they certainly deserve high scores in my book.

It’s interesting to me, however, that with so many wines so close to that magical 90-point score that none of them pushed through that barrier. Interesting probably isn't a strong enough word for how I feel about it. Suspect and ridiculous seem more appropriate.

I'm not sure if Mr. Molesworth did these scores himself or how he conducted the tasting, but I know how Wine Spectator has conducted  "blind" tasting session in the past. You see, blind belongs in quotes because they aren't truly blind. Members of the tasting panel don't know the individual producers before them, but they do know the vintage and grape(s) they’re tasting as well the region the wines come from. Is it possible that a preconceived notion about a region come into play? I think it's more than possible. It's likely.

The last time Wine Spectator did an extensive piece on Long Island wines, there weren't any wines scoring 90 or above either.

I can't help but wonder what would happen if you put some of that 89-point Anthony Road riesling into a bottle featuring a German label. Or, if you put one of Long Island's best merlots in a Bordeaux-labeled bottle. Maybe the scores wouldn't be any different, but I'm not convinced that many (if any) people can tell the difference between an 89 and a 90 anyway.

It really makes me wonder why Spectator does their tastings this way. Why not do truly blind tastings? Is it just we've-always-done-it-this-way stubbornness, or is it to protect their tasters from giving a high score to a wine from an 'unworthy' region?

Editors note: Jason Feulner, LENNDEVOURS' Finger Lakes Correspondent wrote about this topic as well. Instead of publishing both, I've asked him to either comment on this post, or write a follow-up post later this week.
 

Comments

[Jack]

"I can't help but wonder what would happen if you put some of that 89-point Anthony Road riesling into a bottle featuring a German label."

I've not had many FL Rieslings, but still, are they so similar to German ones that they would fool someone into thinking it's a German wine? I've yet to have an American Gewürztraminer that was similar enough to an Alsace or Alto Adige one to fool someone. (I have had two NZs ones that do, though.)

[Lenn Thompson]

Jack: That's a fair point, but I'm not really suggesting that Finger Lakes rieslings will fool anyone into thinking that they are from the Mosel (or Alsace or anywhere else). It's about letting the wines get a fair shake and not letting a regional bias negatively affect the scores they receive.

[Dan]

Of course they are influenced by those 'unblind' wine notes! I have been saying that for a while. Does it make any sense that a 90 pt. wine will sell 500 cases a year in a store and an 89 pointer(that could be the exact same wine!) will only sell 50 cases? All because of what 1 person thought and a little score tag 'callout' next to the wine? I would love to see the results of some kind of consumer study on this subject.

[RichardA]

In the past, several wines from the Finger Lakes have received 90+ scores, though most were Ice wines. The 2002 Dr. Konstantin Frank Riesling though did receive a 90 score.

James Molesworth also addressed the issue of his scores for NY and other US states (non-CA, WA, OR) on his blog (http://www.winespectator.com/Wine/Blogs/Blog_Detail/0,4211,1607,00.html). And NY has fared better than those other US states in scores.

He states: "Within New York state, the Finger Lakes has quality Riesling in the palm of its hand, but seems intent on tinkering with a hodgepodge of varieties, including reds from Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir that rarely achieve good ripeness and varietal character in upstate New York. That lack of focus keeps holding the region back."

[Lenn Thompson]

I wonder if WS does their dessert wine tastings the same way (by region) or if the Finger Lakes stuff is thrown in with other regions. Maybe we'll find out.

He's 100% right though...I wish the region would stop trying to grow cabernet sauvignon and do what it does best -- riesling and gewurztraminer.

Again, I'm not necessarily saying that these wines deserve 95-point scores, or even 90 (because I don't use that scoring system), but it's interesting that not one of these wines was deemed worthy of the magic 90 score.

Of course, the FL wineries are still thrilled with these 88s and 89s...but it's pretty well accepted that a 90 will sell your wine in shops.

[Jack]

Lenn - I wasn't quibbling with your main point; but it's hard for me to say how fair the scores are, as I just haven't tasted much from NY recently. Did you disagree with David Schildknecht's scores in the WA back in June of 2006?

I notice that neither you nor a commenter has named a wine that you felt deserved a score of 91+ and didn't get it.

Having spent the first 35 years of my life in the state of NY, I keep hoping the wines come up a big notch in quality. I agree that the state, as a whole, is not focused enough on what varietals work best.

[Bryan]

I don't see any full page ads in wine spectator for FL Rieslings yet. Isn't that the way to break the glass ceiling? Just a thought.

[Bryan]

Lenn, when are the wineries going to include your ratings on their shelf talkers? Just an idea.

[Paul Thomas]

Bold article for sure Lenn.
My family and I have conducted blind tastings, of a variety of beverages (even root beer once w/ my son and his friends- the cheapest stuff won) for decades now, long before I entered the industry. I am personally hesitant to criticize any magazine's staff for their techniques, as I know full well that I'm a neophyte in the complex world of libations judging. That said, however, I cannot agree strongly enough with your basic tenet. Seems to me that *any* publication (whether digital or analog) that literally, consistently, and persistently did purely blind tastings would be fully embraced by their readers. Time after time, studies have consistently shown that in aggregate pre-conceptions about a beverage can color one's opinion of that beverage. If a group of people think they're drinking a $60 bottle of wine, in aggregate they're going to award it a higher rating than the bottle they think only cost $6. This is not a slam of Spectator or anybody, merely a statement of statistical fact. Hopefully an enterprising nu-media fellow like yourself will grab the proverbial bull by the horns and we'll start seeing more and more truly blind tastings: the world, I suspect, will be happily surprised by the findings....

Of course, while we're on this timely topic, I'm obligated to remind your readers that our 3rd annual Golden Nose Award event in late May is done 100% blind. The ticketed Judges that participate in this event of course know that they're sampling all Finger Lakes wines, but that is all they know. Which is why I continue to genuinely believe that from a consumer's perspective those wines that receive double golds and best in class awards at this event are truly some of the very, very best wines this region has released in a given year. Shameless promoter that I am, however, I'll refrain from clogging your blog with links to the event site... ;-)

Keep up the good work!

Paul