Morgen McLaughlin and Leign Triner. Photo Courtsey of Morgen McClaughlin
Editor's Note: The following is a guest post by Shannon Brock, wine coordinator at the New York Wine & Culinary Center.
Those in the know are well aware that Finger Lakes wines, particularly rieslings, are capable of ageing ten years or more. A couple weeks ago, a group of Finger Lakes wine community members gathered at Red Newt Cellars prove it.
Their mission: to select about 40 library wines to send to James Molesworth of Wine Spectator.
The hope is that if Molesworth finds the wines to be holding up well over time, or even improving, he may begin using phrases other than “drink now” when rating Finger Lakes wines. The tasting also may lead to Finger Lakes being listed on the magazine's vintage chart.
Organized by Morgen McLaughlin of Finger Lakes Wine Country, and officiated by Richard Leahy, organizer of the International Eastern Wine Competition, the tasting included about 75 wines dating back to 1988. Wines were organized by varietal and style, with the oldest vintages tasted first within each flight. Wines were brown-bagged and numbered. Approximately 20 tasters, myself included, were asked to eliminate wines that had noticeable faults or were distinctly different from the rest of the group.
Tasters included Dave Whiting, owner and winemaker at Red Newt, Steve DiFrancesco, winemaker at Glenora Vineyards, Mark Veraguth, winemaker at Dr. Konstantin Frank’s Vinifera Wine Cellars, Chris Stamp, winemaker at Lakewood Vineyards, Ted Marks, owner of Atwater Vineyards, Morten Hallgren, owner and winemaker at Ravines Wine Cellars, John and Stacy McGregor, owners of McGregor Vineyards, Paul Brock, winemaker at Lamoreaux Landing, Bob Madill, owner of Sheldrake Point Vineyards, Marti Macinski, owner and winemaker at Standing Stone Vineyards, and Leigh Triner, owner of Hazlitt.
We were split into two groups: one group tasted riesling, chardonnary, gewurztraminer, and sparkling wines. The other group tasted pinot noir, merlot, cabernet franc, Bordeaux-style blends and dessert wines.
At the end of the official tasting, we were allowed to taste the other wines, but our scores for those did not count. Bottles were set up on counters around the perimeter of the room and we tasted standing up. Some conversation ensued during the tasting, mostly about possible faults or indicators of excellence.
By the end, tasters were energized and proud of what they found in their glasses.
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