LENNDEVOURS

A Visit to Hunt Country Vineyards

For our second day of wine touring around Keuka Lake, Nena, Jackson and I were joined by my parents. We headed for the western side of the lake, starting at Hunt Country Vineyards.

Yes, I know that I've only posted about one winery on the eastern side of the lake, but I'm going to switch it up a little bit. We'll get back to the eastern shore again soon

There's a little more off-the-main-road driving involved when touring some areas of  FInger Lakes wine country and Hunt Country is a little off the main drag. Still, after reading Jason's post a few weeks ago, I knew that I wanted to taste my way through their wines.

Even though the vineyards at Hunt Country don't offer the typical lake views, they are picturesque none the less. We were amazed at just how beautiful the entire region is throughout our trip. It really is absolutely beautiful.

The wines at Hunt Country, on the whole, were okay, but there were a few wines that stood out for me and my family.

I've downplayed Finger Lakes reds plenty in my time writing about New York wines, and those comments were backed up here. I didn't care for the reds much, though I picked up one bottle of their newly Alchemy ($14), a non-vintage blend of 45% cabernet franc, 40% cabernet sauvignon and 15% Noiret (a hybrid developed at nearby Cornell). It was medium bodied, smoky and a little peppery.

I was a little disappointed in the dry riesling, but Nena really enjoyed the newly released 2007 Semi-Dry Riesling ($14), which was decidedly sweet, but balanced with just enough acidity. The flavors were much more tropical and ripe than many Keuka Lake rieslings we tried with peach, pear and a little pineapple.
 

I also really enjoyed the wine that brought me to Hunt Country to begin with, the 2007 Valvin Muscat ($15). I'm a sucker for interesting, unique wines, and this floral, melony white with just a little residual sugar (and nice acidity) fall into that category. You'd think that more wineries in New York would grow and bottle muscat.

When we left Hunt Country, with a case of wine between us, we headed to perhaps New York's best-known winery, Dr. Konstantin Frank. But that's another post for another day.

 

Ravines Wine Cellars and My Riesling of the Moment

As you probably know, this week we spent four beautifully relaxing days at a lakefront cottage just south of Penn Yan, New York -- smack dab in the middle of the Finger Lakes wine region. It's the off season up here, so Keuka Lake is quiet, almost eerily so when compared with the chaos that is often Long Island, but the riesling is providing plenty of excitement for us

Much like merlot dominates Long Island, Riesling rules the wine landscape up here. And, during our first afternoon tasting along the east side of the lake, I found what is my Riesling of the moment: Ravines Wine Cellars 2006 Riesling ($17).

No, it probably isn't be the best Riesling in the world, but it might just be the best in the region. And, in this moment (when I wrote this) -- sitting out on the dock, my toes near numb as they dangle in the frigid water, sipping a lightly chilled glass as I type away on my laptop -- there isn't another Riesling I'd rather have in my glass.

Deliciously minerally, with lime, orange blossom and crisp apple notes it's the dryness (many Finger Lakes Rieslings are made in an off-dry style) and a focused electric jolt of acidity that bring structure and lift this wine to new heights. Medium bodied and lingers on the finish, inviting another sip or bite of your meal. This is Finger Lakes Riesling at its most elegant and food friendly. Best of all, it's a great value.

Winemaker Morten Hallgren is doing exciting things with other grapes as well.

Morten, raised in Provence on his family's vineyard, has a diverse winemaking background that took him from France to Texas, to North Carolina, and finally to the Finger Lakes, where he is best known for his six years as head winemaker at Dr. Konstantin Frank Vinifera Wine Cellars.

In 2000, Morten and his wife Lisa bought 17 acres of land on a glacier-carved hillside on the eastern slopes of Keuka Lake. This land is located at the widest part of the lake, which allows grapevines to receive maximum benefit from its temperature-moderating effects. It has well-drained soils and is situated between two deep ravines, which drain cold air from the land during the winter. These ravines are the namesake of the winery. When I visited, they had just plowed 6 acres behind the tasting room for planting later this spring with Riesling, chardonnay, pinot noir, cabernet sauvignon and petit manseng.

When I was there, I got to taste some of Morten's first vintages at Ravines-a Riesling, a chardonnay, a pinot noir and a cabernet franc. All impressed, particularly the pinot noir, which is really just coming into its own.

Of the current releases, the 2007 Sauvignon Blanc ($18) stood out-even if it was only bottled two days ago. And, for anyone who thinks that great wine can only be made with the classic grapes of Europe, think again. Ravines Wine Cellars 2006 Keuka Village White ($12), a blend of 80% Cayuga White and 20% Vignoles, was an affordable surprise that reminds me of the everyday blended wines from Alsace. The nose is fruity and fresh with loads of melon and peach with just a little floral character and minerality. Medium-to-light bodied, those same fruits dominate the palate with slightly tropical hints as well. There is a light sweetness to the wine, but more than enough acidity to bring balance.

I've said many less-than-nice things about Finger Lakes reds in the past, but Morten's 2005 Meritage ($25) deserves mention as well. I liked it enough to make it the only Bordeaux-style red that I bought the whole trip.

There are Finger Lakes wineries that are bigger and better known, but Ravines Wine Cellars is clearly one of the most exciting, with a great future ahead.

Know Valvin Muscat? Hunt Country Vineyards Does.

By Jason Feuler, Finger Lakes Correspondent

Last weekend I attended a reception at Hunt Country Vineyards on the northwestern tip of Keuka's left branch to celebrate the first available vintage of Valvin Muscat. This hybrid is, like the name implies, a genetic relative of the ancient and prolific muscat grape which is grown the world over, but usually in warmer climates.

The few muscats I've had in the past were aromatic, food-friendly whites with good balance. How does its cousin compare? Actually, quite well. The Valvin Muscat I tried at Hunt Country left me with most of the good impressions of a muscat and the mid-palate did not suffer from the same flatness that plagues many hybrids. Overall, it was very good white by any standard.

Chris Wirth, the winemaker, is pleased with his creation. "We had some experimental rows planted for the last few years, and they were turning out very nicely. It didn't take long for us to decide to release a vintage of this grape."

Valvin Muscat is known genetically as 62-122.01 and was first developed in 1962 by the Cornell Experimental Station in Geneva. "When the Cornell folks test the drinkability of wines they don't filter and prepare them for general consumption," explains winery owner Art Hunt, "so sometimes good grapes can seem a little rough. When I first tasted the Valvin it was great, and I knew that this would be a good grape to experiment with and produce."

Art's wife and co-owner Joyce Hunt took the opportunity of the Valvin Muscat's release to ask local restaurant Snug Harbor in Hammondsport to prepare some dishes to pair with the new wine. The result was a pleasing buffet of spicy shrimp, smoked lake trout salad, and white truffle macaroni and cheese. All the dishes were fantastic on their own and each paired with the Valvin Muscat very well, showing both the skill of Snug Harbor's chef and the flexibility of muscat in general.

Hunt County has been a winery since 1981, but it is in fact a six-generation family farm that stretches back well into the 19th-Century. The tasting room has one of the best patron-friendly setups of any Finger Lakes winery and the hospitality extends to the warm personalities of Art and Joyce who graciously introduced me to as many guests as possible. The premier of Valvin Muscat was a fun and informative event.

Hunt Country is not the only Finger Lakes winery to have bottled Valvin Muscat, but they are one of only a few and their efforts have produced a food-friendly, drinkable white that should appeal to both lovers of vinifera and those who seek out wines for casual summer sipping.  Hunt Country's Valvin Muscat will retail for $14.99.  I am curious to see how the public responds to this varietal and whether or not other Finger Lakes wineries will begin to produce it as well.

 

Savor Syracuse: An Accidental Riesling Tasting

By Jason Feulner, Finger Lakes Correspondent

Last night, my parents-in-law graciously invited my wife and me to a Syracuse charity event that raises money for the Food Bank of Central New York. Savor Syracuse, as it is called, was held last night at the Hotel Syracuse, an early 20th-Century gem that is no longer functioning as a hotel but serves as a tremendous event venue with a fantastic decor.

The event is simple: local restaurants and other institutions prepared and served food at various stations, and you go around and taste.

We went to this event two years ago and at that point it was heavy on the food and had maybe one or two wineries pouring wines. The rest of the drinks at that event were beer or from wine sales reps who were pushing their client's wines from California, Australia, etc. Basically, there wasn't much going on in the local drink department.

Much to my surprise, when I walked in this year,  I saw more wine than food and it was all Finger Lakes wine! 

Here before me were wineries like Standing Stone, Lamoreaux Landing, Fulkerson, Heron Hill, Dr. Frank's, Prejean, and several more. It was something akin to a tasting event that was not even labeled as such and so I quickly took advantage of the circumstances and started the rounds.

I was not equipped to take detailed notes, but I'll leave you with some of my overall impressions. 

The New York Cork Club

It's been some time since I've written anything about the New York Cork Club here on LENNDEVOURS. I used to mention it once a month as we were sending out the wines, but I stopped because I wasn't sure if non-members cared. Actually, I doubt they did.

But you know what? I love this club and it's something I'm really enjoying working on. And, it's something that I'd like to see succeed, because there really isn't another club like it.

There are some other lesser New York wine clubs out there, but they seem to sell their members end-of-vintage wines and wines that are available at least somewhat widely. The NYCC is different. I'm scouring the state for the best, most interesting and most unique wines available. Many of these wines aren't available anywhere but at the wineries themselves...or through the New York Cork Club.

I know that several of you have thought about joining but weren't sure about it. If you're not sure, give it a shot for a month or two and see what you think. If you don't like it, you can cancel at any time. If you do like it, I hope you stick around for a long while. And, we're offering these wines at lower prices than buying them direct from the winery now, so that's a bonus.

I can't tell you what wines we're sending in April yet (though I can tell you that one is from a new Finger Lakes winery and one is from a tiny little Long Island producer), but I highlight some of the most interesting ones from recent shipments:

• Osprey's Dominion 2005 Pinot Noir: Quite Possibly the best NY pinot I've ever tasted...and only available in the tasting room until now.
• Raphael 2002 First Label Merlot: I don't think I've tasted a better Long Island merlot at the price.
• Paumanok 2004 Grand Vintage Assemblage: Though still young, a great blend that will age well
• Medolla 2002 Merlot: They only make 500 cases of this (their only wine) and it's a steal. Classic Long Island merlot.
• Rooster Hill 2006 Semi-Dry Riesling: This was a new winery for me and even though I usually prefer dry rieslings from the Finger Lakes, this one was awesome with Thai.

Now, I'm working with some of New York's best known producers to dig deep into their libraries and pull out some older vintage wines that aren't even available at the wineries anymore. Stay tuned for those.

Sign up today. I think you'll dig it.

Do I Hear a 90? Going once...

By Jason Feulner, Finger Lakes Correspondent

As Lenn wrote last week, Wine Spectator just released scores for a list of 2006 Finger Lakes rieslings as tasted by James Molesworth. Many thanks to our friend over at Finger Lakes Weekend Wino, who has summarized these results in two posts here and here.

The wines on the list represent some great wineries to be sure, and while I respectfully disagree with some of the relative comparisons between these tastings (the 2006 Ravines is, in my opinion, one of the best Finger Lakes wines I've ever tasted and deserves a higher score) it is encouraging to see that these wines are showing a great deal of consistency across the board. 

2006 was a great vintage for rieslings, and many different producers are creating competitive wines that are true ambassadors for the region as a whole.

Despite this success, I continue to be discouraged by the gentleman's B+ that Wine Spectator always seems to designate for the top crop of Finger Lakes wines. I am not implying that Finger Lakes rieslings deserve scores well into the 90s or even approaching the magical classic status of 95+, but it has been apparent to me over the last few years that no matter the quality of the group of rieslings tasted by Wine Spectator, the very best always hit a celing at 88-89.

Richard, a LENNDEVOURS reader and publisher of his own blog Passionate Foodie, was kind enough to supply me with the text of a James Molesworth subscription blog post that explains the taster's feelings about New York wine:

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.
 

WTN: Treleaven 2006 Gewurztraminer (Finger Lakes)

I had high hopes when I opened this wine from King Ferry Winery/Treleaven . I've thoroughly enjoyed their rieslings in the past and thought that their rose (made with cab franc) was pretty nice too.

Unfortunately, this one wasn't my favorite.

Treleaven's 2006 Gewurztraminer ($14.50) is an extremely pale straw yellow. The nose is tight and doesn't offer much in the way of aromas -- some light floral notes and just a little spice.

Medium-light bodied, it is somewhat neutral tasting with just a little bit of the classic Gewürztraminer character that I love (rose petals, lychee, ginger spice). The finish is short and there is just enough acidity to keep it from feeling flabby on the palate.

Again, it's not flabby or flawed, but there just isn't much here. It's delicately flavored to the extreme.

Grape(s): 100% Gewürztraminer
Producer: King Ferry Winery/Treleaven
AVA: Finger Lakes
Price: $14.50
Rating: (1.5 out of 5 | Not Recommended-to-Average)

(About LENNDEVOURS Ratings)  

Letting the Grapes Speak: An Interview with Anthony Road's Johannes Reinhardt

By Jason Feulner, Finger Lakes Correspondent

Johannes Reinhardt came to the Finger Lakes from Germany, yet it is his varied work experience which sets him most apart from many other winemakers. 

He has honed his craft in the ancient family wine business, at an organic winery, at a large-scale commercial winery, and now finds himself the sole winemaker at Anthony Road Wine Company on Seneca Lake. Johannes brings a European perspective to a winemaking region in which he sees a great deal of potential.

The Reinhardt family, from the tiny village of Neuses Am Berg in northern Bavaria, was awarded a royal crest in 1438 and given dominion over grape growing and the wine trade in part of what was then called Franconia. Despite this close involvement in the wine business, the Reinhardt family did not officially produce its own wine label until the 1950s. Johannes, after learning the craft from his father, seemed destined to inherit the expanding family business.

Johannes earned his Master's in Viticulture from the Bavarian Institute at Veitshoechheim in 1991. He worked for the family winery from 1992-1995 and then abruptly decided to leave to expand his horizons. From 1996-1999 he worked at an organic winery near Stuttgart.

In 1999, Johannes saw an ad in a German wine journal for a winemaking position at Dr. Frank's in the Finger Lakes. Although Johannes had never heard of the Finger Lakes and had only basic English skills, he decided to take a chance and applied. He arrived at Dr. Frank's at the same time as Morten Hallgren of Ravines, where the two spoke more German than English in the cellar.

Viewing his year-long experience at Dr. Frank's as educational in nature, Johannes returned to Germany where he took a prestigious job at a large commercial winery. Disillusioned with the money-focused nature of that business, Johannes welcomed an unexpected phone call in the summer of 2000 from John Martini, owner of Anthony Road, who wanted to hire a winemaker of Johannes' caliber.

Johannes Reinhardt, with a limited command of the English language and few connections here, decided to bring his career back to the Finger Lakes.

Finger Lakes Wineries Win Gold in Riesling Competition

By Finger Lakes Correspondent, Jason Feulner

The Finger Lakes continues to earn recognition for its outstanding rieslings. Last week, at the 10th Annual Riesling du Monde tasting competition in Strasbourg, France, five Finger Lakes wineries placed in the gold medal category amidst a slew of riesling entries from prestigious German and French wineries. These Finger Lakes wineries include Chateau LaFayette Reneau, Dr. Konstantin Frank, Fox Run, Glenora Wine Cellars, and Hazlitt 1852 Vineyards.

Each winery submitted its top 2006 riesling for review.

Fred Frank of Dr. Frank's Vinifera Wine Cellars is keen on entering competitions like the Riesling du Monde due to the high-quality judging standards present at such events. "We believe it is important to submit our wines in national and international competitions because the wines are tasted blind by a large group of professional wine judges, resulting in an accurate reflection of quality."

Dr. Frank's 2006 Dry Riesling has won 8 gold medals and 2 "Best of Class" awards at national and international wine competitions.

Glenora Wine Cellars produces their riesling from three different sites situated on the eastern and western slopes of Seneca Lake. "We blend it from all three sites," Glenora winemaker Steve DiFrancesco explains.  "It's sort of like a Champagne cuvèe method of winemaking." DiFrancesco is convinced that, despite riesling's versatility and ability to adapt to many regions, it excels in relatively few growing regions, the Finger Lakes among them.

Winemaker Tim Benedict of Hazlitt 1852 Vineyards could not agree more. "There has been a consensus here in the Finger Lakes for a while now that our rieslings can stand toe-to-toe with the best rieslings in the world."  Benedict believes that the unique micro-climates of the Finger Lakes are perfectly suited for riesling production and that Finger Lakes rieslings belong in prestigious competitions like the Riesling du Monde.

The 2006 vintage was very kind to Finger Lakes rieslings, producing crisp and acidic wines that make an impression on the palate. While I am not at all surprised that these five wineries were able to win gold medals at an international event, I am convinced that several Finger Lakes wineries that likely did not enter submissions would also be worthy of such an award. Yes, the 2006 rieslings are that good, and the more I've been fortunate enough to taste, the more I'm convinced of that fact.

Grab those 2006 rieslings off the shelf while they are still available!