FL Rieslings featured at Astor Center in NYC

The Finger Lakes Wine Alliance hosted its annual media and trade Riesling tasting event on Thursday, May 8th at the Astor Center in New York City. Joshua Greene, editor of Wine & Spirits magazine, lead an in-depth comparative tasting of ten Finger Lakes Rieslings from the 2006 vintage with a discussion on the effects of slate, snow, and deep-water lakes have on these wines. The ten highlighted Finger Lakes wines for this comparative tasting were from Buttonwood Grove, Treleaven/King Ferry, Dr. Konstantin Frank, Standing Stone, Chateau Lafayette Reneau, Red Newt, White Springs, Fox Run, Hermann J. Wiemer, and Sheldrake Point. Immediately following the comparative tasting was a walk-around tasting of twenty-two Finger Lakes wineries showcasing their 2006 and 2007 Rieslings. The 2007 harvest, which Wine Spectator recently scored an A- in terms of quality, is one of the best vintages in history for the Finger Lakes. The additional wineries featured in this afternoon event included Ravines, Anthony Road, Lakewood, Wagner, Fulkerson’s, Atwater, Rooster Hill, Casa Larga, Swedish Hill, Thirsty Owl, Hazlitt’s, and Glenora. Four of the Finger Lakes top chefs from the Inn at Glenora Wine Cellars, Fox Run, Red Newt Bistro, and Simply Red Bistro prepared Riesling-friendly foods such as locally raised pork, rabbit, venison, beef, ramp, and cheese. Bob Madill, chair of the Finger Lakes Wine Alliance, said of the event, “The 2008 Riesling Summit provided a compelling testimonial to the world-class quality, distinctive personality and incredible value of Finger Lakes Riesling.” In the June issue of Wine & Spirits magazine included the following testament to Finger Lakes Riesling, “The Finger Lakes has some of the most profound Riesling in North America. They’ve got it all there: an ideal climate, steep slopes and slate soils.”With over 9,000 acres of vineyards and more than 100 wineries, the Finger Lakes in upstate New York is one of America’s greatest emerging wine and tourism regions. The Finger Lakes produces some of the best domestic Rieslings with established media recognition from Wine Enthusiast, Wine Spectator, Food & Wine, Wine & Spirits, Appellation America, and the San Francisco Chronicle. The Finger Lakes Wine Alliance is an organization of Finger Lakes wineries dedicated to the promotion, and branding of quality wines from the Finger Lakes region of New York. The association is made up of a twelve member, winery principal Board of Directors.