You Say Dry, But Like Sweet

I recently participated in the Finger Lakes Wine Alliance Riesling Launch and was very surprised at th results, my results that is.  I typically like dry Rieslings unless I'm pairing it with a dish with some spice, then I will choose a semi-sweet. The results from this tasting found me favoring the sweeter selections.

Now 2011 wasn't the best growing season.  Hurricane and tropical storms played havoc on the harvest. I was looking forward to tasting the outcome.  All Rieslings tasted were from the 2011 vintage.

I invited over some of my wine night ladies and two of their kids who are recent college grads and work part time in the local wine industry.  There palates have been trained very well!

We began the evening with a the dryer wine and as the evening moved along the wine got sweeter.  Or I should say the RS in the wine increased.

The first flight consisted of Ravines Wine Cellars, Dr.Konstantin Frank Wine Cellars, Lucas Vineayrds land Sheldrake Point Winery. Our findings:

Ravines: Notes of green apple, but very acidic
Dr. Frank: Very light color. Notes of apricot with a palate of wet stone and grapefruit rind on finish
Lucas: Faint apricot on nose with hints of floral and a lemon finish
Sheldrake: Nice color. Nose of peach, lemon grass and lemon rind. Palate was minerally, wet slate with a nice hint of pineapple towards the finish.

We had a little cheese and crackers and got ready for flight 2.  Flight two had Fox Run Vineyards, Swedish Hill Winery, Lakewood Vineyards and Knapp Winery. Our findings:

Fox Run: Nose of green apple, soft apricot, tropical fruit and honey. The palate had lots of tropical fruit and lime.
Swedish Hill: Nice floral aromas of peach blossom. Palate of tropical fruit, pear and nicely balanced.
Lakewood:  None of us liked the nose on this wine and I am going to leave it at that.  The palate was very minerally with hints of green apple, wet stone and a lime rind finish.

Did we all have a favorite wine of the evening...Yes...it was Swedish Hill's Riesling.  I was quite surprised because I usually favor dry, but during this tasting found myself liking the wines with more RS.  This could be due to the acidity of the wine and how the sugar balances it out.

I have plans for the next launch that I participate in to bring it to a public place and invite you to experience it with me. Space will be limited to 15 people and we will put it on the big screen and have some food pairings to go along.  Till then Cheers!

Other Wines in the House - 2007 Heron Hill Riesling

Sometimes your craving Chardonnay but a Riesling is what you pull out.  This was the case the night I was craving a Chardonnay and when I was rummaging through the wine cellar I found a 2007 Heron Hill Ingle Vineyard Riesling from the Finger Lakes.  My craving suddenly changed, I had to open this wine.

Usually Rieslings tend to darken in color as they age, but this one held it's own.  It was light pale yellow with a little greenish tint. I was getting excited!

The aromas of petrol filled my nose with hits of wet slate. I knew Paul was going to like this with the smell of the petrol.

Once the wine reached my lips - Wow! Soft and silky with tart green apple, honey dew melon and apricot. Lemon rind finishes on the back of your palate and just lingers for a few to remind you of the amazing experience.  There isn't much acidity left and you get more mineral notes within the wine.

Sometimes I am just amazed at what I find in my cellar.

Regional Wine Week - 2010 Rooster Hill Dry Riesling

I thought I would finish off Regional Wine Week with a Finger Lakes Riesling.  This wine was a gift from my friend Melissa who we met for an afternoon of wine tasting in the Finger Lakes this past summer.  What a wonderful selection it was! Thank you Melissa!

WOW! is what I said after the first smell of this wine. A nose full of citrus zest - tangerine peel and lime zest. Once me and the wine settled down there were hints of apricot and apple that showed through.

A simple sip brought tart green apples, apricot to the mid taste.  Hints of minerality dance in your mouth. This wine has a beautiful mouth feel and is smooth, silky and not very acidic.  It finishes off with a nice citrus zing.

If you are a Riesling fan, I highly recommend this wine.  I really enjoyed this bottle!

Happy Riesling Birthday to Me

Selection of Finger Lakes Riesling in the Gioquindo Household 

In case you didn't know, this week is Riesling Week, sponsored by the Finger Lakes Wine Alliance and Finger Lakes Wine Country. There have been many featured events all week long all over New York as 30  Finger Lakes wineries release their 2010 Rieslings.

Tonight in celebration of my Birthday from 6pm - 10pm is the worlds largest Riesling tasting as we celebrate the 2010 vintage.  Actually, it's a celebration of Finger Lakes Riesling, and it happens to be my birthday.  So grab a bottle of Finger Lakes Riesling, plan a nice meal paired with Riesling, and invite your family and/or friends over to enjoy it with you.  If you are on twitter use the hashtag #FLXwine and tweet about your tasting and your pairing.  I will be drinking one of the above bottles.

I leave you with this wonderful video to give you a background on the Finger Lakes Wine Country and what it has to offer and it's Riesling.

Double Bubble - Lakewood 2009 Dry Riesling

It was 2001 and my first wine tasting trip to the Finger Lakes.  The first winery we stopped at was Lakewood where along with friends had a picnic lunch. 

Since then I've gotten to know the Stamps from volunteering my time at the NY Wine & Food Classic (wine competition) in August.  I will say their winemaking has improved tremendously since 2001.

This Riesling on the nose was crisp with a hint of home heating oil which is a result of TDN. (to read more about TDN read the NY Cork Report post by Tom Mansell).  There was also hints of citus and orange peel.

On the palate the initial taste was double bubble, bubble gum.  As the wine opened up it became crisp and minerally and had nice apricot undertones.  

Robibero Family Vineyards 2009 Riesling

Robibero Family Vineyards / R Winery  is the newest vineyard/winery in the Hudson Valley.    I recently purchased their Riesling and brought it down to a friends boat.  This wine made for a perfect boating wine!

The color was a nice light straw with a nose of strong grapefruit and pear.  Crispy flavors of pear, grapefruit, lime and green apple make this a very enjoyable wine.  The wine ends with a lime finish that was consistent throughout the tasting.

As the wine warmed up the pear is really strong on the front as it leads into a white grapefruit mid taste and a lime finish.

This wine is available from the winery for $16.99.

The "Empire" strikes White

Hudson-Chatham Winery has released their 2009  "Empire Reserve White."  Empire is a brand that Hudson-Chatham developed by blending wine wine from the three major wine regions in New York State: The Finger Lakes, The Hudson Valley and Long Island.  The release of the Empire White compliments the Empire Red that was released last fall.

The Empire White is a blend of Seyval Blanc from the Hudson Valley, Sauvignon Blanc from Long Island and Riesling from the Finger Lakes. Carlo DeVito of Hudson-Chatham Winery told me this is one of his biggest winemaking risks he had ever taken.  Instead of dimpled jackets and lots of filtering, they packed the barrels of blended wine in giant tubs of ice and tended to them daily.  Their goal was to let the wine form as naturally as possible.  The delicate flavors of the white wine mingled and the result is a grat wine that expresses the terroir of the three regions.

Onto the wine!  The color is a bit of the clear pale yellow of the Seyval and Sauvignon but the Riesling adds another shade of yellow.  On a color palette it would be a light warm golden yellow.

On the nose I immediately smelled yeast which lead way to the citrus of the Sauvignon Blanc and Seyval.  It is a very crisp and light wine with a soft mouth feel.  The taste is a little mineral with limon which leads to a honeydew melon which rounds out the taste and follows by a hint of green apple and grapefruit.  The wine finishes with a citrus ending.

This is a limited wine and is available in Hudson-Chatham's tasting room or at the farmers markets they atttend.

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