Celebrate Finger Lakes Wine Month With These 3 Great Wines

May is Finger Lakes wine month and as much a the first thing that comes to mind is Riesling, I celebrated without one.  I shared a Pinot Blanc, Rose of Pinot Noir and Bordeaux Style red with my neighbor who has never had the Finger Lakes wine experience. I was so glad to be able to give it to her.

We began the evening with the 2013 Glenora Wine Cellars Pinot Blanc.  Glenora is one of three wineries in the Finger Lakes that produce Pinot Blanc.  They currently are testing out the Pinot Blanc produced in three different processes.  One produced in a concrete egg shaped tank that they had imported from Burgundy, one in a stainless steel tank and the other in neutral oak barrels.

Yes the concrete egg tank does have a story behind it.  While most people that go to Burgundy will bring home wine, Glenora's owners were so intrigued with the concrete egg shaped tanks they saw while touring the wineries, they brought one home as a souvenir. They and winemaker Steve DiFrancesco decided to try the Pinot Blanc Trilogy Experience, hence the three different production processes.

The Pinot Blanc that I tasted, 50% of it was aged in the neutral oak barrels for 6 months. The oak balanced out the acidity and brought softness to the palate.

The nose on this wine was full of citrus, lemon and a bit of chalkiness.  The palate was full of pear with some orange zest, lime. The minerality comes through on the palate and the wine has a nice lingering finish.

It's a nice easy drinking wine and  must for the summer.  SRP $14.99

Don't think our wine tasting didn't include some food.  I prepared a goat cheese tart with half caramelized onions, the other half plain.  It went very well with both the Pinot Blanc and the Rose.

The 2014 Pinot Noir Rose from Chateau Lafayette Reneau had a beautiful fresh nose of strawberry and floral aromas.  As the wine warmed up a bit after coming from the fridge, the strawberry aroma was that of a strawberry Jolly Rancher.  The fresh strawberries carried over to the taste and the wine had a nice creamy mouth feel.  The wine finished with hints of pomegranate seed that gave it a hint of bitterness.  SRP $16.99

We finished off the evening with Hector Wine Company's 2013 Essence which is a Bordeaux style blend.  It's made with 1/3 each of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot.  The wine is aged in a separately in a combination of French, Hungarian and American oak, with some of the oak new.

A  very complex nose, the wine had layers of black fruit. As the black fruit began to identify itself, aromas of black berry, black cherry stood out with hints of vanilla and oak.  This all came through on the palate as well. SRP $25

It was a great evening celebrating Finger Lakes Wine Month.  I am glad I got to introduce Finger Lakes wines to someone new.

WBW#55 - North vs South

March assignment for Wine Blogging Wednesday was North vs. South. I originally wanted to do Rieslings, but the winery in the Hudson Valley that grows their own Riesling was all sold out. That presented a problem.

I decided to choose Chardonnays. I chose a 2007 Finger Lakes Chateau Lafayette Reneau (Proprietor’s Reserve) Chardonnay from the North, traveling down state to the Hudson Valley’s Whitecliff 2007 Reserve Chardonnay. Then I thought I would really travel farther south, I purchased a Chilean Chardonnay as well as a South African Chardonnay. I am never good at deciding. For the tasting I opened a 2007 Nederburg South Africa Chardonnay. (I'll bring the Chilean to Wine night next Friday)

The Chateau Lafayette Reneau Chardonnay we purchased on our recent visit in February to the Finger Lakes for the Palate. This was not an oaky Chardonnay. The color was a pale yellow. On the nose it was clean and fresh. This Chardonnay, even though fermented and aged 10 months in new French oak, was less oaky with more acidic. It displayed overtones of lemon and pear.

As we travel farther south, downstate to the Hudson Valley, I had a 2007 Whitecliff Reserve Chardonnay in the cellar. The grapes used in this wine come directly from their vineyard. This wine was light and didn’t have a strong malolactic feel. There was oak on the nose, with citrus on the back of the tongue. The wine was smooth and well balanced with a light creamy buttery finish.

To compare the above selection a wine not made in New York State, I chose a Nederburg 2007 Chardonnay Winemakers Reserve from Western Cape – South Africa. Unfortunately I can’t say I’ve been to South Africa, but maybe in the future. This wine was acidity with hints of citrus and apricot. The apricot had a large presence. As the wine began to open the oak flavors were brought to life. As it opened, improved quite a bit all around.

We tasted all of the above wines out of the same Riedel glass (on different days) with cheese and crackers after work. It was a delightful way to end a long hard day.

All the above wines were priced under $20.