The Fabulous Finger Lakes

The great wines of California are known all over the world; Oregon Pinot Noir has an international reputation; and the scrumptious wines of the Finger Lakes region in upstate New York are . . . a really big deal in Syracuse and Rochester.

The wines of the Finger Lakes are the best-kept secret in US wine, brilliant in the clarity of their cool-climate fruit, refreshingly higher in acidity and lower in alcohol than most California efforts, often possessed of a magical mouthfeel—and quite rationally priced.  From the pretty to the intense, these wines are finally beginning to get a dollop of attention from the wine press, catching up with an outstanding track record in competitions. In early August, the cream of the Finger Lakes (and New York’s other winemaking regions) were on display at Copia in Napa. To get some well-deserved attention, the New Yorkers moved the annual Governor’s Cup competition for the best New York wines right into the belly of the beast and put on one heck of a show. (Results can be found on the New York Wine & Grape Foundation website, http://www.newyorkwines.org/nygold/wineandfood.asp.)

The history of wine in upstate New York stretches back into the 19^th century. Because of extremely cold winters—often getting down to or below zero—vinifera grapes proved were difficult to grow. Or, rather, they grew just fine in the summer; alas, the vines got killed off in the winter. Growers had to rely on French-American hybrids instead, making what were inevitably thought of as second-tier wines once California emerged in the mid-19^th century as a vinifera powerhouse. In the 1950s and 1960s, the Taylor wine company, based in the Finger Lakes, became a monster national brand, based on California grapes, and not the best ones at that. Which left the Finger Lakes with a doubly-negative image: inferior hybrids or inferior jug wine, take your pick.

Then the Revolution. In the late 1950s, winemaker Dr. Konstantin Frank and a handful of other stubborn pioneers found out how to grow at least certain vinifera varieties with great success. All it took was the right clones, the right locations (close to the temperature-moderating effects of the lakes), and an insane devotion to careful viticulture—things like hand-mounding dirt over the base of each vine in the winter to keep the roots alive. Once they had some grapes to work with, the local winemakers got better and better and better. Today there are well over a hundred wineries up and down the several lakes, with dozens of them making topnotch wines, especially from Riesling, Chardonnay and Cabernet Franc, as well as tasty hybrids.

In particular, in my humble view, the Finger Lakes make the best Riesling in the New World.

All of New York’s wineries have been helped in their ascent by the researchers and extension specialists at Cornell University and the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva, at the northern end of  Seneca Lake.  From developing new hybrids to creating trellis systems, from world-class enology experiments to extensive industry outreach, the Cornell/Geneva operation has played a role in the development of American winegrowing second only to that of UC Davis. (And, as everyone there hastens to point out, it’s in the ivy League.)

Until I visited the Finger Lakes last summer, I didn’t realize what a knockout stretch of wine country it offers. It’s the silver lining to those miserable winters: because the vines have to hew close to the shores of Seneca Lake, Cayuga Lake, Keuka Lake, and Canandaigua Lake to survive, every winery and vineyard ends up as a picture postcard shot, with rows of vines flowing past the tasting deck down to the waterside. Here’s the view from Lamoreaux Landing, on the west side of Seneca Lake, stolen from their website.

New York has two other major clusters of winegrowing: the Hudson Valley, which is still figuring out the vinifera thing but making charming wine in the meantime, and eastern Long Island, which has made some waves with its Bordeaux-grape reds. Because of their proximity to the mega-population center of New York City, the Long Island wineries get a ton of visitors, a bigger share of press, and the chance to charge more for their wines. The Finger Lakes wineries—for my money, pound for pound, a better bunch—are still trying to shuffle out of Buffalo and take the Manhattan market by storm, as well as penetrating the rest of the country.

What has made it tough, besides the lingering bad reputation, are two things: size and statutes. Virtually all the Finger Lakes producers are tiny, producing under 10,000 cases, which makes it harder than hell to cut in line and snag a distributor in major wine markets. And until recently, antique laws (fully funded by major wine distributors) made it a felony to ship a bottle back home to a consumer who wandered in from Pennsylvania or California. The 2005 Supreme Court decision mandating that states have to have the same rules for interstate shipment as for in-state, soon followed by enabling legislation in New York, has now opened up New York wine on the web. When this decision was announced, there was great cheering in the land because now more people could get their hands on California Cabernet. I was thrilled to be able to get my hands on  Finger Lakes Riesling.

Here are a few of my favorite producers, reliably good vintage after vintage (and with those winters, folks, the Finger Lakes really do have vintages!). It’s by no means the whole list: Dr. Konstantin Frank’s Vinifera Wine Cellars, the folks who started it all, making excellent Riesling (dry and off-dry), great sparkling wines, and tasty oddities like Rkatsiteli (the great white wine grape of Russia!); Ravines Wine Cellars, the relatively new project of Morton Hallgren, longtime winemaker for Dr. Frank, and the home of the driest of dry Rieslings; Heron Hill Winery, making very nice Pinot Noir as well as scintillating Riesling; Hosmer Winery, combining expertise in viticulture with, among other things, terrific Cabernet Franc; King Ferry / Treleaven, yet more yummy Riesling; Anthony Road, with a wide-ranging list of excellent small bottlings; Atwater Estate, excellent Riesling and Gewürztraminer; Chateau Lafayette Reneau – did I mention there’s a lot of good Riesling up here?; Hermann J. Wiemer, another early path-breaker, still making crystalline Riesling; Lamoreaux Landing, which looks like the picture above and makes wine that tastes just as good; and Red Newt Cellars, emphasizing outstanding, ageworthy reds and featuring one of the best restaurants in the region.

That should be enough to keep your fingers busy. If you’re the sort of person who’s willing to pay $30 for California Cabs and Pinots on a regular basis, or happy to spring for German/Austrian/Alsatian wines in that range, try buying some of these $20-$25 wines and spring for the shipping—you’ll be a happier person. 

Plenty more info at Uncork New York!.