I was on vacation in the Finger Lakes last week and based on recommendations from the board tried a bunch of Forge wines while at Once (a nice tasting room serving multiple FL wines along with sensible food pairings).
I was impressed. They are terroir people, producing a number of different versions (all distinct) of a single grape with the only differences being the soil, etc.
I also admire the unabashedly purple prose they use to describe their wines. You might need a cold shower after some of their tasting notes.
Not sure how typical the 2020 release is given the hot weather but here are my impressions:
2020 Breakneck Creek Riesling
lovely wine with hints of lime zest and soft strawberry notes. Greatly improved with some cheese. I liked this more than other people.
B+, A- with the food
2020 Willow Riesling
Fuller, Chalkier and delicious. Everyone loved this.
A
2020 Peach Orchard Riesling
Brings a crisp fruit note to the wine. Again, delicious and universally popular
A-
2020 Tango Oaks Riesling
Uncompromisingly dry. A wine for Lyle or Sarah but not really for me. One of us had it as her favorite.
B-
2020 Leidenfrost Pinot Noir
Yummy, rich and tannic. The nose opened up beautifully with time in the glass
A-
2020 Willow Cabernet Franc
Also very good. Tannic. I found it less interesting than the Pinot but all the people I was tasting with preferred it.
B
Lots of quality Riesling in FL. I’m a fan of Weimer, Red Newt, Ravines and others. We’ll be back in the fall when we take our son back to Syracuse for his senior year, and will again taste around
I loved the 2018 Forge mix pack we bought - amazing value and really tasty. Probably blasphemous here but I liked their Classique blend more than any of the single vineyard designate rieslings.
I was really impressed after my first visit to the FL in Nov 21’, it was quite busy at most of the wineries but Weimer, Ravines and Weis were very good. So happy to have a place to visit that doesn’t require a flight.
Forge is absolutely one of my favorite wineries in the world and a contender for top value anywhere. In fact, it’s the only winery where I have a club membership because I know I can easily get through (and afford!) 18 bottles a year. I say this as someone who prizes variety in my limited cellar space and otherwise rarely buys more than 3-4 bottles from the same winery per year.
Not blasphemous at all, especially for 2018. I think they really mean it when they say they want the Cuvee Classique to showcase the vintage and the character of the Seneca Lake region. There are a couple of their vineyards (e.g., Willow) that in my view are clearly a cut above the multi-vineyard blend but the other single vineyard bottlings are just different, not necessarily better. Also 2018 was supposedly a somewhat difficult year and they let some of the grapes that went into the Cuvee Classique botrytise which added an interesting twist that year.
I love the potential they are showing with Pinot Noir. I have put a couple of their offerings in blind tastings with lesser Burgundy bottlings and it really fits in well. The Rieslings are terrific of course (they tend to see a little more oak than many of their neighbors) - it’s an exciting place.
I agree with this. I think Riesling is entirely the wrong grape for the Fingers. I can pick 10 wines from Germany at half the price point off the high-end Rieslings in the Finger Lakes and would guarantee they beat the Finger Lake’s rieslings. The reds are really interesting and fairly priced.
What do you consider the retail of high-end Riesling in the FLX? Ravines and Weimer cap out at $30-$35 for their dry Rieslings. I would love to find comparable German Riesling stateside for $15-17.5 a btl.
That’s more than a little silly. Throw out German Rieslings (everyone knows this is the zenith for world class Rieslings), they don’t belong in this group. But when we are talking about Domestic Rieslings, the Finger Lakes is on top of the heap. Head and shoulders above the West Coast - and that is the point we are trying to make. If the best domestic Rieslings come from the Finger Lakes, why on earth would the grape “not be suited” for the region?
AND - So may wonderful Finger Lakes Rieslings available under $20, please show me some $10 German Rieslings that compare.
I am not going to mention the name, the last riesling I had from the Finger Lakes was $30-35 and I could name you 10 rieslings in Germany for ~$20 that are head and shoulders better.
First off I was more agreeing with your point that there is a great future for Reds in the Finger Lakes that can compete very well with other regions for both price and quality than just bashing the Rieslings.
Here is just one example that I am in no way involved in selling or connected to someone who is selling that would beat out the majority of Rieslings I have tasted in the Finger Lakes in the $25 and up category and it is $13.99 for one liter or as low as $9.50 per 750 with a case purchase.
I don’t want to get into it either, there is no comparison to German Rieslings anywhere else in the world, which is a given. And you are right, Austria and Germany are releasing some great values in Liter bottles. But the wine from Astor wines is a $20 Riesling in my market (Midwest). And my question still is the statement of; “Riesling is entirely the wrong grape for the Fingers” - I believe it certainly is - Now don’t get me started on Michigan Riesling…
First off for some context I grew up in Upstate NY and have been trying Finger Lakes wines for 30+ years. I would love nothing more to be wrong and I keep trying them. I know that progress is being made. I recall asking a well known grower how the Finger Lakes decided on Riesling and he said because you can get 6 tons per acre really easily that will make a good $6-8 semi sweet wine. Saying entirely wrong might have been too strong to restate it I simply think the reds have much more to offer, And as you said they will never be able to compete with Germany. I know when I have tasted Pinot from the region I think wow this is something that is unique. It’s not Burgundy, Cali or Oregon maybe the closest comparison is the Jura or the Loire. Same for Cab Franc. I think they should plant more red grapes that do well in cooler climates.
I don’t know maybe its the PH in the soil or something the Riesling from the Finger Lakes just don’t have the acids and resulting tension I love in German Riesling. I will gladly buy any Riesling that someone wants to recommend that has acid. I do have the Red Newt Berserker pack sitting in my cellar in the cue.
Love Silver Thread’s wines. Great Chardonnay aside from their single vineyard Rieslings, and some real up and coming reds. The Blackbird Red (a Bordeaux styled cuvee) is also terrific -
Marginally related, but at the last RieslingStudy I went to (where pretty much everyone brings bottles from their cellars), I was interested to compare German rieslings with the best CA has to offer. I don’t have any experience with CA rieslings, so I mined SingleThread’s wine list for ideas, and sourced the 2 most expensive bottles of CA Riesling they listed. One was a Riesling made by Radio-Coteau (retail $60) and the other was made by Bob Cabral (formerly of Williams Selyem, retail $30). Next to pretty much any German riesling at the tasting, both of these bottles were, um, embarrassingly mediocre, and way overpriced compared to the competition.
I’m going up to the Finger Lakes next month, so curious to try those, but my expectations are not high.