We are planning our first visit to the area for a few days in early June.I started browsing some of the WB threads on FLX and your post and suggestions stood out as especially info-packed. Thanks for taking the time to put this together. We can and will use your info to plan. Cheers.
Thank you - and absolutely my pleasure! A reminder to me that I should look at it and update once a year or so, as new spots are always opening or shifting about.
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Forge is a must. Just got back, very good wines and the atmosphere in the winery is top notch. Laid back, lots of open floor to ceiling doors. Great spot to just relax. Would be there often if I lived nearby.
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I am circling back to this thread. . .
We had our first visit there last week and tasted at a half dozen wineries over three days. I would highly recommend a tasting visit to Wiemer. They had an excellent range of wines, a very flexible tasting format, good size pours, AND a knowledgeable person on hand to guide and educate. By far, this was our best tasting visit of the trip.
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Just had my first Finger Lakes wine today, a Ravines 2019, it was weird upon opening but the same weird I had a few weeks ago with an Aligote that went away and sure enough 90 minutes later it was outstanding, chalk on the finish, zero discernable oak, a tiny bit of sweetness about Kabinett level. Surprised as heck.
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Ditto. Professional level tasting. A cannot miss winery stop
I was up there in August and had very interesting, satisfying tastings at Forge Cellars (half-owned by the Barruol family that owns St Cosme in the Rhone); Weis Vineyards (started by a guy from the Mosel whose family is in the wine business there); and Red Tail Ridge (started by a couple from California; the wife has some kind of ag PhD and did lots of research before planting).
Very solid rieslings everywhere, and I thought there was real potential in the pinot noir. We were tasting 2021 pinots mainly, and that was a very difficult vintage. But there was not a trace of candy cherry in them. Instead, the aromas were earthy. I hate to use the term, but these were Burgundian scents. I’d like to taste more pinot from a riper vintage.
Red Tail is growing teroldego, blaufrankisch and lagrein, which they believe are suited to the harsh winters.They were pretty decent, but I’m not a big fan of those grapes on their home turf. I bought a teroldego to see how it ages.
Weimer, K Frank and Ravines are pretty readily available in NYC, so I sought out some less well-distributed producers. The tasting rooms were packed, even on a Friday, so clearly they’re selling a lot directly. The tasting room staff were generally very well informed – way better than you typically get in California or (groan) Long Island. So, all around, a very good outing. I only wish it was closer to NYC.
In general, these were much more serious, interesting wines than I’ve had from Long Island.
Footnote: I had no idea how beautiful the area is, particularly in summertime. I’ll be back.
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