Surrendering Our Wine Badges

The boys and I were at it again last Wednesday night, giving it our best tries to stump each other with our wines concealed in brown bags. Bedford’s lovely Bistro Twenty Two was our accommodating host this time, and Lance, George and I took the opportunity to bring out some serious juice…..3 bottles of which turned out to be major league ringers! We were so off-course with some of our guesses that we’re thinking of perusing alternate careers.

If Lance’s aim was to improve his record after last session’s zero-for-two performance, then his mission was accomplished, starting with his first entry. This white, which became unanimously voted Wine Of The Night, had George and me convinced beyond the shadow of a doubt that we were drinking white Burgundy. We threw out guesses like Jean Grivot and Comte Lafon. So when 2005 Aubert Chardonnay Lauren was revealed, we were instantly reduced to boys. Now, last August’s Kistler Chard was rather Burgundian, but this stuff proves that great Mersault can be duplicated in Sonoma. What a gem, and a triumph for Lance. Brilliant! And generous.

George threw one of his reds into the mix, and Lance & I instantly narrowed it down in our minds to either Italy or Spain, leaning toward Italy. The wine was clearly mature, and offered numerous Euro-style secondaries, but was all-the-more difficult to pin down. After a barrage of pitifully-inaccurate guesses, off came the bag, revealing 1994 Ridge Geyserville! Another American ringer mistaken as European. Fine job.

If this all wasn’t humiliating enough, Lance’s red contribution had George and me, yet again, eating our words like a side of fries. Examining it, we were confident that we were drinking mature Italian……clearly a Nebbiolo, if not a Sangiovese. We threw out long-shot guesses of top-flight Barolo and Brunello producers. Thus, we flipped our wigs when Lance tore away the paper from a bottle of 1989 Vieux Telegraphe Chateauneuf-du-Pape! This one takes the prize as the most un-guessable wine ever bottled. Never has a Grenache blend exhibited fennel, anise, tar and balsamic in such a Piedmont-esque manner. Lance, are you sure you didn’t switch the labels? Nice work!

Beyond these three ringers, the evening included a cracked-pepper and lavender-laden Rhone Syrah/Viognier blend from Yves Cuilleron, a clearly identifiable and beautifully-acidified Pinot Noir from Hirsch Vineyards, and a brawny and youthful single-vineyard 1999 Barbaresco Riserva from Giuseppe Cortese, all of which were narrowed down nearly to producer in a 20-questions fashion. This was truly the most humbling round yet for our crew. Thanks to B22’s staff for the fantastic meal and service. Until the next one……-Michael Koehler – www.suburbanwines.com

WINE WITH DINNER – A Tasting Tour of the Finger Lakes

Fox Run Vineyard Barrel Room

From October 26th through October 29th, I was part of a select group of a dozen journalists, professional wine buyers and restaurateurs who were the invited guests of the Finger Lakes Wine Alliance for a tasting tour of about two dozen Finger Lakes wineries. We made new or renewed old acquaintances with about three dozen Keuka Lake, Seneca Lake and Cayuga Lake winery owners and winemakers as we tasted and enjoyed multi-course meals together at major wineries such as Sheldrake Point Vineyard and Restaurant; Lamoreaux Landing Wine Cellars (where we were also given vineyard tour); Fox Run Vineyards and Barrel Room dining facility; Glenora Wine Cellars, Restaurant and Conference Center (where we attended seminars on Rieslings and other aromatic whites); Fulkerson Winery; and Red Newt Cellars Winery and Bistro. Wines of all kinds – red, white, rosé, sparkling and late harvest - were evaluated and discussed with their respective owners and winemakers, but the focus was on Riesling and other aromatic whites such as Gewürztraminer, Traminette, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Vidal Blanc, Vignoles and Rkatsitelli, all of which seem to be well suited to the Finger Lakes terroir.

Owner Mark Wagner conducted a vineyard tour of Lamoreaux Landing

Riesling is without question the signature white wine grape of the Finger Lakes. Of the 11,000 acres of Finger Lakes Vineyards, over half are planted with Riesling grown mostly by small and passionate producers each of which make an average of 2.5 styles of Riesling wine a year. In the November 2008 issue of Wine Business Monthly, Nielsen Scantrack data showed that Riesling sales are up 17% by value over the past 12 months (#1 in growth value) and Riesling is up 16% by volume over the same period (#2 in volume growth behind Pinot Noir). By value, Riesling’s market share is equal to Zinfandel and by volume, Riesling has now passed Zinfandel by 11%.

Lots of other interesting New York wine statistics were given out as well. Did you know that New York is the 3rd largest wine grape producing state following California and Washington? Or that the Finger Lakes viticultural area is New York's largest wine producing region, and it is the second largest in the United States behind California’s famous Napa Valley? To get an idea of the incredible growth in winemaking taking place within our state (10%-15% in each of the past 10 years), did you know that in just the past 30 odd years, New York State has grown from only 9 wineries to 220 – 102 of them in the Finger Lakes and 60 of those on Seneca Lake? It’s time for you to give New York wines another try, especially the aromatic whites from the Finger Lakes - Jay Roelof - www.suburbanwines.com