Tuesday Tasting: Six Wines for the Holidays from the Finger Lakes

Tuesday Tasting is a regular feature of Lyke2Drink that explores some of the best beers, wines and spirits on the market. This week we travel to the Finger Lakes region of Upstate New York for six wines perfect for holiday meals.

From the full disclosure desk: I work for Eric Mower and Associates, a marketing communications agency (www.mower.com). We developed a program for the Finger Lakes Wine Alliance called the FLWA Vintners' Roundtable. This virtual tasting is conducted via conference call, linking winemakers and food and beverage journalists. I recently played host to a FLWA Vintners' Roundtable attended by several drinks journalists, including Sean Ludford, Bill Dowd, David Falchek, Cynthia Sin-Yi Cheng and Michael Cervin. You can check out their reports as they appear to measure the objectivity of my tasting notes.

The Finger Lakes region is best known for its riesling, which regularly takes home medals from various competitons. But the region has plantings from a wide array of grapes. It is interesting to see what various vineyards have in the works. The Finger Lakes were originally the home of native Lambrusca grapes, which tend to make better jam and grape juice than wine. French-American hybrids and classic vinifera are now the main stays of the more than 90 wineries in the region.

Chateau Frank 2000 Blanc de Noirs: The late Willy Frank established Chateau Frank in 1985 as a way to leave his mark on the Dr. Konstantin Frank Vinifera Wine Cellars. He would be proud of this methode champenoise wine. Made using 90 percent pinot noir and 10 percent pinot meunier, this pink-hued sparkler has crisp tart apple flavor notes. One of the best sparkling wines from a U.S. producer.

White Springs Farms 2006 Gewurztraminer: Winemaker Derek Wilbur allows skin contact in this Seneca Lake gewurtraminer. "It's the most red of the white wines we make," he says. The skins allow some tannins to balance the flavor. Slight spicy and minerally flavor profile.

Rooster Hill 2006 Estate Gewurztraminer: From Keuka Lake, winemaker Barry Tortolon decided to mix two yeast strains in this wine and the result is a flowery, spicy and fruity white. A solid wine to serve as a cocktail pour or to match with a meal.

Sheldrake Point 2006 Bunch Select Riesling: Winegrower Bob Madill says the presence of Botrytis Cinerea -- Noble Rot -- allowed Sheldrake to create this wine, the fourth vintage they have pressed whole cluster grapes to create a riesling dessert wine. With 8.8 grams of acid and 6 percent residual sugar, this is a well balanced and flavorful wine perfect for concluding a meal.

Anthony Road 2006 Sweet Dream: Made from vignoles, a French-American hybrid, by German winemaker Johannes Reinhardt, about 40 percent of the crop had Botrytis. Reinhardt notes the thick skins of the vignoles stands up well to noble rot. The acid level in the 2006 is slightly higher than a year ago, balancing nicely to the 7.1 percent residual sugar. This is one of my surprise favorite wines among the dessert wines I have tasted during 2007.

Lakewood Vineyards 2005 Port: The Finger Lakes has a different climate than Portugal and the Baco Noir grape was likely not created to make a Port-style wine, but third generation winemaker Chris Stamp said this is "What happens when you leave Baco on the vine long enough." This is the fourth time and first vinatge since 2001 that Lakewood has turned Baco into a Port. Good raspberry and dark fruit tones, with a touch of cocoa.

Wiemer Sells Finger Lakes Vineyard to Winemaker Merwarth

One of the icons of the Finger Lakes wine scene, Hermann J. Wiemer, has sold his winery to his winemaker, Frederick Merwath.

Wiemer Riesling is recognized among the best in North America and the 65-year-old German-born vintner is credited with playing a major part in building the worldwide reputation of Finger Lakes wine. Merwarth, 29, takes over the 15,000-case winery that was started in 1979 at a time when most wines in the region were made from Niagara, Cayuga and other non-vinifera grapes. He has worked with Wiemer for the last six years.

My wife, Sandy, and I were lucky enough to meet Hermann Wiemer during one of our first visits to the Finger Lakes in the 1980s. We were impressed by the quality of his wines, along with his commitment to building a presence for Finger Lakes wines on a world level. His winery is still the most orderly and clean winery, distillery or brewery that I have ever toured.

Besides riesling, Wiemer makes some pretty solid gewurztraminer, pinot noir and sparkling wines. Wiemer Dry Riesling has won the Governor's Cup twice as the state's top wine.

Tuesday Tasting: Rambling Around the Blue Ridge

Tuesday Tasting is a regular feature of Lyke2Drink that explores some of the best beers, wines and spirits on the market. This week we visit three Virginia wineries nestled among the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Visiting a winery is one of those great simple pleasures that puts you back in contact with the facts that wine is an agricultural product and that real people work hard to tend vines, harvest grapes, bottle and market a product. Returning to North Carolina from Upstate New York over the weekend, we jumped off I-81 for a couple of hours to visit three Virgina wineries located among the Blue Ridge Mountains not far from Route 151. The setting was spectacular as were a number of the wines.

The Virginia wineries we visited all offered free pours of multiple wines. You could also purchase a bottle or a glass of your favorite and enjoy the wine right on site with a million dollar view of the surrounding vistas.

Our first stop was Veritas Vineyard & Winery in Afton. Veritas offered pours of some classic varietals. We found the Veritas 2004 Merlot to be soft and fruity, with a subtle hint of smoke that made the wine very attractive. The 2004 Claret was an attractive blend of Cabernet Franc and Merlot. The 2006 Sauvignon Blanc had a crisp apple citrus tone, while the 2005 Harlequin Chardonnay Reserve was a pale golden color with nice pear and apple tones. The Chardonnay was produced from 100 percent Virginia grapes and aged in both French and American oak barrels. The hit of our visit to Veritas was the 2005 Kenmar, a wine perfect for after a meal. There were nice honey and rose elements to the wine, which sells for $50 for a 375 milliliter.

Our next stop was a few miles uphill at Afton Mountain Vineyards. Because we faced a bit of a time crunch and wanted to try to squeeze in one more vineyard, we stuck to the whites at Afton Mountain. The 2004 Tete de Cuvee Brut Sparkling Wine had a nice dry bite with a sharp fruit tone. The Afton 2005 Estate Bottled Chardonnay was aged on French oak and had very nice character. The Alsace-style 2006 Gewurztraminer has just 0.03 percent residual sugar and shows plenty of spice and fruit. Afton's 2006 Kilaurwen Vineyards Riesling was crisp and fruity, with 2.5 percent residual sugar. On the sweet end of the scale, but still very drinkable, was Afton Mountain White, a blend of vidal blanc, chardonnay and riesling grapes that comes in at 4.5 percent residual sugar.

We changed things up for our final stop, hitting Hill Top Berry Farm & Winery in Nellysford. Hill Top is run by the Allen family and produces "True to the Fruit" wines and mead. No grapes are used at Hill Top. During our tasting we tried Virginia Plum Wine, Mountain Apple Wine, Cranberry Table Wine, Little Heeler Blueberry Dessert Wine, Sweet Cherry and two versions of Rock River Cyser, a dry and semi dry. We also got to sample a refreshing Sangria made using the Plum wine as the base, with obvious notes of strawberries and other ingredients in a secret family recipe. These are fun wines that are great for the deck at the end of a hot day or to switch things up on your friends during a meal. We found the Sweet Cherry, made from two different types of Virginia cherries, and the Little Heeler to be our favorites of the visit.

Our quick visit to the area south of Charlottesville convinced us that we need to explore more of Virginia's wineries. It is certainly an up and coming area that will be an important part of the American wine scene in the coming years.

Virginia State Fair Wine Competition Results Announced

Results from the 15th annual Virginia State Fair Wine Competition were recently announced. We have to wait until Sept. 27th for the Best of Show to be announced at a gala scholarship fundraiser. For now we'll have to settle for knowing who took home medals.

Gold: Afton Mountain Vineyards, Estate Bottled Chardonnay, 2004; Afton Mountain Vineyards, Gewurztraminer, 2005; Chateau Morrisette, Cabernet Franc, 2003; Cooper Vineyards, Norton, 2004; Delfosse Vineyards & Winery, Cabernet Franc, 2005; Delfosse Vineyards & Winery, Chardonnay, 2005; Horton Vineyards, The Tower Series Cabernet Franc, 2002; Ingleside Plantation Vineyards, Ingleside Merlot Reserve, 2002; Ingleside Plantation Vineyards, Ingleside Virginia Gold, 2002; Lake Anna, Barrel Select Chardonnay, 2005; Oakencroft Vineyard & Winery, Oakencroft Merlot Reserve Monticello, 2004; Prince Michel Vineyards, Prince Michel Cabernet Franc, NV; Rappahannock Cellars, Cabernet Franc Reserve, 2004; Rappahannock Cellars, Meritage Reserve, 2004; Shenandoah Vineyards, Founder Reserve Chambourchin, Lot 03 NV; Stone Mountain Vineyards, Chardonnay Reserve, 2005; Stone Mountain Vineyards, Merlot, 2005; Tarara Winery, Tarara Winery Merlot, 2004; Waterford Vineyards, Barrel Select Chardonnay, 2005; Woodland Vineyard, Woodland Vineyard Chardonnay Barrel Select Virginia, 2005.

Silver: Autumn Hill Vineyards, Autumn Hill Chardonnay Vintners Reserve, 2005; Chateau Morrisette, Merlot, 2004; Cooper Vineyards, Viognier, 2005; Delfosse Vineyards & Winery, Reserve D'Oriane, 2005; Gadino Cellars, Moon Rise, 2005; Keswick Vineyards, Keswick Vineyards Rose, 2005; Lake Anna, Cabernet Franc, 2003; Prince Michel Vineyards, Prince Michel Dry Rose, 2005; Rappahannock Cellars, Chardonnay, 2005; Rebec Vineyards, Inc., Merlot, 2005; Tarara Winery, Tarara Winery Cameo, 2005; Willowcroft Farm Vineyards, Cabernet Franc, 2004; Willowcroft Farm Vineyards, Chardonnay Reserve, 2005.

Bronze: Afton Mountain Vineyards, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2005; Ingleside Plantation Vineyards, Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve, 2002; Ingleside Plantation Vineyards, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2002; Keswick Vineyards, Keswick Vineyards Heritage Reserve, 2004; Keswick Vineyards, Keswick Vineyards Norton, 2005; Naked Mountain Vineyard, Naked Mountain, 2004; Oakencroft Vineyard & Winery, Oakencroft Chardonnay Monticello, 2005; Oakencroft Vineyard & Winery, Oakencroft Viognier Monticello, 2005; Veramar Vineyard, Veramar Vineyard Norton, 2005; West Wind Farm & Vineyard, Pinot Gris 2005; White Hall Vineyards, White Hall Vineyards Petit Verdot, 2004; White Hall Vineyards, White Hall Vineyards Cabernet Franc, 2004; Windham Winery, Syrah/Cabernet Sauvignon, 2004.

You can get more information on Virginia wines, including information on touring vineyards, at www.virginiawines.org.