Riesling Wins in New York

Filed in archive Wine News on August 27, 2006

Honestly, I don't see how any one cannot like...no love...Riesling. At least, I've never turned my nose up at a glass, but I guess I'm easy.

But, still here's some good news for Riesling lovers like myself.

From An Upstate Riesling is New York's best wine:

The 2005 Dry Riesling from Hermann J. Wiemer Vineyards on the western shore of Seneca Lake beat out 702 wines made by 102 wineries to capture the coveted Governor's Cup silver chalice. Wiemer, a native of Germany's famous Mosel wine country, has been growing Riesling grapes in western New York since the 1970s.

"At the time, everybody thought Riesling was sweet, unimpressionable, a simple wine," he said. "Now Riesling has regained its reputation as one of the finest wines in the world.

"We have been able to capture the true Riesling characteristics in the Finger Lakes. You have the climate, the soil. Yeah it's risky - sometimes you have cold winters. But Riesling belongs to the Finger Lakes. This is an environment similar to the great wine regions of Europe."

The two-day annual contest, called the New York Wine & Food Classic, was judged by 24 experts from around the country and sponsored by the New York Wine & Grape Foundation. The trade association is based in the heart of the Finger Lakes - a burgeoning wine province in west-central New York that boasts 103 wineries.