In recent years the Finger Lakes region has improved the quality of their white wines. Many vintners produce excellent Riesling like it was second nature and some are bottling quality Chardonnay in a style more akin to that found in Burgundy, France and unlike that of California. Red varietals I’ve not liked nearly as much as the whites, and this is not a knock on the wine makers but a confrontation with the reality that the harsh winters and short growing season make it difficult to grow fully ripened red fruit. The result is that many Finger Lakes reds have a not so pleasing thin, vegetal flavor. The 2001 vintage of red varietals are almost ready for release and I have a funny feeling some of our local vintners are going to make me eat my words. 2001 was a perfect growing season. The summer was hot and arid and the fall stayed consistently warm allowing even the shyest vines to fully ripen. I witnessed a little preview of what we might expect in the upcoming releases a few weeks back while tasting wine at Dr. Frank's Vinifera Wine Cellars. We tasted a non-vintage Fleur de Pinot Noir (Vinifera’s Pinot made from young vines) and their 2000 Reserve Pinot Noir. The Fleur de Pinot Noir is a value line costing half the price of the reserve yet it had twice the depth of flavor, richness, and classic Pinot taste. I asked our host if 2001 fruit was used in the Fleur and his answer was a muted “yes.” Today I anxiously await the release of Vinifera’s 2001 Reserve Pinot Noir to see what the extra oak aging and TLC adds to this vintage’s wine. Another pleasant surprise comes from Anthony Road Wine Company. Over the summer our group of four was coaxed by the host of the tasting to buy a tasting of their 2000 Veritas Cabernet Franc. Anthony Road produced only a few cases of this wine, therefore tastings were given at the cost of three dollars (redeemable if a bottle was purchased). We all hesitated at first because if past experiences held true we would soon be disappointed. But our host was a good salesperson and so we gave in, expecting the worst. Before our first sip it was explained to us that Anthony Road’s Veritas line of wines are made from hand picked fruit, with each ripe grape separated from the rest. In the case of the Cabernet Franc, we should expect to not find the vegetal flavors we’ve become so accustomed to, instead a polished, well balanced, and silky fruited wine. The 2000 vintage witnessed a cool, wet summer so it makes sense that the yields had to be incredibly low. After the first sip I was held speechless with a grin from ear to ear. The Veritas Cabernet Franc was not just a good Finger Lakes wine, it was a good wine period and selling for under 20 dollars made it a fantastic value. My only regret is that I didn’t buy more at the time, because on a return trip later in the season I was sadly informed that the last bottle was long gone. Now I wait ever so impatiently for June to roll around for the expected release date of the 2001 version. Whether 2001 is even better than 2000 I don’t know, but if so, this time I’ll be stocking up. Vintners in the Finger Lakes region will be forever challenged by the harsh, long winters to grow fruit capable of what many of us expect in the popular red varietals. Pinot Noir has come a long way and is getting better because the vines are at long last maturing. Cabernet Franc, a variety that may be better known as a blending grape in Bordeaux and California, appears to take kindly to the local growing conditions and therefore are being bottled as a single varietal in the region. Of equal importance is that I’ve witnessed an improvement in the winemaking talent in the Finger Lakes - winemakers are doing well with what mother nature provides, and when mother nature provides well, expect great red wines from this region. |
