Excursions off the Riesling trail: what else can the Finger Lakes do?
This was a seminar at the FLXcursion event that I’ve just come back from. The goal was to explore the things that the Finger Lakes can do other than Riesling, its star grape variety.
The panel consisted of three: Tara Q Thomas, Jamal Rayyis and Lisa Granik. They pointed out that in 1900 there were 20 000 acres of grapes in the Finger Lakes region and they sold 7 million bottles of sparkling wine each year. The grape industry was thriving, and it was huge. Then prohibition came along, and after the war tastes changed. California was doing well, and the European sensibility in wine spread, and people changed their tastes away from the hybrid fare of New York State’s wine regions.
Then along came Konstantin Frank. At age 63 he started his own winery and he changed the view on whether or not it was possible to grow vinifera here. The industry is still reinventing itself, and there are still a lot of hybrids here. But we are now seeing a return to interesting hybrid grapes to make wines with personality.
These are the wines we tasted.
Konstantin Frank Rkatsiteli 2025 Finger Lakes, New York
A relatively neutral grape variety with thick skins and tending to low acidity. Light and open with nice citrus and white peach fruit as well as some citrus. Fruity and appealing with good texture and weight. Easy and expressive. 90/100
Casreli Marani Amidasturi 2022 Kakheti, Georgia
This is a blend of Kakhuri Mtsvane, Muskaturi Rkatsiteli and Rkatsiteli. Four months in qvevri on skins, no stems. Amber colour. Nice structure here with some tannins under the appealing, aromatic peach and pear fruit with a touch of baked apple. Has nice weight and structure. Really appealing, finishing firmly tannic and dry, but with such lovely open aromatics. 91/100
Standing Stone Saperavi 2024 Finger Lakes, New York
Deeply coloured, this has beautiful fresh black cherry and blackberry fruit with some nice grippy tannins and some acidity. Juicy but with some richness on the mid-palate. Chalky, grainy structure with a spicy bite on the finish. 93/100
Mukado Saperavi 2024 Kartli, Georgia
This is pure and nicely balanced with some tannic bite. Lovely berry and black fruits with some chalkiness and a bit of spicy detail on the finish. Really appealing. 93/100
Fox Run Grüner Veltliner 2025 Finger Lakes, New York
Nice weight here with pear and citrus fruit showing good texture, finishing fresh. Juicy and layered with a slight saltiness and a hint of white pepper. This is textural and appealing with nice layers of flavour. 92/100
Fritsch Ried Steinberg Grüner Veltliner 2023 Wagram, Austria
This is bright and textured with nice weight to the pear and citrus fruit with some herbal hints, some yellow fruit, and then some pepper notes on the finish. Nice weight to this wine. 92/100
Heart & Hands Esoterra 2023 Finger Lakes, New York
56% Auxerrois, 23% Aligoté, 21% Petite Arvine. This is supple, easy and fruity with sweet pear and table grape notes, a touch of creaminess and balanced acidity. Fruity and easy to drink. 89/100
Ambrositch Gemischter Satz Ringelspiel 2021 Wien, Austria
12 varieties. Fresh, fine, transparent and easy. Mandarin, lemon and pear fruit with a touch of watermelon. Light and expressive with real drinkability. 90/100
Keuka Lake Vineyards Skin-Fermented Vignoles 2021 Finger Lakes, New York
Two weeks on skins. Full yellow/gold. Good acidity and some tannic structure as well as apple and pear fruit. Nice weight here: it’s floral but there’s some spicy weight, finishing slightly sour. 90/100
Fio Wines Mosel Glou Glou 2024 Mosel, Germany
Pinot Blanc and Müller Thurgau. A month on skins. Cloudy with some nice mineral reductive character as well as fresh pear and citrus fruit. Juicy and expressive with freshness and nice texture. So drinkable and delicious. 93/100
Usonia Good Spirit 2024 Finger Lakes, New York
65% Chancellor, 20% Baco Noir, 10% Traminette, 5% Aromella. Some spicy bacon character here as well as juicy cherry and berry fruits. Fresh and supple with some pepper on the finish. Juicy and expressive. 90/100
Vignoble de Rêveur Rien ne Bouge 2023 Vin de France
60% Pinot Noir, 30% Pinot Gris, 10% Pinot Blanc. This is from Alsace. Lighter in colour, this is supple and smashable with red cherry and strawberry fruit. Such elegance and freshness with beautiful fruit. Fresh with nice acidity but also showing some silky red fruit character. Very fine. 94/100
Ravines Agricolae Keuka Red 2022 Finger Lakes, New York
Noiret and Cabernet Franc. Concentrated, textural and pepper with nice spicy detail and a bit of grip. Really distinctive and quite delicious. Grainy structure. 90/100
Marco Sara Schioppettino Friuli Colli Orientali 2023 Italy
Bright, peppery and vivid with some strawberry and red cherry. Textural and expressive, this is lighter in style but also has some mid-palate warmth. Textural and expressive. 92/100
