The Labor Day holiday is often thought of as the end of summer, but the calendar shows September 22nd as the last day of summer. If you live in South-Central Virginia, the summer heat does not stop until October. By that time, one may really want a break from the summer heat. This is one reason why a trip to the New York State Finger Lakes wine region is on my bucket list. Aside from the cooler temperatures, there are good wines to be found there, especially if you like Riesling. Also, the fall foliage season arrives in the Finger Lakes region in late September. From late September through late October, visitors will have a chance to see the region blanketed in amazing colors.
In 1836, Samuel Warren established the first Finger Lakes commercial winery, located at the western edge of the region. The winery lasted a few decades. Between 1860 and 1880, dozens of wineries came and went around Keuka Lake. By 1880, when the Taylor family established what would become the successful Taylor Wine Company, the lake had become the center of the New York State wine industry.
In the 1960s, two immigrants—Charles Fournier (France) and Konstantin Frank (USSR)—collaborated at Keuka Lake to produce the first commercially successful wines made from European grape varieties, such as Riesling, and started a revolution.
While Riesling remains the signature wine of the region, experimentation has led to success with several other grape varieties, including Pinot Noir, Cabernet Franc, Chardonnay, and Gewurztraminer. The Finger Lakes region also has sparkling wine production.
According to Wine Enthusiast, the Riesling grape is at home in the loamy, silty, and gravelly soils in the area, which are predominantly composed of shale, clay, and limestone. A full spectrum of Riesling styles can be produced here, from mineral- and citrus-driven dry wines to juicy peach and apple-inflected off-dry and semidry bottlings, and even the lusciously sweet yet calibrated expressions that border on the tropical-fruit spectrum. There are 130 wineries in the region producing on average two to three styles of Riesling.
Have you added it to your bucket list yet? I have. Cheers!
