"Finger Lakes" news and stories

On paper New York looks like a good growing region for Pinot Noir: Its climate and soil type is similar to Burgundy, where the world's best Pinot Noirs are made.

But, as the Cornell study notes, Pinot Noir is a fickle grape -- difficult to grow and especially difficult to grow well. New York winemakers should only get into Pinot Noir if they're committed to producing wines of quality.

Happily enough, some of them seem to be.

One caveat: Fans of big, ripe heavily extracted Pinots with sweet cherry cola flavors and plenty of body and alcohol won't like Pinots from the Finger Lakes, a region upstate.The cool-climate region is similar to Burgundy in that it struggles to produce grapes of optimum ripeness in some years. Vinos of these vintages generally have a low concentration, lower alcohol (12-13 percent rather than upwards of 14 percent), a subtle bouquet and a taste suited to a more sensitive palate. We found two we love.

Read more New York Pinot Noir - Wine of the Week after the jump.

The French are still getting over the 1976 Judgment of Paris, when some uppity California wineries took the top awards in a blind tasting between their wines and France's best. Now it's a New York winery that's sweeping the underdog awards: Fox Run Vineyards of the Finger Lakes Wine Region was named one of the top 100 wineries of the year by Wine and Spirits magazine.

Why is this significant, you ask? Mainly because, while wine critics like to pat New York fondly on the head, saying their wines are "up-and-coming" and "getting there," no one has yet gone so far as to say that New York wineries can compete on a global scale. California proved itself in '76; Oregon and Washington made it in the '90s or so. Now it's the Finger Lakes' turn to shine.

Hey, we're American; we always root for the underdog.

I had a bottle of the 2006 Dry Riesling in my rack, so I popped it in the fridge to see if it was worth all the hype (in addition to the Wine & Spirits kudos, this particular bottle got a nod for a "best American wine $15 and under" from Food and Wine magazine in April). The wine is good--fragrant and floral, with racy acidity and balanced fruit that comes from its cool-climate location in the middle of the state. It definitely has the potential to stand up to other cool-climate Rieslings from Germany, Austria, and New Zealand in a blind tasting.

Have you tasted any New York wines? Do you think they're the next big thing or more hype than heft?