Raphael 2010 Riesling ($28) is a citrus packed mineral driven wine that you don’t see alot of on Long Island.  It is now sold out at the tasting room, but you may find some in local wine shops.

On the nose I was hit with aroma’s of lime, grapefruit, granny smith apple, lemon and a hint of tangerine.  Floral and grassy there is a salty beach rock aroma in there too.  If you can reserve some for day two, which I did, you will pick up more of the apple and lime notes.

The palate carried over the citrus that I was picking up on the nose with hints of peach and more salinity.

Bright zippy acidity dances on your tongue.    I found that the wine improved with some time open.  The finish delivered some lime and lemon grass notes.

Sláinte!

In 2009, Erik, a Buffalo, NY native took the opportunity to make wine under his own label and put his name on the bottle.  So Influence Wines was born.  I really liked Erik’s 2009 release and I was looking forward to the 2010 release.

In 2010 Erik continued to make wine, this time he purchased grapes from Dalrymple farms in the Finger Lakes on Seneca Lake.  His Influence was found for sure in the winemaking.  No added sugar, no added acid, it shows true essence of the Riesling grape and the region it was planted in, the Finger Lakes.

Here you can read from Influence Wines website what happened to the grapes at harvest and how they arrived on Long Island:

Once harvested, Influence Riesling is delivered to White Springs Winery in Geneva, NY on Seneca Lake, where the experienced staff led by Derek Wilber crush, press, and cold settle the juice, which is then shipped to Premium Wine Group on the North Fork of Long Island. Upon arrival, winemaker Erik P. Bilka begins the winemaking process. The juice is fermented in stainless steel tanks. Before completion fermentation is halted in order to maintain the natural residual sugars found in this semi-dry vintage. The refining process which involves separating natural occurring sediment from the final product is done delicately in order to preserve the fruits integrity.

On the nose aroma’s of fresh sliced peach, tropical pineapple and stoney minerality jump out at you.  Lime, more tropical fruit and some dried fruits rise up as the wine warms to room temperature.

On the palate lime, citrus, melon, pear and peach mix beautifully with bright acidity and just a hint of residual sugar.

On day two there were some tea leaf elements and some tropical notes with a hint of wet slate.

Related articles

• Influence Wines 2010 Riesling (lenndevours.com)

Martha Clara Vineyards recently received some huge press thanks to their Estate Reserve Riesling that won top prize at the Annual Atlantic Seaboard Wine Association Competition last month in Haymarket, VA.  The wine was the highest rated out of 560+ wines tasted at the competition.  The estate Reserve Riesling that won that award is made from the Riesling grapes that are from the Martha Clara Vineyard estate.  A review of that wine will appear here next week.

They also received a great deal of press about their regular offering of Riesling.  It won the Governor’s Cup at the recent NY Wine and Food Classic, which is the best wine out of all the wines tasted that day.  It was the best wine out of 740+ wines submitted from over 100 wineries across the state.  This wine that won top prize as the best wine in New York was made with Finger Lakes fruit from Dalrymple Farms on Seneca Lake.

With that being said, Martha Clara vineyards winemaking team of  Juan Micieli-Martinez and Robin Epperson-McCarthy wanted to offer a friendly wine competition at their 2011 Summer Concert Series at the Pavilion.

In honor of Riesling and Summer, Martha Clara Vineyards and Influence Wines will both offer their Riesling to taste side by side.  These Riesling are from the Dalrymple Farm on the Western Side of Seneca Lake in the Finger Lakes Region.  Erik Bilka, winemaker and owner of Influence Wines and Martha Clara Vineyards  wine making team of Juan Micieli-Martinez and Robin Epperson-McCarthy sourced their Riesling from Dalrymple Farm.

This is a unique opportunity to taste the wines, harvested the same day, pressed together but fermented and bottle in each winemakers style.  According to Juan, “This will highlight the influence that winemakers can have on a wine during production.”

All guests that attend the concert on August 26 will have the opportunity to taste these wine side by side and buy each of the Riesling as well.

Martha Clara Vineyards and Influence Wines have been doing this at all of their Summer Concert Series, I just have not been able to make any of the earlier ones.  With all the press surrounding the recent award-winning wine, this should be interesting.

Erik, Juan and Robin will be on hand to answer any questions you have that night.

I hope to see you all on August 26th

Related articles

• Martha Clara Vineyards Wins Governor’s Cup for 2010 Riesling; Lamoreaux Landing Named Winery of the Year (lenndevours.com)
• 2011 New York Wine & Food Classic Results (eastcoastwineries.blogspot.com)
• LI Riesling tops NY Wine Classic competition (timesunion.com)
• Martha Clara Riesling Wins Top Wine Award in Statewide Competition (riverhead.patch.com)

Waters Crest Winery 2009 Campania Bianco ($24) might be in limited quantity, but year in and year out this is a very nice white wine blend from Jim Waters.

It is composed of 70% Chardonnay, 12% Sauvignon Blanc and 18% Riesling. Each of the three grapes impart their signature qualities to make this wine stand out.  The Chardonnay give this wine a nice roundness.  The Sauvignon Blanc brings a tropical feel with bright acidity and the Riesling adds a delicious crisp and clean minerality.

On the nose you pick up aroma’s of apple, cantaloupe melon and pineapple.  A note of salinity and river rock mix with white peach, mango and hints of honeysuckle.  Faint aromas of grass and hay appear as the wine comes to room temperature.

When tasted you notice the bright and clean acidity with a lush mouth feel.  Flavors of pear, peach and apple stand out with hints of spice.

The wine finishes with a note of rocky minerality.

Sláinte!

Waters Crest Winery 2009 Riesling ($24) is a rare find.  Jim does not release a Riesling all the time and when he does it usually is because the fruit is perfect or the juice is a stand out.  This Riesling shows very nicely.  Bringing fruit and mineral notes with delicious mouth-watering acidity.  If this was the summer, it would be perfect.  However, since this is the winter and if you are serving pork or a traditional German dish, make sure this bottle is on the table.

The Nose brings aromas of apricot and peach with hints of honeysuckle and tropical fruit.  River rock slate and a squirt grapefruit juice appear at the back of the palate.

Zippy zinging acidity appear up front on the palate with notes of river rock and juicy lime.

Well balanced and delicious, this is made in an Alsatian style, bone dry.

On day two, this wine was showing notes of candied citrus and dried tree fruit with the faintest hint of orange citrus.

Sláinte!

I first found out about this wine on a twitter tasting a long time ago were the object was to taste a Finger Lakes Wine Region Riesling.  I had tasted Anthony Nappa Wines, Luminous, which was made with juice from the Finger Lakes.  Robin at the same tasting, from the comfort of her home was tasting Erik’s Influence Wines 2009 Riesling.   Two Long Island wine makers making wine with Finger Lakes juice.

It took a while for me to get my hands on it.  It took even longer for me to try this wine.  (I somehow was placed out of my sight).  Here is what I found while I tasted Influence Wines 2009 Riesling.

On the nose I was picking up a heavy aroma of lime and rocky stoney minerality.  There was some bright clean granny smith apple notes as well with a hint of grapefruit.

The grapefruit carried over onto the palate and was much more pronounced.  Zinging acidity with lemon lime citrus juice with a stony finished the palate.

This Riesling was lively and kept the essence of Finger Lakes Riesling, after all it was made with juice from there.

My wife and I shared this wine with a roasted pork loin with asian spices and a soy marinade.  The wine paired well with the meal.

I hope that Erik continues to make wines like this and expand his varietals.  Not having your own fruit can be a problem, but working at Premium I am sure there is a good chance that some very nice fruit or juice comes Erik’s way.

Sláinte!

I had my first Finger Lakes Riesling about a year ago, when I started to see some in my local shop.  I had a real education about Finger Lakes Riesling in May when I went there for TasteCamp 2010.

My memories of TasteCamp will last until the next one, but my thoughts and love for the Finger Lakes region will last forever.  And my my knowledge on Finger Lakes wine will always be tested, especially when it comes to Riesling.  Riesling from the Finger Lakes is world class –  I have been told that, heard that in conversation and I am slowly educating myself.

This  Heron Hill Winery Ingle Vineyard 2007 Riesling ($15.00) is an example of a delicious Finger Lakes Riesling.

Heron Hill Winery, founded in 1977, though some of the vines have been in the ground since 1972, by John and his wife Jo.  Ingle Vineyard, located on Canandaigua Lake is the vineyard that is maintained by John.  Heron Hill Vineyards is on the grounds of Heron Hill Winery which overlooks Keuka Lake.

On the nose, there was aromas of lemon, lime, grapefruit and a hint of tangerine peel.  Hints of melon and an intense mineral note that to me is unmistakable Finger Lakes.

The taste of the wine brought more of the citrus notes that I was picking up on the nose with a hint more of grapefruit pith.  An element of petrol rounded out the glass, it was faint at first but as it warmed, it was present.

The wine showed great acidity with great balance of the residual sugar.  It was clean and crisp and quite refreshing.

If you happen to find some Heron Hill Winery’s wine at a restaurant or a wine shop, to try some out yourself.  If you don’t than make sure that you plan a trip to the Finger Lakes and visit them.

Sláinte!

courtesy of Peconic Bay Facebook Page

It has happened to us all before.  We go out to eat at a restaurant and the experience was not up to par.  You come home underwhelmed and say to yourself, “not going back there”.  Could have it have been the service; could it have been the atmosphere; could it have been that you were just not feeling it that day?  Any one of those could have been your excuse — but what is your excuse if you don’t give them a second chance?

I had an underwhelming experience at Peconic Bay Winery seven years ago.  Yes. Seven. Years ago.    And to wait 6 years to give Peconic Bay a second chance was wrong.

It goes something like this about 7 years ago — I can remember the day clearly, it was mid-week.  Melissa, my girlfriend at the time, who is now my wife, went out to wine country to do some tastings as we did a lot in our early days of dating.  We decided to ride along, Route 25 this time – we normally ride along Route 48, it just closer for us. We packed a cooler and decided to stop for lunch at a vineyard, buy a bottle of wine and enjoy the day, atmosphere and food that we packed up that day.  The vineyard was going to help us with the wine to round out our little one day get away.

courtesy of Peconic Bay Website

We decided upon Peconic Bay Winery, it was the white Adirondack chairs out front that caught our eye.  They looked inviting and settled up for some good times. I can’t tell you what wine we had with lunch – it was 6+ years ago.  But I do know that we were satisfied with the wine.  What we were not satisfied with were the surroundings; It seemed we sat so close to the road, our view was of King Kullen and the chairs were not that comfortable.  I recall Melissa saying in so many words, too bad our view is of King Kullen and the shopping center and it’s so noisy with the traffic of Route 25.  Because of those reasons, we never went back.

Flash forward to the fall of 2009.  We find ourselves at Peconic Bay Winery with about 15 funeral directors as a group visiting farm stands and vineyards on the North Fork.  We tasted the top flight as a group.  Luckily we had reservations – the place was packed.  I started to have reservations about this tasting.  Thoughts ran through my head, “how are they goingto do this?”, “”its too uncomfortable to taste”, “they will forget about us.”

NONE of those fears in my head came true.  Not a single one. We tasted 6 wines that day.

All poured effortlessly, by a very attentive staff.  They seemed calm and collected on such a busy day.  When we were all done with the one tasting, they were ready to pour the next one.  They explained the wines, answered our questions and made us feel as if we were the only ones there.  I walked away very happy and wanting to taste more of Peconic Bay.  Was this the 6-year-old second chance that was 5 years too late?  Probably, but I wanted to see it again and I wanted to see if I could see King Kullen.

Back in late May or early June (yes it was that long ago), Jim Silver, Peconic Bay’s General Manager asked when I was going to visit them.  In a few e-mails he liked what I was dong here on the blog and had hoped that I could visit soon.  I did visit and I am glad I did. Things have changed for the better at Peconic Bay Winery.  There is now trees that buffer the sound of Route 25.  You can’t see King Kullen from the Peconic Bay “meadow” just off the tasting room.  There are now comfortable Adirondack nautical color cushioned chairs with umbrellas that look very cozy — Makes you want to read a book or taste some wine or just relax and waste the day away.  There are gas fire pits that add atmosphere and are on for late night wine tasting events.

But more importantly, at least to me are the wines.  Deliciously made there since 1979, one the oldest vineyards on Long Island.  The seem to fall under the radar.  Not sure why considering they have some of the best priced wines on Long Island.  Not one offering is above $28.  They are also the first winery to produce a brandy made from distilling their own finished Merlot wine.  On top of all the fine wine at Peconic Bay, they also have a Tapas menu which has been prepared in advance by chef Tom Schaudel of “aMano” restaurant in Mattituck. Above all of that are the wines, here are some that made an impression on me at the time when I tasted:

courtesy of Peconic Bay Website

• Peconic Bay Steel Fermented  2007 Chardonnay ($24) Melon apple and grassy straw with a zing of acidity and a note of wet stone.  Apple and pear round out the mouth with a creamy spicy note. (This is sold out)
• Peconic Bay 2008 Riesling I believe that the 2009 is released, but I have a bottle of the 2008 that I plan on reviewing here soon.
• Nantique Esprit de Blanc ($18) blended wine that represents “ABC” anything but chardonnay.  It is blended with Riesling, Chardonnay and some Pinot Grigio.  If you are looking for a Sauvignon Blanc style, than this is your wine.  If you like Pinot Grigio, then have a glass of this.  The nose is reminiscent of Riesling with peach and apricot and tropical fruit.  Floral with hints of honey-dew melon and grapefruit.  Clean crisp and refreshing with great zinging acidity and nice mouth feel.
• Nautique Esprit de Rosé ($18) This is made with 2009 red grapes with little skin contact.  It is a bled of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot.  The story goes that the 2009 reds were not ripening, so the idea was to use the lots for their New Nantique line of wines.  I am glad they did, because this was on of my favorite Rose’s from the 2009 vintage.  A full post on this wine will be here soon.
• Peconic Bay 2007 Merlot ($28) Dark fruit like plum and blackberry dominate the nose with hints of earthy slate.  The dark fruit continues on the palate with hints of pepper and spice with subtle hints of cherry and a great showing of dried herbs.  Big tannins and great acidity makes me think this is one to age in your cellar.
• Peconic Bay 2007 Cabernet Franc ($28) Again, you will see a post here in the future on their Cabernet Franc.

It is safe to say that Peconic Bay Winery is a must if you are out on the east end visiting wine country.  They make delicious Riesling, crowd pleasing white & rose blends, chardonnay two ways and age worthy reds.  I can tell you this for sure, as a new dad, you will see me a few times at Peconic Bay, if not for the music and entertainment, than you will see me chasing after my son as he runs his legs to sleep at Peconic Bay Winery.

courtesy of Nautique Website

I know that in the past I have said that I like my Riesling to have around 1.5% of RS, then I turn around and have a Riesling that is hanging out at about .3% and it blows my socks off.  Or I may have one that is at 5% and it is so lush and delicious, that I finish the bottle way to soon. What is it that blows my socks off?  What is it that makes that bottle finish right before you eyes?  Could it be the RS percentage or the alcohol percentage or what the TA level was at or where the brix was at harvest?  Things that when first looking at a wine, I honestly don’t pay any attention to.  (I look at those things after the fact.)

What matters above all is taste.  And for the challenging year that Long Island had for their grape growing season, the 2009 wines — the whites to this point, have been tasting deliciously good.  This Riesling from Martha Clara Vineyards is another of my favorites.

This Martha Clara Vineyards 2009 Riesling ($19) is a perfect example of how important the nose and the taste is to me.  On the nose I was picking up some grapefruit and citrus zest with a little hint of apricot.  There was also an aroma of pear and granny smith apple skin.  A hint of white tea and some stoney minerality rounded out the nose as the wine warmed in the glass.

The taste is where this wine got me.  Zippy and zingy with wonderful play between the residual sugar and the acidity brought flavors of tropical mango, melon and pineapple.  White grapefruit and lime zest filled my palate too.

As the wine evolved there was some elements of tropical flowers and orange zest.

Unfortunately, this is sold out.  You can find this at local wine shop, I did and picked up a few extra bottles.  Go out and pick up a bottle, you will enjoy this Riesling and don’t worry what the Residual Sugar is, just enjoy the taste and the flavors that evolve in your glass and palate.

By the way, the RS on this Riesling is 1.7% — if that means anything to you.

Sláinte!

When I first tasted Palmer Vineyards 2009 White Riesling ($19), it brought me right back to the Finger Lakes.  This wine is from Palmer Vineyards estate in Aquebogue, hand harvested, crushed and pressed with no skin contact and then cold fermented.  According to Miguel Martin, winemaker at Palmer Vineyards, “The juice was fermented cold (52F) in stainless steel tanks using an aromatic yeast strain, QA23 to maximize the vibrant varietal character of the Riesling. The wine was kept cold in a full tank to preserve the delicate flavors before bottling.”

On the nose, I was picking up tropical fruits, lemon, lime, grapefruit and river rock minerality.  Some apple and floral notes started to shine through too.  As the wine warmed, I picked up loads of apples, granny smith and green apple — like an apple orchard.  This was a beautiful aromatic wine.

When I tasted it, and if I had tasted it blind, I would have thought I was back in the Finger Lakes.  Zesty lemon and lime jump right out at you with some grapefruit at the back end with just a touch of a floral note.  I also picked up some river rock minerality on the palate with this zinging acidity.

The finish was moderate with the apple flavors at the end.

I may be sticking my neck out here a bit as I state this: I think that this Riesling happens to be the best Riesling I have tasted from Long Island this year.  It’s how I am starting to like my Riesling –aromatic and apparently on the dry side — apparently my palate is evolving.  While some may say that this is not for their liking — they may prefer the semi-dry style and some may consider this out of balance because of the lack of residual sugar.  However, this wine has a wonderful bouquet and palate and shows loads of fruit and classic Riesling flavors.

Go give it a try yourself and let me know what you think.

Sláinte!

I tasted this Martha Clara Vineyards 2008 Riesling ($18) with Martha Clara Vineyards winemaker, Juan  Micielli-Martinez when I was out for a visit.

My notes were short then, but Juan and I had a conversation about Riesling and more specifically about this Riesling.  There was this subtle yet noticeable aroma of petrol.

This aroma, petrol, or a rubber tire or even kerosene aroma, as some people call it differently, but it all is generally the same, is found in older, aged Riesling.  This is something that is sought after by wine geeks and enthusiasts and connoisseurs around the world.  Some may say that this petrol aroma is a sign that the Riesling will age well in early wines, or it has aged well in older wines.  It could be considered that a Riesling with Petrol is a well made wine.

Here is a quick, funny story about Riesling and rubber tires.  One time, at my parents house, there was a bottle of Cheatu St. Michele 1994 Riesling in their basement.  I  grabbed it and chilled it.  I could not wait to try it and see what was going on with it.  After a while when I pulled the cork and took a sniff in my glass, it stunk of rubber tires.  I thought it was bad — no good — that the wine was gone.  So I poured it down the drain.  Shortly after that, in a twitter conversation I soon learned my lesson.  That that aroma was supposed to be there.  That is a sign of a well aged wine.  I learned my lesson.

Juan gave me a bottle of this wine to explore further on my own and here is what I found:

On the nose I was getting some citrus, melon and tea leaves.  Some steel and saline like qualities.  There was some apple and pear with the slightest hint of petrol

When I tasted it, I was really digging it.  There was more notes of apple, melon and a little pineapple.  Pear, and grapefruit rounded out the mouth with a little splash of orange zest and pith.

This wine was hitting all the right buttons and was in my wheel house.  I was getting a bit of a green herbal or tea leaf note on the extended finish.

I have to tell you, if you have a few of these bottles around, hold on to them, they will age well according to Juan.  I am no expert on that, but I trust him and everything that I have learned about Riesling to this day points that in time this Riesling will be smelling like petro or rubber tires and that, my friends is a very good thing.

Note: This is sold out and is no longer available in the tasting room.

Sorry to have been off the Island recently with posts about the Finger Lakes and my adventures at TasteCamp.  Just doing my job as a wine enthusiast!

Upon my return, I found this bottle in my cellar while trying to fit wine onto my wine rack.  Pindar and Les had given me this bottle as a sample before it was released.  So, as if I did not have enough Riesling up in the Finger Lakes, I decided to open this current release from Pindar Vineyards

Pindar Vineyards 2008 Riesling ($17) is extremely aromatic in the glass.  Notes of peach and apricot fill the glass with some floral notes too.  There is a bit of candied pineapple and honey between the layers.  With the subtle note of orange and a bit of baking spice.

The taste brough more candied and dried fruit like mango, apricot and peach with a subtle note of fresh pear and apple.  There was a decent showing of rocky minerality. 

This is a semi-dry wine that leaves a viscus honey like coating on the palate at the end.  There is a good amount of acidity to the wine.  The finish is long and enjoyable.  It was drinking like a late harvest wine. 

While it may have had a bit too much residual sugar in the wine for my liking, it did have a good acid backbone.  I enjoyed this with some grilled chicken sausage and pasta.  But I also had this alone and I could see this after a meal.  Nevertheless is was good to be back home.

What is it, you will have to find out at 8PM….here is the details:

To celebrate Riesling Month in Finger Lakes Wine Country, we are taking the traditional "happy hour", adding the Finger Lakes touch, and calling it "Riesling Hour." Join thousands of Riesling enthusiasts from around the globe for a live Riesling Twitter and Facebook Tasting  from your home or from Red Newt Cellars at 8 p.m. EST.

If celebrating from your home, simply open up a bottle (or two) of Finger Lakes Riesling with friends or family, enjoy the wine (hopefully with a bit of food as well), and then tweet or Facebook about the experience. Share your thoughts on your wine, post pictures of your wine and food pairing on Facebook, or tweet with others (use #flxwine in your tweets) about their Riesling experience.

OR join us live at Red Newt Cellars and Bistro on Seneca Lake in Finger Lakes Wine Country.  At 8 .p.m. EST, Red Newt will host a group of Riesling aficionados to taste Rieslings and tweet and Facebook about the wines. Bring a bottle of your favorite Finger Lakes Riesling (from any FLX producer and vintage) to share, your laptop, and $10 to help cover the cost of food.
If you are planning on attending at Red Newt send the winery a tweet AND RSVP on Facebook.

If you are planning on joining us at home, please RSVP on Facebook.
More about Riesling Month can be found at www.RieslingRocks.com.

So obviously, I will not be at Red Newt, but I will be hanging out at Chateau Gorton in Rocky Point.

Sláinte

Then there are times that I have had a Riesling and wondered why this is so sweet, knowing it’s not a desert wine.  Then there are times that I have had it and felt this could be my favorite grape.

So when I saw this hanging out at Roanoke Vineyards, I though, lets give it a try. 

Roman Roth is a German born winemaker who finds himself making wine at Wölffer Estate Vineyards and at Roanoke Vineyards, and if that is not enough, he also lends his hands and advice to some of the next up and coming wine makers on Long Island.  So what does Roman Roth do in his spare time.  He makes his own wine.

This is the second vintage of the Grapes of Roth Riesling.  It is 100 Riesling taken from two north fork locations.  68% comes from Split Rock Vineyard near Greenport.  The other 32% comes from Martha Clara Vineyards.  The grapes were hand harvested and brought to Wölffer Estate Vineyards for desteming and pressed.

On the nose I was picking up some apricot, white peach, apple and lime.  There was a salinity to the nose as well, kind of like ocean air.

The taste was very crisp and clean.  It had bright acidity.  There was flavors of apple skin, pear and citrus.  There was a little wet rock quality that was nice as well. 

I did enjoy this Riesling.  This is another notch in the Riesling belt that hopefully one day I will have a better understanding of it.

You can buy this 2008 The Grapes of Roth Riesling ($22) from Roanoke Vineyards tasting room as well as Roman Roth’s own website where he goes into great detail about this wine and his own story.

I have not been to Paumanok Vineyards, in Aquebogue, in some time, in fact I don’t remember the last time I was there. Bit after this tasting I will make sure I travel along route 25 the next time I go out tasting.

On the nose I was picking up loads of lime juice, granny smith apple and some pear. There was a minerality element that reminded me of rain-soaked rocks. There was also a floral note that rounded out the nose of this wine.

The taste was loaded with fresh squeezed lime and zesty citrus juice. It had a zippy uplifting acidity that made my mouth tingle. There was more apple and pear to round out the flavors.

I really enjoyed this wine. This was one of my favorite Riesling from Long Island. I highly recommend you pick this up the next time you see it.  I will be back to the shop to pickup and try the 2008 in the future.

We had this wine with chicken and steak fajita. It went well, the loads of lime elements really enhanced the food.

I received this as part of my New York Cork Club Membership a while back.  I kept waiting to bring this out with friends or family to our local BYOB Thai place.  But that never happened.

So on Valentine’s day, my wife asked me what I wanted for dinner.  I told her surprise me.  She followed my orders, she asked me to pick one of the three recipes she suggested. One of them was a Thai pulled pork…I knew just what to serve with it!  This Anthony Road Wine Company 2008 Semi-Dry Riesling ($15).

On the nose I could smell the gold right away, as in golden sunshine.  That was the first thought that popped into my head.  There was elements of honeydew melon, pineapple and tropical coconut juice; not the milky kind, the cloudy juicy kind you find in Mexico.

When I tasted this, I was picking up the semi-dry aspect of this Riesling.  Meaning there was some sugar on the palate.  Just a small amount.  But along with the honey like sweetness, there was the zinging acidity you should find in a fine, well made Riesling, like this one.  There was some lime zest that was very prominent and recognizable. 

The mouth feel was what was really enjoyable.  It has a silky viscosity that was asking me to swirl this in my mouth a little longer than usual.

This went perfectly with the dinner that my wife made for me.  I was glad that she was able to take sip or two with dinner.  Assuring that our child will be far advanced in the world or Riesling than I was before.

Unfortunately, this wine is sold out, you may however find this in a wine shop online or near the finger lakes.  If you find it, grab it. 

This wine was deserving of the Governor’s Cup title as Best Wine in the State of NY.  This wine was also deserving of the meal we had on Valentines day.  And this wine was deserving of the wait in my cellar.

Osprey’s Dominion is located in Peconic on Main Road or as I like to call it Route 25.  I have not visited the tasting room in quite some time, hopefully this will change soon.

There is not too much information about Osprey Dominion on their website that explains the history of the vineyard.  I hope to visit them and give you more information about them. 

On the nose I was not picking up much of anything too noticable.  It was not welcoming and it was taking me a while to coax anything out of it.  As the wine came up to room temperature.  As it did, there was some spice and some Granny Smith Apple.

The taste was a bit off-balance.  It was a bit to mouth drying.  It reminded me of a bubbly, in the way champagne can clean the plate.  It was quite dry.  I was also getting some strange aftertaste that I could just not get my hands on.

I cannot recommend this wine to anyone.  It was just not right.  It’s too bad, because I really was in the mood for some Riesling.

This bad experience with this wine will not sour my thoughts on Osprey’s Dominion.  I do plan on visiting them and when I do I will be sure to let you all know.

When I mentioned the fact that I have to find a lesser know varietal, I am talking about this: instead of drinking Pinot Grigio, I should be drinking, Pinot Gris; instead of a Sauvignon Blanc, I should drink a Fume Blanc…get the picture.

So looking around my local wine shop there was not too much of a selection.  In fact there was one.  But I was curious about another wine staring me in the face, so I whipped out my BlackBerry Storm and typed in the browser, Riesling, and this according to Wikipedia popped up:

“Many grapes that incorporate the name Riesling are not true Riesling. For example:

• Welschriesling is an unrelated variety, which is common in Austria, Croatia, Hungary and Romania which may also be labeled as Riesling Italico, Welsch Rizling, Olasz Rizling or Laski Rizling.
• Schwarzriesling (Black Riesling) is the German name for Pinot meunier, a grape used in Champagne, but which is also grown in Southern Germany.
• Cape Riesling is the South African name for the French grape Crouchen.
• Gray Riesling is actually Trousseau Gris, a white mutant of the Bastardoport wine grape.
• White Riesling is the ‘real’ Riesling, which is also called Johannisberg Riesling (named after the famed Schloss Johannisberg) and Rhine Riesling (= Riesling Renano in Italy, occasionally Rheinriesling in Austria)”

Notice the last bullet…I just scored!  I chose Pindar’s 2007 Johannisberg Riesling.  I had no clue.  And I was excited because I have a post about my visit to Pindar Vineyards out next week.

This is a beautiful straw colored wine.  It has nice viscosity in the glass as I gave it a swirl or two.

On the nose I was getting a nice floral aroma.  There was this wonderful honey sent and a very nice Apricot aroma.  I really loved the bouquet on this wine.

The taste was even more exciting.  The apricot carried over with a touch of honeydew melon.  There was creamy honey like flavor that coated the mouth so well.  This had great balance of acidity and sweetness.  The zing I was getting on the sides of my tongue were making me have more, and the honey lemony citrus finish, that was quite long, was driving me crazy.

This was a semi-dry wine that was a lush medium to full body wine. I had this with some leftover Chinese food and it was just perfect.

This was a Gold Medal Winner at the 2009 Food and Wine Classic this year, and I can see why.  This was my first Johannisberg Riesling, but not my first Riesling.  I wish I had the time to compare this along with Governor’s cup winner From Anthony Road Winery, but it is just too late in the day.  I will have to do it another day.

I highly recommend you pickup this 2007 Johannisberg Riesling.  It retails for $16.99 in the Pindar tasting room, but I got it for $ 14.99 at my local shop.

So I tried everything together, “A Grape By Another Name”, Drink Local Wine, Wine Blogging Wednesday, and I also supported my local wine shop.  My post is finished; now let me finish this bottle.

In the glass, there was a mineral aroma; it reminded me of the smell of water pouring over steam rocks.  I was also getting some nice honey, melons, and citrus aroma.  It was not to sweet smelling, just right.

The taste was a nice lemon/lime, more toward the lime side.  It was clean and crisp, thanks to the acidity.  The honey was coming through not in flavor, but in feel.

The finish was nice in smooth.  There was a good balance between the residual sugar and the acidity.

My lunch of Curry Chicken and this Riesling was perfect.  This is a wonderful wine to have with a spicy dish.

This was a most enjoyable wine, the sugar was coming through a bit, and it was taking me a little while to get adjusted to.  However, by the end of this Friday afternoon, I was trying to squeeze the last drop from this wonderful Riesling.

I have never tried a NYS Riesling.  I have had some Riesling from around the planet before, but really did not care for them.  The Riesling’s that I have had were more on the sweet side, which I am not a fan of.  To figure out where you are in the land of Riesling, check out this link.  I am at stage 2, but after this wine, I am moving full steam ahead into stage 3.

This wine is unreal.  It was so good, that we drank it so fast I did not take any notes.  It was so satisfying and delicious; I could not put the glass down.  So from memory here is what I remember.

On the nose there was a wonderful citrus aroma, with a hint of lime.  The lime is what intrigued me to take a quick sip.  The taste added a kiss of honey with wonderful citrus flavors.  It was a clean finish, and had the perfect amount of acid to clean my palate for the next glass.

We had this with Thai from our local Thai place.  This Riesling was perfect with the Pad Thai Noodles and the Beef Coconut Curry Melissa had.  What a great wine and dinner too.

This is a wine I highly recommend to anyone who is curious about Riesling or has experience with Riesling.  I want more of this and will make room for this wine in my cellar.  I know there are a whole slew of lakes in this great state of ours that need to be explored; I intend to do just that.