I am no longer a New York State Riesling Virgin. The other night it was the Mrs., Thai food and this, Herman J. Wiemer Vineyard 2006 Dry Riesling from the Finger Lake Region. Let me tell you, this wine was grand!
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.
Undertaking Wine 
We truly enjoy Wiemer – been to the Finger Lakes a few times and always come back with a case. His winery is a lovely experience and its always a treat to have one of his wines.
Michael, this is a great introduction to NY riesling — Wiemer is one of the premier producers of riesling to be sure.
And you just hit upon one of the challenges I deal with sometimes with wine blogging — I don’t want to ALWAYS take notes. Sometimes I just want to drink and enjoy!
You won’t find many Finger Lakes rieslings down here on LI, but some other producers to check out: Ravines Wine Cellars, Lamoreaux Landing, Sheldrake Point, Anthony Road, Atwater, Billsboro…there is a ton of great riesling up there.
Locally…check out Peconic Bay and Paumanok. And Grapes of Roth, Roman Roth’s private label.
Michael,
Now that you’ve joined the club, you’ll have to take it to the next level and get your hands on some aged FL Riesling. This was an event that changed my wine-buying life – “let’s just buy one more to hold on to…”
Cheers!
http://lennthompson.typepad.com/lenndevours/2009/05/wineries-open-their-libraries-with-older-finger-lakes-rieslings.html