I tasted many glorious wines a couple of weeks ago at the Riesling Rendezvous, an event aptly described by my Wine Review Online colleague W. Blake Gray as “the chummiest international wine gathering.” In addition to camaraderie and great wine there was lots of interesting and instructive stuff about Riesling. I’ve also been asked if there was one shining moment that stood out for me during the two-day get-together, and the answer is: Absolutely!
The incident that captured my imagination was unexpected, memorable and poignant. Its catalyst was a blind tasting of off-dry Rieslings, led by a panel that included some of the world’s most illustrious Riesling vintners, from Chateau Ste. Michelle, Helmut Dönnhoff, New Zealand’s Framingham Wines, Egon Müller, Weingut Robert Weil, and St. Urbans-Hof. There were 14 wines, each tasted blind, then discussed, and finally identified. Standouts among the unfailingly impressive wines were Chateau Ste. Michelle’s softly seductive 2008 Eroica, the beautiful and compelling Scharzhof Berger 2007 Kabinett, and Dr. Loosen’s gorgeous 2008 Urziger Wurzgarten.
About halfway through the tasting, one mysterious wine made attendees and panelists alike smack their lips and murmur that favorite word of wine professionals: “Yum!” Anthony Hedley, winemaker at Framingham, summed up what was clearly the general feeling in the room. “I’ve no idea where it comes from,” he said, “but this is the kind of Riesling that makes me want to either hurry back to my winery and start working harder, or give it all up to just go fishing and drink more of this wine.”
What was the wine that so impressed this urbane audience? Drum roll, please… It was Glenora Wine Cellars Riesling 2009, from New York’s 
Finger Lakes region, which retails at the winery for about $18. Considering that few people knew much about the Finger Lakes, and fewer still had heard of Glenora, this was a shocker, especially given the other rarified and famous nectars in the same tasting. Later in the day, when I ran into Glenora’s winemaker Steve DeFrancesco, I congratulated him on the kudos his wine had garnered. Although he looked slightly dazed by it all, he wore an ear-to-ear grin. “I still can’t believe it,” he said. “And for this to happen while I was surrounded by all my gods–it’s just incredible!”
Glenora was not the only Finger Lakes wine to draw praise at Riesling Rendezvous (also much admired were Anthony Road, Dr. Konstantin Frank, and Sheldrake Point). But Glenora does sum up the history of modern winemaking in the unique New York state region. One of the pioneers of contemporary Finger Lakes wines, Glenora was established in 1977. Its initial production of 5000 cases; a mere 3 decades later it turns out 45,000 cases. As innovative today as it was in the beginning, Glenora is the first winery in the United States to package some of its wines in the very new, very green Astra Pouch (basically an environmentally friendly bag-in-the-box minus the box).
Over the years Glenora has expanded from a small, basic cement
building to a handsome complex that includes winery and tasting room, an attractive 30-room inn, and a fine restaurant, all of it overlooking beautiful Lake Seneca. Since the Finger Lakes region is one of the most gorgeous viticultural regions I’ve ever seen, I highly recommend a visit there to all wine lovers. Autumn may well be the most beautiful and exciting time to visit. You’ll sip your way around the various wine trails, and nibble through the new Cheese Trail (there are 10 “cheeseries” spread throughout upstate New York). And you’ll definitely taste some of the best Rieslings on earth.
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