I will be participating in the Finger Lakes Wine Alliance 2012 Riesling Launch virtual tasting on September 16. The tasting will be conducted from 8pm until 9pm EST via tweets on Twitter and a live stream on USTREAM, where a panel consisting of the participating wineries’ winemakers will answer questions. The hashtag is #FLXWineVT. Come join if you find the time! The participating wineries are: Knapp Winery, Lakewood Vineyards, Lamoreaux Landing Wine Cellars, Lucas Vineyards and Glenora Wine Cellars.
I have been doing some reading preparing for the tasting (and the wines have arrived at my house courtesy of the Finger Lakes Wine Alliance) and I found the article I want to share today one of the best reads. It gives a good introduction into what Finger Lakes wine country feels like and what current trends and ideas are. I have yet to visit the area, so I don’t know how true the impressions are, but they helped me in better understanding what is going on.
Lettie Teague seems to want the Finger Lakes wineries to focus more on the core message: Riesling, Riesling, Riesling. I am not sure whether that is the only way to go. I have tried some really good wines from other grape varieties, so I think it is legitimate to tout those credentials as well. In any case, it is time to visit the Finger Lakes in person…
Happy Sunday, and come join the tasting tomorrow!
the winegetter 
Congrats on participating on the 2012 Riesling Launch virtual tasting, Oliver! Very cool – well done!
I am also interested in learning more about the Finger Lakes wine region and eventually in visiting. We’ll see – too much to see, too much to drink! ;-)
Thanks! Maybe we can make that a common project in the future, meeting up there for a weekend of winery visits…I’ve been meaning to go for a long time.
My friend, this is actually a very good idea. Let’s talk about it in Philly.
Will do! :)
I think I will have to follow this. I haven’t really had anything I have enjoyed from Finger Lakes and even dumped quite a few bottles. And I’m not one to waste alcohol.
Ha! Did you follow it? It was definitely interesting! I think the dry were better than the sweet wines…which I usually don’t think of Riesling. I usually prefer it the other way around….
I didn’t check the timestamp. Thought it was this weekend… Will have to look back in time on Twitter.
Sorry! These Twitter tastings are so confusing…and then they added in a live stream with the winemakers and my multi-tasking capabilities end when I need to taste and tweet at the same time…:)
Will write up my impressions for next week. The dries were really solid, which impressed me the most.
Finger Lakes should be definitely taken for a lot more than just Eiesling – yesterday had Cab Franc and Pinot noir from Ravines, and both were outstanding!
Thanks for your input, Anatoli! I liked the Dr. Frank Cabernet Franc quite a bit when I tried it in May…
cool )
I don’t do Twitter–this ALMOST convinced me to start an account. ALMOST–but, I resisted (I really have to protect my time, because getting over-extended will set me back terribly, and I’m doing so very well right now that I couldn’t bear a set-back). So I hope you’ll blog about the experience, too.
If you decide to visit the Finger Lakes–give me a heads-up in advance. It could be possible that we might be able to meet there.
Oh my, that would be awesome!! Will definitely give you advance notice.
I will write my tasting notes up anyway, so you’ll see which wines I liked. I have to say, these Twitter tastings are fun. But they’re also a multi-tasking nightmare…:)
I am so not into participating in any kind of multi-tasking, especially not any of nightmarish quality.
You’re braver than I. And much younger. ;)
Ha, given how tech-not-savvy I am, I definitely feel brave…