Posts Written OnSeptember 05, 2012

Five Years After the Finger Lakes’ Worst Riesling Vintage in a Decade, Some Happy Surprises

What’s the worst riesling vintage of the past decade in the Finger Lakes? It’s an awkward question, given that winemakers in the Finger Lakes love to say that riesling performs beautifully in the regoin no matter the weather. That’s largely true, but it’s also a copout. I’m willing to say that 2007 is the worst riesling vintage of the decade. It was a year of heat and drought, and the result was a region dotted by stressed vines. For red wines, it was generally a success. But for riesling, the balance between ripe fruit and crackling acidity was much more…

Harvest 2012: Seyval Blanc at Gibson Farms for Villa Bellangelo

Chris Missick from Villa Bellangelo sends this harvest report — and video — about the first grapes processed on their new crushpad: [quote]We harvested Seyval Blanc from a great 10 acre site owned by Marty Gibson, on the west side of Seneca Lake, and crushed the grapes at our winery a few miles away.  The Seyval came in at 19.5 brix, the fruit tasted amazing, and I am looking forward to what our winemaker, Ian Barry, can do with the fruit this year.  Although most of our wines under the Bellangelo label are vinifera varietals or blends, our Seyval, crafted in…