May is Riesling Month in the Finger Lakes Wine Country
May is Riesling Month in Finger Lakes Wine Country and, while the name could use some work, it looks like a great program.
Throughout the month of May, many Finger Lakes wineries, restaurants and hotels will be offering special deals. The goings on are too numerous to list in a single blog post (you can see them here) but here are some of the highlights:
Several Finger Lakes wineries will be offering free shipping on riesling purchases through their websites. Unfortunately, some wineries missed the point here and want you to buy an entire case to get free shipping. Lame. See the list of participating wineries
Rieslings in Riedel at Rooster Hill Winery (All Month)
Visitors in the tasting room will be able to do a side-by-side tasting of the winery's semi-dry and dry rieslings in both the regular tasting room glasses and glasses that Riedel produces specifically for riesling. I'm not a believer in varietal glassware yet, but this should be interesting. Visit Rooster Hill's website for details.
Ravines Wine Cellars Winemaker Dinner at La Tourelle Resort in Ithaca (May 1&2)
Ravines' co-owner and winemaker, Morten Hallgren, is one of my favorite makers of Finger Lakes riesling, so this dinner, which includes 4 courses for $75 should be outstanding. Visit the Ravines website for more information.
Winemaker's Riesling Dinner at Fox Run Vineyards (May 9)
Owner Scott Osborn and winemaker Peter Bell will lead diners through a special riesling-focused meal. Visit the Fox Run website to make your reservation.
10-Year Riesling Vertical at Wiemer Vineyard (May 9)
It's not every day that you get a chance to taste a decade's worth of riesling from one of the Finger Lakes' best producers. I wish I could make the drive up for this one. RSVP required via the Wiemer website.
Riesling Rendezvous at the New York Wine & Culinary Center (May 15)
This walk-about tasting offers the chance to taste riesling from more than 40 New York wineries paired with local cuisine and includes a special tasting of older-vintage rieslings. Tickets are $55 via nywcc.com.
Future, Present and Past Rieslings at Sheldrake Point Vineyard (May 31)
Join winemaker David Breeden and taste rieslings from several vintages, including a preview of the unreleased 2008 rieslings and library wines that are no longer available anywhere else. Tickets required via Sheldrake Point's website.
Again, you can see a full list of the events here.
I probably won't be able to take part in any of the above events, but I will be able to attend the trade-only Riesling Summit
at the Astor Center next Tuesday. The Summit includes a guided tasting that will compare the best Finger Lakes rieslings with those from other top regions in the world, followed by the Aromatic White Wine Showcase, a walk-around tasting of Finger Lakes aromatic whites that will include currently available 2007
wines, special samples of soon-to-be-released 2008
wines and several older vintages.
We’ve been to this event at New York Wine & Culinary Center! It was amazing! Great wine, great cheese, great ambient. Thanks to my wife we stayed at this really fine hotel she booked via easyclick travel for us. That was the best present for our 25 anniversary she could ever give me. I love you, Anna!