By Melissa Dobson, Finger Lakes News Correspondent

In an effort to continue to establish the Finger Lakes wine region as a producer of world-class wine, a first-time older vintage tasting of almost 70 wines produced from 1988-2003 will be held tomorrow, Friday, November 14, 2008 at Red Newt Cellars and Bistro on Seneca Lake.

This tasting of a diverse collection of wines from past vintages is an important step for the wineries of the Finger as they travel the road toward carving out a place amongst the top wine regions of the world. Prior to this effort, there was no strong collaborative of wineries looking ahead to take the steps necessary to put themselves in line for consideration in future Wine Spectator Vintage Charts.

Now there is a strong desire to carefully plot a path toward becoming a recognized world-class wine region with strategies that include establishing a vintage chart via the older vintage tasting and Wine Spectator submission.

The idea of an older-vintage tasting of Finger Lakes wines was born when Morgen McLaughlin, President of Finger Lakes Wine Country Tourism Marketing Association, picked up a copy of the Wine Spectator 2008 Vintage Chart and noticed that Washington, Oregon and California were included in it, but not New York or the Finger Lakes. She then called Wine Spectator's senior editor and Finger Lakes wine reviewer, James Molesworth to get more specifics on why the Finger Lakes region was left off the the vintage chart.

Among the reasons he gave were that "the vast majority of Finger Lakes wines are meant for immediate consumption, and the handful of rieslings that might show well with bottle age doesn't create enough of a critical mass to warrant a historical record via a vintage chart." And "if I feel like a body of wines I'm tasting every year suddenly merits a vintage chart, or if I feel like the readers are clamoring for one, I'll certainly take it into consideration…"

So with those guiding words and a visit to James Molesworth's office to discuss the logistics of putting the Finger Lakes older vintage tasting together for submission to Wine Spectator, several wineries in the region opened their wine libraries up to submit their wines for this momentous tasting.

Although these older vintage wines are rather rare in the Finger Lakes, there will be a strong showing of wines including:

Gewurztraminer

  • Standing Stone
    Gewurztraminer
    2000
  • Atwater
    Gewurztraminer
    2001
  • Lamoreaux Landing
    Gewurztraminer
    2001
  • Sheldrake
    Gewurztraminer
    2002
  • Standing Stone
    Gewurztraminer
    2003

Riesling

  • McGregor
    Vineyards Riesling
    1988
  • Lakewood
    Vineyards Riesling
    1990
  • Dr. Konstantin Frank
    Riesling, Dry
    1991
  • Lamoreaux Landing
    Riesling, Semi-dry
    1991
  • McGregor Vineyards
    Riesling
    1994
  • Dr. Konstantin Frank
    Riesling, Dry
    1995
  • Dr. Konstantin Frank
    Riesling, Semi-dry
    1995
  • Standing Stone
    Riesling
    1995
  • Dr. Konstantin Frank
    Riesling, Semi-dry
    1996
  • Lakewood
    Vineyards Riesling, Dry
    1997
  • Red Newt
    Winery Riesling, Off-dry 1999
  • Red Newt
    Winery Riesling, Off-dry 2000
  • Atwater
    Vineyards Riesling, Dry
    2000
  • Red Newt
    Winery Riesling, Off-dry
    2001
  • Dr. Konstantin Frank
    Riesling, Reserve
    2001
  • Red Newt
    Winery Dry Reserve Riesling
    2002
  • Sheldrake
    Point Vineyards Dry Riesling
    2002
  • Ravines Wine Cellars Dry Riesling
    2002
  • Heron Hill
    Riesling, Ingle Vineyard
    2002
  • Heron Hill
    Riesling Reserve
    2002
  • Sheldrake
    Point Vineyards Riesling
    2003
  • Red Newt
    Winery Dry Reserve Riesling
    2003
  • Sheldrake
    Point Vineyards Riesling
    2003

Pinot Noir

  • McGregor
    Vineyards Pinot Noir
    1999
  • Dr. Konstantin Frank
    Pinot Noir
    1999 

Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon

  • Lamoreaux Landing
    Cabernet Franc
    1997
  • Dr. Konstantin Frank
    Cabernet Sauvignon, Reserve
    1999
  • Red Newt
    Winery Merlot
    1999
  • McGregor Vineyards
    Cab. Franc/Cab. S./Merlot
    1999
  • Sheldrake
    Point Vineyards Cabernet Franc, Barrel reserve
    1999
  • Standing Stone
    Vineyards Merlot
    2000
  • Atwater
    Estate Cabernet Sauvignon
    2001
  • Red Newt
    Winery Merlot
    2001
  • Sheldrake
    Point Vineyards Merlot, Barrel reserve
    2001
  • Sheldrake
    Point Vineyards Meritage
    2001
  • Lakewood
    Vineyards Cabernet Franc
    2001
  • Atwater
    Estate Merlot
    2001
  • Heron Hill
    Cabernet Franc
    2001
  • Red Newt
    Cabernet Franc
    2002
  • Hazlitt
    1852 Winery Cabernet Franc
    2002
  • Sheldrake
    Point Vineyards Cabernet Franc
    2002
  • Standing Stone Vineyards
    Pinnacle
    2002
  • Sheldrake Point Vineyards
    Meritage, barrel reserve
    2002
  • Ravines
    Wine Cellars Meritage
    2002 

Other and Dessert Wines

  • McGregor
    Vineyards Black Russian
    1998
  • McGregor
    Vineyards Late Harvest Vignoles
    1993
  • Standing Stone
    Vineyards Vidal Ice
    2000
  • Standing Stone
    Vineyards Cailloux
    2002
  • Heron Hill
    Late Harvest Riesling
    2002
  • Heron Hill
    Riesling Icewine
    2002
  • Standing Stone
    Vidal Ice
    2004 

Chardonnay

  • Lamoreaux Landing
    Chardonnay
    1993
  • Lamoreaux Landing
    Chardonnay Reserve
    2001
  • Heron Hill
    Chardonnay, Ingle Vineyard
    2002
  • Ravines Wine Cellars
    Chardonnay
    2003


, ,