In-home tasting series: Finger Lakes Wine Region

This is a wine tasting that I had been looking forward to from the moment when I first saw it announced. Until then, I had only tasted domestic wines from California, Oregon and some from Washington. But wines from the Finger Lakes area were unfamiliar to me and I was eager to learn something about.

The Finger Lakes region is located in upstate New York, south of Lake Ontario and encompasses eleven glacier lakes that originated long ago from a successive wave of glaciers. Natives of Germany who emigrated to the Finger Lakes helped establish and create a wine region now known for its Riesling identity. Other grape varietals include Pinot Noir (Germany’s most important red wine grape) and also Cabernet Franc, which is native to France.

As always, Jeff was the most gracious host and started us off with a nice bubbly, which although not produced in the Finger Lakes, was made using Müller Thurgau, Germany’s second most widely planted grape. We then tasted a dry and a semi-dry Riesling, followed by a couple of Pinot Noirs and also a Cabernet Franc.