Finger Lakes With a Flourish

BY JASON WILSON | DECEMBER 12, 2019

It’s time to take America’s premier cool-climate wine region more seriously.

The Finger Lakes has been branded an “up-and-coming” wine region for almost two decades. So, at this point, it’s a reasonable question to ask: Have the wines finally arrived? Well, yes and no. Yes, in that there’s no denying the many fantastic wines that are produced here. The Finger Lakes is clearly America’s premier cool-climate wine region, and prices remain incredibly low given the quality. Overall, winemaking has taken a leap forward – even since Vinous’s last report on the region in 2016. There’s less reliance on oak, and the quality of the red wines is much improved. Because of the diversity of grape varieties grown in the Finger Lakes, every vintage now promises something worth seeking out.

The Keuka Springs winery overlooking Keuka Lake

Yet it’s this wide array of grapes that also makes the present and the future difficult to assess. There is something of an identity crisis here. Much of the Finger Lakes is still rooted in the direct-to-consumer model, spurred by the state’s 1976 Farm Winery Act, which led to a robust culture of wine tourism. Many winery tasting rooms pour a dozen or more varieties and styles. Since the Finger Lakes is a popular summer and fall destination, the impulse to offer something new to visitors is understandable. But I wish there was a little more focus. More than 30 varieties are grown on more than 10,000 acres – though less than a quarter of this is vinifera grapes. Most grape-growing here is still dedicated to native labrusca varieties like Concord, Catawba and Niagara, or hybrids like Cayuga White, Vignoles, Traminette and Seyval Blanc.

“This region is still literally being birthed,” said Rick Rainey, winemaker at Forge Cellars. Forge, started in 2011 as a partnership between Rainey, Justin Boyette, and Louis Barruol of Château Saint Cosme in Gigondas, represents a new generation of sophisticated, ambitious winemaking. Part of their new way of thinking is to focus on two grapes, Riesling and Pinot Noir, as well as on single-vineyard bottlings.

Rick Rainey, winemaker at Forge Cellars

Riesling and Beyond