Who Makes the Best Riesling?
New York, Baby! Rod Smith, Los Angeles Times, March 28, 2001 All the money in the world can’t buy time. And when it comes to developing a fine wine region, time is a key ingredient. The evolution of viticulture can’t be rushed; it takes as long as it takes. That’s why one of America’s newest emerging wine districts is also one of the oldest. Winegrowing dates to the 19th century in the Finger Lakes district of upstate New York. Yet only in the last 10 years or so has the Finger Lakes wine community begun to attract worldwide attention with Riesling, Pinot Noir and sparkling wines that can stand with the world’s best. Especially Riesling. Wineries such as Dr. Konstantin Frank’s Vinifera Wine Cellars, Fox Run, Hermann Wiemer, Chateau Lafayette-Reneau and Heron Hill are consistently producing Rieslings that can compete with the world’s best. In fact, the most impressive American Riesling in my experience was a 1990 Vinifera Cellars Dry Riesling from a ridge above Keuka Late, which I taste
