Jeff Grossman
Jeff Grossman
The semi-annual D&D game met this year in the Finger Lakes region. We rented a pair of houses on Lake Cayuga, just a bit south of Seneca Falls. Alas, the GM is still recovering his health so there was no game, but we are old friends and gathered anyway.
We had excursions to Watkins Glen, the Corning Museum of Glass, the Wesleyan Chapel and an associated museum honoring the Suffragist movement that got its start here, as well as an assortment of local food cider liquor wine destinations.
First some quick VGs: Everyone said 2021 had horrendous weather with lots of rain and warm nights so, on the one hand, nothing got too ripe but, on the other hand, acidity is low. The prior year, 2020, was totally solar and big in every way so, yes, ripe but also lots of material and wise growers picked for freshness. If you like, more here.
Miscellaneous bottles at the house
Damiani Wine Cellars 2020 "MC2" - 13.5%, bordeaux blend, bare-bones but complete: it has the flavor profile and some of the balance, just not much flesh on the bones
Red Newt 2019 Riesling "Circle" - 11%, basic bottle, basic wine, fruity and simple
Shalestone Vineyards 2019 Cabernet Franc - 12.8%, rather tart, likely to pass at the table but not on its own
--
Visit to Red Tail Ridge Winery
2016 Sekt - this is excellent, lime-scented, just a couple of sugar crystals (dosage 4g/l), one of my faves
2017 Blanc de Noirs - funky and musty, not right
2017 Sparkling Rose - mild berry flavors, OK
2016 Dry Riesling "The Farmer's Muse" - 2/3 neutral barrels and 1/3 steel, very savory, drinkable now, vivid and open
2020 Cabernet Franc Dry Rose - round, pleasant
2019 "Miscreant" - gewurz and chard co-fermented, two weeks on the skins, full and aromatic, salty, yum
2018 Pinot Noir - good
2019 Cabernet Franc - big style, no pyrazines worth mentioning, a good table wine
2019 "Rebel With a Cause" - teroldego/cab franc/blaufrankisch/lagrein, OK I guess
2021 Gewurztraminer - quite nice: dry, restrained, not at all sweet (1% rs) or oily, another fave
2021 Pinot Noir Rose Pet Nat - fresher than the regular sparkler, pretty nose and very full on the palate
2013 Riesling "Block 907" - 8% rs, this is classed with the table wines as it is indeed only gently sweet and barely botrytized
2018 "The Noble Pursuit" - 14% rs, BA style, someone says 'candied pineapple' and that is it exactly
--
Visit to the Once Tasting Room
The Once ("11" in Spanish) Tasting Room is a big, beautiful, open space with a terrace that has a view of the lake. They offer BTG flights and individual pours from a dozen+ different makers in the region. They also have paired snacks and charcuterie boards, which is helpful when tasting all day (even with spitting). Jay was eager to try wines from Forge Cellars and we added wines from some famous names.
Dr. Konstantin Frank 2021 Rose of Blaufrankisch - rich and sweet, shapeless, hopelessly low acid
Hosmer 2021 Rose of Lemberger - different name, same grape; a little less blowsy but still a yawn
Wiemer 2021 Rose of Pinot Noir and Cabernet Franc - here's a good one: fragrant, good acids, flavor of tart berries rather than plums/figs
Forge 2020 Riesling, Breakneck Creek Vineyard - faint in the nose and delicate in the mouth, but it is persistent so maybe just in a dumb phase
Forge 2020 Riesling, Willow Vineyard - nose is more forward with scents of ginger and sage, it's lemony on the palate and interesting
Forge 2020 Pinot Noir, Leidenfrost Vineyard - grippy, full and sweet, moreso than I prefer in pinot; a half hour later, the acidity sharpens and the wine is better
Forge 2020 Cabernet Franc, Willow Vineyard - beautiful balance, just-so ripeness, they caught this just so, terrific
Forge 2020 Riesling, Peach Orchard Vineyard - like Willow but even more assertive on the palate
Forge 2020 Riesling, Tango Oaks Vineyard - comes across totally dry and restrained, one for the trocken crowd
Heart & Hands 2020 Pinot Noir - balanced, earthy, persistent, good wine
Dr. Konstantin Frank 2021 Rkatsiteli - spicy, herbal, slight green pepper?, vivid acidity, a good year for this grape
Living Roots(?) "Red Riesling" - riesling over Cabernet Franc lees... yes, it adds tannins but they're not integrated, safe to ignore
There were three more pours (a repeat of the Wiemer, a local port, and one other) but I did not write them down nor take a photo of that menu page.
--
Visit to Kemmeter Wines
We have a tasting appointment with the owner and winemaker, Johannes Reinhardt. Just the five of us and him. Johannes is one very serious man. He has worked in the area since 1999 and now has his own property. Over several years he has planted several vineyards of riesling, pinot noir, and pinot blanc. And he is paying very close attention to what happens in each plot in each vintage. It can be contradictary: thin soils where the underlying rock thrusts up tend to warm up more quickly than soils with deeper cover, so those grapes will ripen better in a cool year; but the grapes in the deeper soil develop more body so conceal that they have equal acid but more sugar. There are a lot of moving parts.
And he is interested to hear the opinions of the people who make appointments because each is a facet of a holistic picture of the wines.
Speaking of which, he uses large glasses, and plenty of them:
MV Pinot Noir "Trio" - This is an example of Johannes' thinking. He wants to make the best wine but found each vintage of his pinot noir to be incomplete by itself. It took him a while to realize that he could let go the vintage concept and blend them to complement each other. This one is 26% 2017, 28% 2019, and 46% 2020, net net of which was raised approx. 60% in steel and 40% in oak. The wine is incredibly floral, fragrant, and forward. I can smell it halfway across the tasting room. One sensitive person gets some smoke (smoak?) but the rest of us are overwhelmed with red raspberry and exuberance.
2021 Rose "Sonero" - red roses and little red berries on the nose, this is kinda weighty to just quaff, its 'presence' is too much, maybe it ages into something interesting but pass for now
2021 Riesling, 2014 Vineyard - two music notes on the label, from the thinner soil cover, green grapes and frangipane at first, then a long powerful midpalate of 'barely ripe pineapple' -Jay, finish is steady and supported by good acidity, love this
2021 Riesling, 2016 Vineyard(?) - one music note on the label, from the thicker soil cover, nose is even more forward, the palate is more lemony but the finish is softer (yet still citrussy), after a few minutes it develops a little gooseberry/sauv blanc aroma
2021 Pinot Blanc - planted to honor a friend and mentor; brilliant bouquet, not so sharp as the rieslings but lots of pear mixed with green and black grapes, reminds me of Vincent's excellent pinot blanc
Johannes suggests holding onto the wines for 3 years before serving. The 2021 vintage was difficult so drink the wines before 10 years; in better vintages, he recommends 15 years.
--
Finally, and just because we could...
Visit to the Mushroom Distillery to taste the vodka
Pleurotus - yup that's a mushroom-scented vodka, mild really but might add some je ne sais quoi to an otherwise regular cocktail
Spore - this is more assertive, spicy, not quite so obviouly shroomy, long finish
Hen of the Woods - good balance here and very savory / saliva-inducing, different from the previous two
Enoki - this comes across as slightly sweet but kinda skimpy on flavor
Shiitake - eh
We had excursions to Watkins Glen, the Corning Museum of Glass, the Wesleyan Chapel and an associated museum honoring the Suffragist movement that got its start here, as well as an assortment of local food cider liquor wine destinations.
First some quick VGs: Everyone said 2021 had horrendous weather with lots of rain and warm nights so, on the one hand, nothing got too ripe but, on the other hand, acidity is low. The prior year, 2020, was totally solar and big in every way so, yes, ripe but also lots of material and wise growers picked for freshness. If you like, more here.
Miscellaneous bottles at the house
Damiani Wine Cellars 2020 "MC2" - 13.5%, bordeaux blend, bare-bones but complete: it has the flavor profile and some of the balance, just not much flesh on the bones
Red Newt 2019 Riesling "Circle" - 11%, basic bottle, basic wine, fruity and simple
Shalestone Vineyards 2019 Cabernet Franc - 12.8%, rather tart, likely to pass at the table but not on its own
--
Visit to Red Tail Ridge Winery
2016 Sekt - this is excellent, lime-scented, just a couple of sugar crystals (dosage 4g/l), one of my faves
2017 Blanc de Noirs - funky and musty, not right
2017 Sparkling Rose - mild berry flavors, OK
2016 Dry Riesling "The Farmer's Muse" - 2/3 neutral barrels and 1/3 steel, very savory, drinkable now, vivid and open
2020 Cabernet Franc Dry Rose - round, pleasant
2019 "Miscreant" - gewurz and chard co-fermented, two weeks on the skins, full and aromatic, salty, yum
2018 Pinot Noir - good
2019 Cabernet Franc - big style, no pyrazines worth mentioning, a good table wine
2019 "Rebel With a Cause" - teroldego/cab franc/blaufrankisch/lagrein, OK I guess
2021 Gewurztraminer - quite nice: dry, restrained, not at all sweet (1% rs) or oily, another fave
2021 Pinot Noir Rose Pet Nat - fresher than the regular sparkler, pretty nose and very full on the palate
2013 Riesling "Block 907" - 8% rs, this is classed with the table wines as it is indeed only gently sweet and barely botrytized
2018 "The Noble Pursuit" - 14% rs, BA style, someone says 'candied pineapple' and that is it exactly
--
Visit to the Once Tasting Room
The Once ("11" in Spanish) Tasting Room is a big, beautiful, open space with a terrace that has a view of the lake. They offer BTG flights and individual pours from a dozen+ different makers in the region. They also have paired snacks and charcuterie boards, which is helpful when tasting all day (even with spitting). Jay was eager to try wines from Forge Cellars and we added wines from some famous names.
Dr. Konstantin Frank 2021 Rose of Blaufrankisch - rich and sweet, shapeless, hopelessly low acid
Hosmer 2021 Rose of Lemberger - different name, same grape; a little less blowsy but still a yawn
Wiemer 2021 Rose of Pinot Noir and Cabernet Franc - here's a good one: fragrant, good acids, flavor of tart berries rather than plums/figs
Forge 2020 Riesling, Breakneck Creek Vineyard - faint in the nose and delicate in the mouth, but it is persistent so maybe just in a dumb phase
Forge 2020 Riesling, Willow Vineyard - nose is more forward with scents of ginger and sage, it's lemony on the palate and interesting
Forge 2020 Pinot Noir, Leidenfrost Vineyard - grippy, full and sweet, moreso than I prefer in pinot; a half hour later, the acidity sharpens and the wine is better
Forge 2020 Cabernet Franc, Willow Vineyard - beautiful balance, just-so ripeness, they caught this just so, terrific
Forge 2020 Riesling, Peach Orchard Vineyard - like Willow but even more assertive on the palate
Forge 2020 Riesling, Tango Oaks Vineyard - comes across totally dry and restrained, one for the trocken crowd
Heart & Hands 2020 Pinot Noir - balanced, earthy, persistent, good wine
Dr. Konstantin Frank 2021 Rkatsiteli - spicy, herbal, slight green pepper?, vivid acidity, a good year for this grape
Living Roots(?) "Red Riesling" - riesling over Cabernet Franc lees... yes, it adds tannins but they're not integrated, safe to ignore
There were three more pours (a repeat of the Wiemer, a local port, and one other) but I did not write them down nor take a photo of that menu page.
--
Visit to Kemmeter Wines
We have a tasting appointment with the owner and winemaker, Johannes Reinhardt. Just the five of us and him. Johannes is one very serious man. He has worked in the area since 1999 and now has his own property. Over several years he has planted several vineyards of riesling, pinot noir, and pinot blanc. And he is paying very close attention to what happens in each plot in each vintage. It can be contradictary: thin soils where the underlying rock thrusts up tend to warm up more quickly than soils with deeper cover, so those grapes will ripen better in a cool year; but the grapes in the deeper soil develop more body so conceal that they have equal acid but more sugar. There are a lot of moving parts.
And he is interested to hear the opinions of the people who make appointments because each is a facet of a holistic picture of the wines.
Speaking of which, he uses large glasses, and plenty of them:
MV Pinot Noir "Trio" - This is an example of Johannes' thinking. He wants to make the best wine but found each vintage of his pinot noir to be incomplete by itself. It took him a while to realize that he could let go the vintage concept and blend them to complement each other. This one is 26% 2017, 28% 2019, and 46% 2020, net net of which was raised approx. 60% in steel and 40% in oak. The wine is incredibly floral, fragrant, and forward. I can smell it halfway across the tasting room. One sensitive person gets some smoke (smoak?) but the rest of us are overwhelmed with red raspberry and exuberance.
2021 Rose "Sonero" - red roses and little red berries on the nose, this is kinda weighty to just quaff, its 'presence' is too much, maybe it ages into something interesting but pass for now
2021 Riesling, 2014 Vineyard - two music notes on the label, from the thinner soil cover, green grapes and frangipane at first, then a long powerful midpalate of 'barely ripe pineapple' -Jay, finish is steady and supported by good acidity, love this
2021 Riesling, 2016 Vineyard(?) - one music note on the label, from the thicker soil cover, nose is even more forward, the palate is more lemony but the finish is softer (yet still citrussy), after a few minutes it develops a little gooseberry/sauv blanc aroma
2021 Pinot Blanc - planted to honor a friend and mentor; brilliant bouquet, not so sharp as the rieslings but lots of pear mixed with green and black grapes, reminds me of Vincent's excellent pinot blanc
Johannes suggests holding onto the wines for 3 years before serving. The 2021 vintage was difficult so drink the wines before 10 years; in better vintages, he recommends 15 years.
--
Finally, and just because we could...
Visit to the Mushroom Distillery to taste the vodka
Pleurotus - yup that's a mushroom-scented vodka, mild really but might add some je ne sais quoi to an otherwise regular cocktail
Spore - this is more assertive, spicy, not quite so obviouly shroomy, long finish
Hen of the Woods - good balance here and very savory / saliva-inducing, different from the previous two
Enoki - this comes across as slightly sweet but kinda skimpy on flavor
Shiitake - eh