The picturesque Finger Lakes area in New York is now recognized as an important wine region in the United States. “In Europe, winemakers have spent centuries identifying the characteristics of world- class wine, learning what grapes grow best in what soils, under what conditions and honing their skills needed to produce the finest vintages. While winemaking in the Finger Lakes is still in its infancy, at just over 160 years-old, in recent years the region has garnered deserved acclaim as one of the “greatest Riesling regions” of the world and “America’s premier cool-climate wine region.””
“Much of the success of winemaking in Finger Lakes has been shaped by a handful of European Winemakers who have blended the best of old-world traditions, training, and experience with new-world innovation, a willingness to experiment and to share ideas and the flexibility to adjust to any given situation.”
Prominent in the development of Finger Lakes as a wine region of note are the carefully documented agricultural research of Dr. Konstantin Frank and the sale of the Taylor Wine Co. to the Coca-Cola Co. in 1977.
Wine journalist David Nershi, CSW (well-traveled in the region) is our guest to uncork all that is the Finger Lakes. David serves as the 1st Vice President of the International Food Wine and Travel Writers Association (IFWTWA) and was the Co-Chair of IFWTWA’s recently concluded Annual Membership Conference in Corning, Finger Lakes, Steuben County, NY. David coordinated and moderated both the Finger Lakes Winemakers Panel as well as the “Surprising Finger Lakes Style” Wine Workshop at the Conference.
This is your captain speaking. I'm Arna yetan, captain of Holland America Line, MS Maastam. You're listening to the so-called restaurant show on AM830 KLAA. It is the SoCal restaurant show and we're here with you every Saturday morning from 10 AM until 12 noon right here on AM830 KLAA, the home of Angels Baseball 2024. And you can also catch us on the AM830 Angels app. I'm Andy Harris, the executive producer and co-host of the show, and we're proudly presented each and every week by Melissa's World Variety Produce. As I mentioned previously on the show, I'm proud to be a member of the International Food Wine and Travel Writers Association. And one of the joys of being on the board of this group is interacting with so many knowledgeable and wonderful people that are in the business of writing about food, wine, and travel. And the first vice president of Iftwa, short for International Food Wine and Travel Writers Association, is Dave Nershey, who hails right now from North Carolina, has a very extensive background in journalism, is the publisher of the VinoSphere blog. But I know him best as a certified specialist of wine. And for our recent conference in the Finger Lakes, not only did he coordinate and moderate two winery panels, but he showcased nine or ten of the most prominent winemakers and winery owners that are operating in the Finger Lakes these days. And I really wanted to get Dave on the show right now to give the listening audience an overview of what is special about the Finger Lakes and a couple of the very intriguing characters that really made Finger Lakes wine what it is today. And with that long introduction, it is a pleasure to welcome Dave Nershey to the show. Dave, hello, and good afternoon your way. Thank you, Andy. It's a pleasure to be here. And I look forward to speaking about the Finger Lakes. It's one of my favorite wine regions, and I'm not alone. Wine enthusiast, wine spectator, USA Today, Forbes. At one time or another over the past several years have named the Finger Lakes as the top wine region in the country, and others have named it as a hidden gem. So it's a fantastic area. David is actually all of that. And before we get into your overview, obviously living in California and being familiar with the prices of wine from Napa, Sonoma, and Passa Robles, the prices of premium wine in Finger Lakes really pleasantly surprises me. Yes, that's wonderful. Although, believe it or not, Andy, it has increased in the past several years, but it is certainly a bargain. And that's because it's not as well known as some other regions, especially those out in California and Oregon. But the region has more than 130 wineries. It's located in central New York, and it gets its name from 11 lakes. And the story goes that the Native Americans who lived there believe that the great spirit stuck down one finger and sort of swiped it in the earth, and so it was good. And then put down all 10 fingers and sort of dragged them along, and those became the 11 great lakes. And those great lakes play a key role in helping to produce some really outstanding wine. Now, Dave, before we get into the why there, Finger Lakes, outside of Finger Lakes for people that are really not familiar with the region, are known for one particular grape variety. Talk about that, if you will, but also the handful of other specialties that they're now becoming known for. And of course, there's a lot more going on all the time. Yes, thank you, Andy. So you mentioned one variety that they are well known for, and that is reasling. And they produce more than 200,000 cases of Finger Lakes reasling each year. And so they're well known for reasling, and in particular, the dry style. So reasling can be many things depending on how the winemaker handles it, ranging from bone dry, and they have excellent examples of that in the Finger Lakes to sweet, late harvest wines that really are dessert wines. So it can be many different styles. In addition to reasling, on the red side, it's known for cabernet fronk. So cab fronk is a grape that's cold hardy. So it's very resilient and the colder temperatures that you get in New York. On the white side, it's known for aromatic whites, like reasling, and also giverts fronk. They're also coming on in the Chardonnay area. And I'll talk more about that in just a moment. But in addition, on the red side, they have laufankish, also known as lumber. And they're also doing well with Pinot Noir. And that's a relatively new development. It's been accepted very well and is one of a lot of awards. In fact, we featured one from Harrenhill Winery in our wine workshop at the Escort Conference. And it was an excellent one. Day before we go on, for people that live outside of New York, we know that area of the Finger Lakes and also in New York, it can get below freezing in the winter. That doesn't agree very well with vineyards or growing grapes. What can you explain this lake effect that allows some of these viriled ills to grow so well in the Finger Lakes because that's unique to the region? Indeed. So the Finger Lakes is a cool climate region, similar to Germany. And like in Germany, the wine growers have found ways to deal with the cold. One advantage is the lake effect, as you mentioned. So water moderates the temperature by retaining warmth because the temperature of water changes more slowly than air. So in those frigid winter months, that lake is still pretty warm. And Andy, you know, because we tore it through some of the vineyards, a lot of them are very close to the lake to take advantage of that. In addition, the lake reflects the sunlight, giving the vines a little extra sunshine. And the vineyards are on hillsides and they are set up to maximize the exposure of the sun. I also wanted to mention that there is one style of wine that adapts very well to the cold temperature and that is ice wine. And that is not found in very many places. Canada certainly and some other states, but in New York, they do quite well with it. You have to wait until the grapes are frozen on the vine and they are typically collected at night so they don't risk the grapes falling out as they are going through this. And it is a heavenly delicacy. It is a dessert wine with just a sublime flavor to it. So I would recommend it. And you mentioned the price of wine. In some areas, ice wine is very expensive. You are talking $60 for a half bottle, but in the Finger Lakes, the prices are quite reasonable. And Dave, to add to that, wouldn't you say some of the best ice wines that are coming from the United States are from the Finger Lakes? Indeed. Yes, I would say that certainly. Their closest rivals have actually come from Ontario, where they have a tradition of doing that. But certainly, I also wanted to mention that in terms of the soil, there are limestone and shale deposits that also add to the complexity of the wine and help retain some of that heat to help the vines through the cold weather. Dave, what we're going to do is we're going to take a short pause here and pick up on the other side. And I want to ask you about two notable characters in the history of the Finger Lakes that really changed winemaking in the Finger Lakes and are just absolutely fascinating stories. So hold that thought. It is the SoCal restaurant show. We are talking with certified specialist of wine, Dave Nershey, who is also the first vice president of the International Food Wine and Travel Writers Association, really an authority on the Finger Lakes region for good reason. And in the last year, had a chance to get reacquainted with the entirety of the area. We're going to pick up this conversation on the other side. We're proudly presented by Melissa's World Variety Produce and West Coast Prime Meats. Give us a minute. We'll be back. [Music]
