Maker's Table

Daughters of the Revolution

Channing Daughters
Sculpture Garden
2007
12.7% ABV | Price: about $30*

This wine is 88% merlot and 12% blaufränkisch, from a winery in the Hamptons of Long Island. Only 348 cases were made. My dear friend and confrère éternel Rémy Charest handed it to me the last time we met. I confessed to having never before had a Long Island red. This would be my virgin flight.

Held against the light, the wine is a nearly pearlescent suspension of fruit plus earth. Swirled in the glass, it gives bright, plummy, cherry aromas underpinned by a black toastiness that's slightly savory. Medium-bodied in the mouth, it delivers juicy acidity, more red fruits, and black currant with a layer of spicy black pepper. The finish is long and faintly vegetal.

This is an elegant and balanced wine with an earthy, slightly funky catch in the middle. If you'd handed me a glass blind and asked me to place it, I'd have been utterly flummoxed. It does not have the gravitas and savory minerality of Bordeaux, nor does it have the heft and cleavage of California Merlot. It is not like Blaufränkisch, though it's not unlike some of the German reds I've tasted. It's lean and savory and a little wild tasting like some native North American wines. But it's clearly not native, either.

It's not Old World, and not wholly New. It's from here: New York State. My mind is open.

 

*I received this wine as a gift.

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Riesling, Dry

Hermann J. Wiemer
Dry Riesling
2008
12.0% ABV | Price: about $17.50

We purchased this bottle at the winery on a recent three-day trip to the Finger Lakes. We visited Wiemer last that weekend, after having tasted about a hundred other wines—mostly Riesling, but a little Gewürtz and Cab Franc and Merlot, and a few other varietals or blends the Finger Lakes winemakers cook up. Wiemer's wines were the best of our tastings, and we bought a few of these Dry Rieslings and their low-end Gewürtztraminer, plus a blend they call Frost Cuvée, all of which struck us as good values.

Upstate New York Rieslings are, in general, bone dry with searing acidity, and this wine's no exception. But it manages some nuance, with a little more fruit and body than its peers. It's a light gold color, with a nose that's citrusy, with green apple and jasmine. On the palate it spreads out, filling the mouth with clean, bright sour apple and lemon, and finishing long and dry. Cleansing, and a good ambassador for the region.

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Frosty

Hermann Wiemer
Frost Cuvée
2008
Current price: about $12

In early May we visited the Finger Lakes of upstate New York, part of the group attending TasteCamp East. We tasted a lot of Rieslings over three days. Most were sharp and cleansing, with strong acid that gripped our teeth. There were a few Gewürztraminers, some unmemorable Chardonnays, some completely forgettable reds. We left each tasting empty handed.

The last stop of the weekend was Hermann Wiemer. We understood why. Winemaker Fred Merwarth tasted us through nine samples, in bottle and in tank. Here at last were Rieslings with depth and complexity. They were broad and floral, with jasmine and citrus. They were bright, they were clean; they cut, but softly. Their Riesling "Magdalena Vineyard" 2008 rolled my socks down.

This Frost Cuvée is their bagatelle. It's a floor-sweepings wine, made with leftover this and that: a little riesling, a little gewürz, some chardonnay, some pinot noir. It is meant to be taken lightly. So pale it's almost colorless, a clear light yellow. Fresh aromas of citrus blossom and passion fruit are grounded by something stony underneath. On the palate it's juicy and succulent, with more citrus and jasmine and tropical fruits. Almost off-dry, maybe off-off-dry, with a long, clean finish. Bright.

We bought some wine at last.

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