Speakeasy Rieslings: A long weekend in the Finger Lakes Wine Region

“These wineries won’t taste themselves,” I said as we headed gingerly to our sixth or seventh winery in two days. With over two hundred wineries dotted across the Finger Lakes region in Upstate New York, we had our work cut out for us. Fortunately, my partner in crime worked up this awesome map to help us get to the good stuff. Known for its rieslings (dry, sweet, and semi-sweet), we also tasted plenty of excellent pinots, cabs, chards, and even a gewurztraminer or two. We talked residual sugar content and sipped unreleased vintages at Bloomer Creek Vineyard. Of course there was good food too, including a decent Philly cheesesteak (say what?) in Geneva, a small Viennese smorgasbord at Dano’s Hueriger, heavy apps at Red Newt Bistro and a final lunch at Esperanza Mansion. Having met some extremely nice (and interesting) people, tasted so many excellent wines, and soaked up the beautiful terrior of this place, we were sad to leave; Fortunately, we brought back a case of “souvenirs” to help ease the blow.