Quick Review: Thousand Islands Winery Pinot Grigio 2011

US, NY, Thousand Islands Winery, Pinot Grigio 2011

/ // Fruity // Grass, Apricot // Under-ripe Apricot, Butter // Medium

The butter notes were unexpected, and made it heavier. As the wine opened, it revealed some riper fruit flavors.

Did you know? . . . Pinot Grigio vs. Pinot Gris

Upon receiving a bottle of Oregon Pinot Gris in the early days of this blog, we immediately started scratching our heads. What was the difference between this and the oh-so-popular Pinot Grigio? We had actually never heard of Pinot Gris, although the two sounded very similar. So, what is the difference?

A little research quickly revealed: not much. They are the same grape. Of course, all the rules of climate and soil apply. They say the difference rests in the treatment of the wine: Pinot Grigio is made in the Italian style, and Pinot Gris in the French style. For us, and most of our readers, that's a little too deep. We find Pinot Gris typically has a heavier mouth-feel to it. Pinot Grigio often comes off much lighter. Think of whole vs. skim milk. But, that's just our observation.

For fun, a little trivia: "pinot grigio/gris" means (in both French and Italian) "gray pine cone." The grape itself has grayish tones and the growing cluster looks like a pine cone. In fact, all Pinot grapes (Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, and Pinot Blanc) have this "pine cone" in their name, due to their appearance.

Pinot Gris / Pinot Grigio Grapes
from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinot_gris

Quick Review: Imagery Code Blue

US, CA, Sonoma, Imagery Estate, "Code Blue"
++ // Fruity // Blueberry, Oak // Blueberry, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Brown Sugar // Full bodied

14% Blueberry wine, 86% Red Wine. Smelled and tasted like a blueberry pie: fruity and tart, with spices and sugar. A balanced flavor, made an excellent chilled dessert wine. Beautiful mouth-feel.

Quick Review: Lamoreaux 2013 Red Oak Vineyard Riesling

US, NY, Finger Lakes, Lamoreaux Landing, 2013 Red Oak Vineyard Riesling
++ // fruity // yeast, forest floor, green apple // apple, lemon, yeast, kiwi // light

Bright, assertive, complex. Fruity, but not too sweet. A nice, complicated (in a good way) sipping wine. A great finish to our 2013 Finger Lakes Riesling Tastings. 

Quick Review: Bellangelo Dry Riesling 2013

US, NY, Finger Lakes, Bellangelo Dry Riesling 2013

+ // Fruity // peach, stone, // peach // light-med

A little "one-note" upon first tasting but ended up being an excellent food accompaniment. We enjoyed it with spicy fish and veggie soup. Surprisingly, even with the soup's strong flavors, this wine managed to cut through and hold its own. The soup's spices brought out the wine's much-desired crispness and helped to balance the fruity quality we got with our initial tasting.

Quick Review: Fox Run Dry Riesling 2013

US, NY, Finger Lakes, Fox Run Vineyards, Dry Riesling 2013
+ // Crisp // Apple, peach, blossoms // Apple,caramel apple, peach // Full

Unexpected floral notes. Really full body, like a sweet Riesling but minus those cloying aspects. Good to sit and sip. 

Enjoyed with spicy Indian food, this wine was able to hold its own against the spices. We noticed it finished a bit metallic, but this didn't ruin the overall quality of the wine.

This is a new release from one of our favorite, local wineries in the Finger Lakes Region.

Finger Lakes Launches 2013 Rieslings

The wineries of the Finger Lakes Wine Region work well together. Each fall, they collectively release the previous vintage's Rieslings. So dozens of wineries with brand new offerings, and celebrations and events to accompany them. Those who are familiar with the Finger Lakes know how far the wine region has come with this singular grape, and part of the annual celebration seems to be about closing ranks and finding power in standing together.

We were able to sample three new releases of Finger Lakes Riesling this past week, and will be reviewing them here over the next several days. Each year, we are like kids in a candy store, filled with excitement about what the most recent vintage will be like. We are never disappointed. Check out the twitter feed from the Finger Lakes Riesling Hour that occurred 9/27 to learn more about the recent vintage. During the virtual tasting, #FLXRiesling was the #2 trending topic on Twitter.



Most United States wineries are releasing their 2013 white wines now (except where the wines--like Chardonnay--require aging). That's the most recent year you'll find in your wine shop. And, most of these 2013 white wines are meant to be enjoyed before the winemakers release their 2014 vintage next year. So, get to it!