TasteNY or How to get bloggers to review wines

There is no secret to how most bloggers operate. Bloggers want to write, and wine bloggers want to write about wine. How do you ensure that bloggers write about your wines? Simple, send a few sample bottles the same way you send wines to newspaper reporters, magazine reviewers, enewsletter writers, or ANYONE ELSE that you want you want to write about your wines.

So, with this philosophy in mind Lenn Thompson, de facto promoter of wines created in the state of New York, found a group of wineries that make wine in the Finger Lakes region of New York who were willing to send a bottle of their wine for a group of bloggers to taste. he then found a group of bloggers who would all sit down and taste the wines together.

For this tasting Diane Letulle, Erika Strum, Robbin Gheesling, and I met at the Roger Smith Hotel to taste through a few of these wines.

Before I get started on my notes about the wines I want to say that I love sitting around and tasting wine with people who love talking about wine. It's like trading baseball cards, or something similarly geeky. If you are into it, then only other people who are into it really understand the feeling.

Now for the wines. One thing I noticed about all of these wines is the incredible acidity. Every wine had some awesome zing. However, for many they just did not have the fruit to match and balance it out.

Hermann J. Wiemer "Dry" Riesling 2007 - Finger Lakes, NY

Nose: Sweet peaches, light wet slate

Taste: A little sparkle, stony minerality, dried apricot - dies out entering the mid-palate

Red Newt Cellars Reserve Riesling 2006 - Finger Lakes, NY

Nose: Petrol, something mineral, white flowers, where's the fruit?

Taste: Lime, citrus, salty - "like a margarita in a wine glass"

(no Atwater photo... sorry)

Atwater Estate Vineyards "Dry" Riesling 2007 - Finger Lakes, NY

Nose: muted, white flowers

Taste: Peach, lemon, hot - dry? not really

Fox Run Vineyards Riesling 2008 - Finger Lakes, NY

Nose: Floral, cheese bread, a little yeasty

Taste: Slight sparkle, lots of acid, not much fruit

Hazlitt 1852 Vineyards Homestead Reserve 2008 - Figer Lakes, NY

Nose: Really pleasant! Floral with white stone fruits (peach, apricot)

Taste: Slight sparkle, lemon citrus, peach - yum!

Billsboro Riesling 2008 - Finger Lakes, NY

Nose: Floral, candied orange

Taste: Sweet apricot, balanced orange citrus, candied yellow apple - Best of tasting!

Anthony Road Semi-Dry Riesling 2008 - Finger Lakes, NY

Nose: A little brine, lime citrus

Taste: Olives (or is that the olive plate we were eating?)

Apiary

Another thing that wine geeks usually love is food. Getting together to eat and talk about what we are eating comes in close second to tasting wine and talk abotu what we are tasting. After meeting at the Roger Smith we went to Apiary for dinner. Erika is a much better (and much harsher) review of food establishments then I am, so for more about our meal check out her review: Apiary (Serious Food Where You Don’t Expect It).