I have a back-burner plan to tour New York's Finger Lakes region. I want to visit the closest thing I have to a holy place, and I want to taste an abundance of what many critics consider America's best Riesling.
The state's deep lakes, scratched into the planet's surface with glacial claws, moderate the temperature on the hilly shores, warming the air in the winter and cooling it in the spring, delaying bud break until the danger of frost has passed. It's the kind of almost-too-north climate where Riesling shines.
But good luck finding these wines in the Bay Area. Our wine stores overfloweth—until you want to purchase a wine from a state that doesn't border the Pacific Ocean. Even two of those pose a challenge. So mad props to the Ferry Plaza Wine Merchant for including a Finger Lakes Riesling in a recent wine club shipment.
Tom & Marti Macinski bought their historic vineyards and started Standing Stone Vineyards in 1991, pursuing a dream to produce great wine in this up-and-coming region. Their 2005 Riesling evokes an alpine meadow, with evergreen, flowers, and a splash of petrol minerality. It's not a complex wine, but its bracing acidity and medium-long finish make for a nice dry Riesling. It would go well with white fish dressed in a creamy sauce or mild charcuterie.
