18 wineries honored for expressing Finger Lakes' flavor

Eighteen Finger Lakes wineries found that out recently when they brought home medals from a unique event in which wines are judged based on how well they express the environment in which they are grown. They must not only taste good, but also need to impart flavors derived from the soil and growing conditions of the area.

The competition is the work of Appellation America, whose mission is to "celebrate the diversity in wine that arises from each distinctive wine growing area" or appellation.

At the urging of Jim Trezise, president of the New York Wine & Grape Foundation, several Finger Lakes wineries entered the competition for the first time this year. It's not an easy task — just compiling the paperwork is extremely labor-intensive. In addition to the grape type, you need to include the clone of the grape type, the exact location of the vineyard (including the names of adjacent roads) and the age of the vines, among other information.

When Steve DiFrancesco, winemaker at Glenora Wine Cellars, Dundee, first did the paperwork, he said he thought, "This is ridiculous." However, when he finished, he said, "It dawned on me how useful (the information) was to have in place."

"It's good stuff," says Tim Benedict, winemaker at Hazlitt's 1852 Vineyards, Hector. "I have been doing it for all of the wines," not just the ones being entered in a competition.

"The competition is a throwback to our roots," Benedict says. "It's interesting that someone would single out the native grapes for such an award. They are looking at an area to see what it can do best.

"It is a great testament that Red Cat won the award (Best of Appellation Double Gold). We take it all very seriously; we put the same emphasis on Catawba and Concord as all the other wines," says Benedict. Red Cat is a sweet, fruity red wine made from Catawba and Baco Noir grapes.

Clark Smith, vice president of evaluation programs for Appellation America, appreciates the dedication to making the best wine with the grapes grown in an area. "Sometimes we have only a single instance of that varietal made in that region, but if the wine has enough appeal to qualify for Best of Appellation status, we will go ahead and start the Blue Book (their reference book for all wines in each region)."

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Clark called Red Cat an example of "a silly but delicious wine of quite unique characteristics, which nonetheless represents a benchmark wine style for the area despite its uniqueness."

Thirty-two of the 78 Finger Lakes wines that won awards in the recent competition won double-gold honors, meaning "exceptional expression of regional character/quality," according to Appellation America.

Fred Frank, president of Dr. Frank's Vinifera Wine Cellars, Hammondsport, says his winery "was very pleased with how well we did in competition." Working with Appellation America "forces you to look at details ... it is a good exercise for wineries and a resource for consumers," says Fred. He has been working with Clark to pinpoint exactly where blocks of vines used to produce the wines are located. Their computers have been linked over the Internet, sharing information, to facilitate the mapping project.

According to Fred, recent award-winners benefited from the winery having substantial harvests for three years in a row, which meant "we were able to give these wonderful wines some bottle age," before being judged and shipped to retail markets.

"As a result," Fred says, "they are going to show better ... There were a number of wines that did well across the board, not just Riesling."

Many of the award-winning Finger Lakes wines were from the 2007 harvest — a good year for most grape varieties, both red and white. As a bonus, the fact that the growing season offered a good crop means that many of these wines will be around for some time.

Go to Appellation America's Web site at wine.appellationamerica.com for information on Finger Lakes wineries and awards. On taskbar at top of home page, click on "Wine Info," then "Appellation Index," then scroll down and click on "Finger Lakes."

Winery awards
How Finger Lakes wineries fared at the Appellation America awards:

Anyela's Vineyards, Skaneateles: five awards, including four double gold.

Arbor Hill Grapery, Naples: one award.

Cayuga Ridge Winery, Ovid: one award (double gold).

Damiani Wine Cellars, Hector: three awards, all double gold.

Dr. Frank's Vinifera Wine Cellars, Hammondsport: 10 awards, including seven double gold.

Fox Run Vineyards, Penn Yan: five awards, including one double gold.

Glenora Wine Cellars, Dundee: nine awards, including five double gold.

Hazlitt 1852 Vineyards, Hector: eight awards, including one double gold.

Heron Hill Vineyards, Hammondsport: four awards, including two double gold.

Keuka Lake Vineyards, Hammondsport: seven awards, including one double gold.

King Ferry Winery, King Ferry: one award (double gold).

Knapp Vineyards Winery, Romulus: three awards.

Lakewood Vineyards, Watkins Glen: four awards.

Lamoreaux Landing Wine Cellars, Lodi: six awards, including 1 double gold.

Six Mile Creek Vineyard, Ithaca: four awards, including two double gold.

Standing Stone Vineyards, Lodi: two awards, including one double gold.

Wagner Vineyards, Lodi: three awards, including two double gold.

White Springs Estate Farm Winery, Geneva: two awards.

Jeff Richards has been covering the Finger Lakes wine industry since 2002.