We often go to Cline for cheap, decent QPR Zins; the Sonoma is a
slightly higher price point ($22) and turned out to be unusual: by far
the most floral wine of any variety we've had. Intensely lavender,
rose, floral perfume that was echoed in the mouth. Not great wine -
somewhat too acid, a little bitter, not much complexity; C+/B-. Also
unusual for rapidity of disintegration: after a fridge overnight,
absolutely nothing but vinegar the next day.

A great wedding this past weekend up in Watkins Glen, at the base of
Seneca lake; we hit a couple of wineries on the way home. Four
Chimneys, "America's first organic winery" had been recommended but we
didn't see how - reds thin, whites sweet and simple. A couple of
other places were very similar; I *want* to like NY wines but even the
Rieslings, traditionally the best varietal for the region, were poor.
Perhaps the best of the small sample was Prejean, whose Tiger Lily
rose blend will make good summer deck wine and who have a decent late
harvest Vignoles. Scenery was gorgeous, wedding spectacular (Glenora
winery, whose reds were second only, in our experience, to an infamous
sewer-stench NJ wine for awfulness but who had a couple of drinkable
whites and a raspberry spumante that is again OK for deck wine), but
the wines were still not doing it for us.

Ewan wrote:
> We often go to Cline for cheap, decent QPR Zins; the Sonoma is a
> slightly higher price point ($22) and turned out to be unusual: by far
> the most floral wine of any variety we've had. Intensely lavender,
> rose, floral perfume that was echoed in the mouth. Not great wine -
> somewhat too acid, a little bitter, not much complexity; C+/B-. Also
> unusual for rapidity of disintegration: after a fridge overnight,
> absolutely nothing but vinegar the next day.

Ewan,
I wonder if what you're calling "floral" is what I think of as mint or
eucalyptus. I often get an intense whack of volatile minty/eucalyptus
something in Cline's wines (see my new note on the '99 Small Berry
Mourvedre for a recent example).
>
> A great wedding this past weekend up in Watkins Glen, at the base of
> Seneca lake; we hit a couple of wineries on the way home. Four
> Chimneys, "America's first organic winery" had been recommended but we
> didn't see how - reds thin, whites sweet and simple. A couple of
> other places were very similar; I *want* to like NY wines but even the
> Rieslings, traditionally the best varietal for the region, were poor.
> Perhaps the best of the small sample was Prejean, whose Tiger Lily
> rose blend will make good summer deck wine and who have a decent late
> harvest Vignoles. Scenery was gorgeous, wedding spectacular (Glenora
> winery, whose reds were second only, in our experience, to an infamous
> sewer-stench NJ wine for awfulness but who had a couple of drinkable
> whites and a raspberry spumante that is again OK for deck wine), but
> the wines were still not doing it for us.

While I am no expert on Finger Lakes wines, I have had some good dry
Riesling from Wiemer and Dr. Frank's Rkatsiteli is well worth trying, too.

Mark Lipton

--
alt.food.wine FAQ: http://winefaq.cwdjr.net

On Apr 22, 10:32*pm, Mark Lipton > wrote:
> Ewan wrote:
> > We often go to Cline for cheap, decent QPR Zins; the Sonoma is a
> > slightly higher price point ($22) and turned out to be unusual: by far
> > the most floral wine of any variety we've had. *Intensely lavender,
> > rose, floral perfume that was echoed in the mouth.
>
> Ewan,
> * I wonder if what you're calling "floral" is what I think of as mint or
> eucalyptus. *I often get an intense whack of volatile minty/eucalyptus
> something in Cline's wines (see my new note on the '99 Small Berry
> Mourvedre for a recent example).

Quite likely, yes. Not sure that I get mint, but the eucalyptus
certainly.

> > A great wedding this past weekend up in Watkins Glen, at the base of
> > Seneca lake; we hit a couple of wineries on the way home. *Four
> > Chimneys, "America's first organic winery" had been recommended but we
> > didn't see how - reds thin, whites sweet and simple. *A couple of
> > other places were very similar; I *want* to like NY wines but even the
> > Rieslings, traditionally the best varietal for the region, were poor.
> > Perhaps the best of the small sample was Prejean, whose Tiger Lily
> > rose blend will make good summer deck wine and who have a decent late
> > harvest Vignoles. *Scenery was gorgeous, wedding spectacular (Glenora
> > winery, whose reds were second only, in our experience, to an infamous
> > sewer-stench NJ wine for awfulness but who had a couple of drinkable
> > whites and a raspberry spumante that is again OK for deck wine), but
> > the wines were still not doing it for us.
>
> While I am no expert on Finger Lakes wines, I have had some good dry
> Riesling from Wiemer and Dr. Frank's Rkatsiteli is well worth trying, too..

Thanks. It's been interesting - if a little sad - to watch the
development of the region versus the other 'new US wine region' we
know at all, Virginia. VA wineries seem to have aimed at interesting,
complex wines where possible, and the quality has really benefitted
over the past ten years; the Finger Lakes - which, granted, we know
much less well, but have visited a few times over the same period -
seem to have gone almost throughout for tourism and "wines" with
honey, fruits, or other gimmicks.