In most areas of business, industry events can be stuffy and sometimes a bit boring. But when you’re in the wine industry, these events are anything but. A couple of weeks ago, one of our distributors, Michael Skurnik Wines, invited us to view their new spring portfolio. We jumped at the chance. (Yes, part of our job is to taste many bottles of wine and pick ones we like for the store. We know it’s a bit jealousy-inducing.)

As Chris showed us around the huge hall, filled with tables covered in wine bottles, we noticed a theme coming together: New York wines. As our county’s love affair with wine grows, the spotlight is moving towards NY and in particular, the Finger Lakes. After what we tasted that day, this is for a good reason.

The primary grape grown in the Finger Lakes is Riesling. This grape does very well in the Upstate New York climate because of the moderating effects of the deep lakes and the shale soil, which is similar to the soil in Rhine, Germany from which the Riesling grape originates. In the past, the qualifier of a great Finger Lakes wine was that it was “like” a German or Austrian Riesling. But now NY State wines are separating from the pack and blazing their own unique (and delicious!) trail. It’s just a matter of time until this region’s unique terroir, wine making techniques and subtle high quality wines earns international recognition.