In the Finger Lakes, a broad look at real American wine

It was a great pleasure this month to serve as a judge at the Finger Lakes International Wine Competition. I don’t judge many competitions, but this one was special: It is organized by my friend Bob Madill, who is somewhat of an éminence grise in the Finger Lakes. And it benefits a great cause: Camp Good Days and Special Times, a camp for young children with cancer. 

And I was really interested in the variety of the wines we tasted. The competition is international, with several entries from Canada (Ontario, British Columbia and Quebec), and a handful from Australia. E & J Gallo entered their Alamos wines from Argentina. The vast majority were from the United States, of course, with New York well represented. So was Virginia: Cross Keys Vineyards won Best of Class in Cabernet Franc and Hybrid White, while Wind Vineyards took Best of Class Hybrid Red. Other wineries on the medal list included James City Cellars, Pollak Vineyards, Effingham, the Winery at Sunshine Ridge Farm, Gray Ghos, Maggie Malick Wine Caves, Rosemont, and Beliveau Farm Winery. I’m probably missing some others.

And of course, there was Norton!

Maryland was represented by Sugar Loaf Mountain Vineyards, Bordeleau and Layton’s Chance (for a watermelon wine!). Texas took home some awards for Pedernales, Spicewood, and Solaro Estate. Tennessee, Indiana, Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota were well represented, as were Missouri, Colorado and Arizona.

There were a lot of hybrid and fruit wines, as well as meads. These were what I really looked forward to, and I can say I have some new favorites. Brianna reminded me of petit manseng, and Frontenac gris can be outstanding. There are some very impressive wines being made from these grapes. Chambourcin seems to do especially well when blended with Cabernet Franc.

One limitation of judging a competition is not knowing exactly what I was experiencing. But I did identify a few wineries to put on my radar. My panel did a Best of Class tasting on red blends, which was won by Armstrong Valley Vineyard and Winery in Pennsylvania. (This winery also won Best of Class for Cabernet Sauvignon). Arrington Vineyards in Tennessee will have to build a new trophy case to hold all the medals they took in. And a Quebec meadery, Miel Nature, pretty much owned that category, winning Best of Class and three Platinum medals for some stunning meads I was able to sample afterwards.

I’m already looking forward to joining Bob and his crew next year. And I hope my wine industry friends will continue to support this competition by entering. In the meantime, maybe I’ll find me some Frontenac Gris.