United States

• Maryland
• Michigan
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• New York
  • Finger Lakes
• Ohio
• Oregon
  • Columbia Gorge
  • Dundee Hills
  • McMinnville
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• Pennsylvania
• Texas
• Virginia
• Washington
  • Columbia Valley
  • Horse Heaven Hills
  • Red Mountain
  • Wahluke Slope
  • Walla Walla
  • Yakima Valley

Back in the days before Prohibition, the wines from the Lake Erie Islands far outsold the wines from Sonoma.  Peruse and older text and you will see that these islands produced some of the top wines this country produced.  Nowadays, the islands mostly serve as a summer weekend destination for fun and cheap beer, but there is still some wine being made in the area.  No doubt most of the wine is better enjoyed on a hit summer's day, listening to music in a bar.  Still, it is good to try the wines and see what is being produced.  This is a blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Vidal Blanc.  It is uncle

Pretty cool to be able to try a Finger Lakes Albariño.  Unfortunately, this bottle seemed very off.  That said, a couple of people (with respected palates) at the tasting quite enjoyed the wine.  Light green/gold in color.  The nose has wet rocks, hay and plenty of plastic band-aid notes.  Typically, that is a sign of a brettanomyces yeast infection.  That is not always a bad thing, but it is a bit rare to be found in a white wine.  On the palate, the plastic note continues along with a bitter grapefruit juice finish.  I am curious if this was an off bottle or typical from the winery.  It w

198 refers to the clone type that was used for this wine.  8.3% Alcohol.  It is very much in the Spatlese style of Riesling and at a tasting, was my favorite wine.  Pale, silvery gold in color.  The nose is nice with petrol and minerals.  It is curious why it shows petrol a such a young age but the wine is otherwise young and fresh.  On the palate, this is sweet and approaches cloying but falls short of that.  A pineapple juice quality to it.  Enough acidity to carry it off.  Long finish.  This would be great with Thai or other spicy Asian cuisines.  It is fairly priced and is likely to dri

Light golden in color.  The nose has a crushed shell aspect to it along with some slight lemon peel.  Interesting.  On the palate, this is light bodied and a bit thin.  It has a tart lemon candy aspect.  A bit sweet and a bit sour.  Short finish.  It is solid and fairly priced.  It will work with lighter foods and salads.  Tasted as apart of my tasting group's exploration of this area, in general, the group liked this one a bit more than I did.  

What an interesting wine.  This is basically a Finger Lakes take on a Fino Sherry or Fortified Jura, France wine.  It comes in a squat bottle.  Although first made in 2008 (the only vintage so far), it was just released in January, 2019.  It is a fortified and oxidized style of wine.  It is very dry.  Deep golden in color with a slight orange hue.  The nose shows oxidation along with a nuttiness (almonds?) and slight orange/citrus.  On the palate, this is tart in a way that Fino Sherry is not.  It is dry and oxidized but a much fatter wine than its Euro counterparts.  The orange notes carry

2007 in Oregon was a love it or hate it vintage.  The wines tended to be thinner and less ripe.  Whether this is good is up to the taster.  While I have had some lovely wines from that vintage, for the most part, it is not one of my favorite vintages.  Sineann tends to make bigger styled Pinots (on an Oregon scale), so it was interesting to see how this was drinking at 12 years from vintage.  For my tastes, this was not up to the usual level of enjoyment.  Ruby in color.  The nose has some cherry juice, a bit of spice and slight herbaceous quality.  On the palate, this is light bodied.  Lig

To my knowledge, no one uses this vineyard any longer which is a shame as it produced some outstanding Pinots.  Deep ruby in color.  The nose has cherries, black cherries, macerated cherries with a nice funky earthiness.  Gorgeous texture.  Deep and complex but still youthful.  Ripe cherry and black cherry fruit with slight tannins.  Long finish.  Just a gorgeous Pinot that at age 10 still has some upside.  Drink now with air or hold for at least a decade.  Worked well with pizza!

Another Washington wine that was nice to try.  97% Cabernet Sauvignon and 3% Petite Verdot.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim.  The nose is nice with cassis, some chocolate, a bit of blueberries and spice.  On the palate, this has a lush texture.  It is tight but with air opens in the glass.  Cassis and blueberry fruit with spice and oak.  It needs a few years and will probably improve by a point or two.  Nice finish.  It is concentrated but a big wine and will need bigger foods or great on its own.  

Wow.  My first time trying this wine and it is spectacular.  Purple in color with a slight ruby rim.  The nose has toast, black raspberries and black pepper.  With air notes of soy sauce and black olives emerge.  Full bodied but this lovely silky but powerful texture.  On the palate, this has great boysenberry fruit with an underlying minerality.  It is deep and complex and persistent on the palate.  It is also delicious.  Long finish.  This will easily continue to improve for a decade and be good for another decade or two after that.  It worked great with a spicy pasta dish but would work

This is a very nice Cab Franc from Washington.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim.  The nose has black cherries, tobacco and slight bell pepper.  On the palate, this has a nice complexity.  Good fruits black cherries and cherries with underlying herbal notes.  Good finish.  Slight tannins.  This works better with foods and went well with a home made pizza.  It seems still young and might get better but should easily last another 5 to ten years.