Source: winecampblog.com

Thanks to a summer definitely warmer than average, the grapes have ripened faster than usual. The New York Cork Report reported on August 21 that harves for pinot noir destined for the sparkling wines of Macari vineyards was starting to be picked. In the Finger Lakes (in upstate New York), data has shown that the season was almost 2 months earlier than last year and 28 days earlier with regards with an average year.

In Ontario, Tawse winery and Chateau des Charmes have already started picking (via The Wine Case). Summer in this part of the country has also been particularly generous and it will most likely produce wines of pretty good quality and (if it holds steady), there should be no problems of under-ripeness in these grapes.

On the west coast, things are not looking so bright. In California, it’s been cool, if not cold, and rainy for good parts of the summer. San Fransisco has recorded its colder summer since 1975. This procued devastating mold and mildew in the fields Recently, things have turned around and a heat wave has struck California, which give problems of sunbruns on the grapes. In order to combat the mildew, many producers exposed the fruits as much as possible to allow them to dry. “Everyone opened up their grapes to get as much sunlight as they could, then the sun came out and fried them.” said Kyle Cameron, winemaker Russian River. The situation is not quite different in Oregon or Washington.

Is it global warming acting up, or just an exceptional summer? We’ll judge from what we will find in our glasses, but we will have to keep an eye on the north american wines from 2010 as winemakers will have a much different playing field than usual, be it good or bad.

The first bang of the weekend came right at the beginning of the first tasting, held on Friday afternoon at Heron Hill Winery. The 2002 Heron Hill Ingle Vineyard Riesling exploded with this petrol character that we love from older rieslings and was backed with some fruity character. At its peak right now, it drinks beautifully and is still fresh and crisp as one would expect from riesling. Poured along with the 2007, which was an unusually warm vintage in the Finger Lakes, we could really see where the 2007 is heading (and it’s the right direction!). At 15$ for the 2007 and 20$ for the 2002, they represent great values and set the table for the rest of the weekend.

After going around Keuka Lake, we ended at Ravines Wine Cellars, for our second riesling treat of the weekend. It is hard for me to pick just one, as we were treated with their dry riesling from 2006, 2007 and 2008. All three offerings show a clear and assumed style. These bone-dry rieslings (0.3% RS) are made for the long run as even the oldest of the three was still razor-sharp, with the structure and acid which will hold this wine together for years to come. The same holds for the Riesling Argetsigner Vineyard 2008, a single vineyard offering made of fruit from the land farmed by Sam Argetsigner, which we had the chance to visit the next morning. Clearly, a winemaker with a vision.

Riesling vertical at Fox Run

The vertical tasting of Fox Run’s rieslings gets my vote for the most educational event of the weekend. The first flight, composed of Reserve 2008, Dry 2003, 2002 and 2001 rieslings, and the second flight, made of Semi-Dry rieslings (2008, 2006, 2003 and 2001), really put forward how Finger Lakes Riesling ages with time. As with the Heron Hill Ingle Vineyard Riesling on the first day, these wines really show their full potential after 6-7 years. For the record, the Dry Riesling 2002 and Semi-Dry 2001 were my favourites.

To be ranked along the most intriguing experiences of the weekend was the tank samples which were poured at Hermann J. Wiemer. Drawn directly from the fermenting tank (photo from the New York Cork Report), we were given the opportunity to taste how the “HJW Vineyard” and the “Magdalena Vineyard” rieslings from 2009 were coming along. Not being used to wine at this stage, it was quite interesting. We could sense all the elements in there, but did not know exactly what to make of them. Given the rest of the lineup at this event, I’m sure that Fred Merwarth and his team will be able to put it all together.

Bottom line? They know how to make great riesling in the FInger Lakes. It’s the most consistent varietal which we were given to taste over the weekend and it keeps you asking for more…!

However, the harder thing to do is to come back home after such a nice weekend. So while I sort through my notes to make sense out of it, while my palate is recovering of all that riesling and while I get a couple of days to reflect on everything that happened through the weekend, let’s enjoy a visual wrap-up of the weekend.

Table is ready at Red Newt Bistro for a dinner featuring wines from Red Newt Cellars, Anthony Road and Fox Run

A fascinating character in his natural element: Sam Argetsigner in his vineyard bordering Seneca Lake

It's bud-break in the Finger Lakes

Tasting through a vertical of Fox Run dry Riesling

Tank Sample at Hermann J. Wiemer

Lots of Empty Glasses, and of great discussions, at StoneCat Café

Tom and Susan Higgins (along with Fion) explaining the superb pinots of Heart and Hands

Sunset at Red Newt Bistro

During the course of the day, we’ve been lucky enough to have been treated with great care by the fine folks at Heron Hill Winery (who hosted the lunch and noon tasting which regroped many producers around Keuka Lake), at Ravines Wine Cellars (with an afternoon tasting of a large part of their lineup) and at Red Newt Bistro (who hosted the dinner and organized a tasting along with Fox Run and Anthony Road). I’ll come back with more details once I’ve decanted my experience, as there is a lot to say.

As one would expect, not all wines were excellent, but some have pulled ahead of the pack. I’m quickly thinking of Heron Hill’s Ingle Vineyard Riesling 2007, which after tasting the 2002 will make you wonder how long it will last. The dry rieslings from Ravines are straight, focused and have a clear plan in mind, which holds up remarkably well over the three vintages which were presented to us. I was also surprised by the general quality of the red wines presented by Red Newt, Anthony Road and Fox Run, not only the collaboration Tierce 2007 in red (and from 2004 to 2006 in riesling), but the Merlot, the Syrah (!) and the Cabernet Franc/Lemberger.

I am sure that Day Two will bring as much pleasure, discoveries and enjoyment. It will take me a while to sort through everything, but I can take one thing for granted: there will be lots to talk about.

TasteCamp EAST 2010

The concept for TasteCamp is a simple one: getting enthusiastic journalists and bloggers together in a region that is new to them to taste as much wine as possible and speak to as many winemakers as possible over the course of a weekend.

By looking at the list of wineries present for the event, we know that we’re going to have a great time. However, what I look forward to is to meet fellow bloggers which I’ve been reading for a while now, and getting to know many of them via Twitter. More on that later.

In the meantime, I’ll immerse myself in the archives of Ithacork, by Tom Mansell, and its lovely Science! section, of 1WineDude by Joe Roberts and the New York Cork Report by Lenn Thompson and his team. I’ll also make sure to bookmark any other blog which I haven’t had the chance to read yet, which will make for nice discoveries until we finally get there…!