During one of my wine classes this past spring, I was introduced to the best Dry Riesling I have ever tasted. No surprise that it was from the Finger Lakes! Thankfully, I am currently living within a couple hours of Wagner Vineyards, the producer of this 2017 award winning Dry Riesling. After that first taste, I knew I had to check out some of the other wines produced by Wagner Vineyards and so, this winery inspired our recent trip to the area. The day before we travelled to the vineyard, I made a tasting reservation with Wagner and upon arrival we were immediately ushered into the tasting room. To my surprise, we were the only tasting party there and had the full attention of our knowledgeable, wine-passionate, outgoing tasting guide, Austin. If you ever visit for a tasting, I would highly recommend requesting him! I commend Wagner Vineyards for hiring top quality, professional guides for their tasting room and was so impressed with the entire experience.

Each person in the group was allowed to try 5 wines from the extensive list of sweet, dry, sparkling and ice wine options. Austin gave a bit of background about the history and production of each one. Here are a couple quick notes and fun facts about the ones that I tasted! I will be doing full wine reviews of all the bottles we brought home (starred) to provide an in-depth, accurate review of each.

2019 Dry Riesling

Sadly, the iconic 2017 vintage unsurprisingly flew off the shelf, but I am thankful to have the opportunity to taste the latest vintage. The 2019 is a bit more acidic than the 2017, due to last year’s extremely wet growing season. The weather heavily affects the final taste of each vintage, even if grapes are grown on the same vines! Regardless, this wine is outstanding and representative of the high quality of Finger Lakes Dry Riesling.

2018 Riesling Caywood East Dry *

Although these Riesling grapes are grown only a couple of miles down the road from the grapes used in the dry Riesling wines, they offer a slightly different taste. This one had bigger, bolder flavors of tree fruit and honeysuckle, where the dry Riesling had stronger minerality and citrus characteristics.

2019 Dry Rosé of Cabernet Franc *

This rosé is simply amazing. I liked it so much, I decided to bring two bottles home with me. It is dry, crisp, fruity and earthy. I would highly recommend ordering yourself some soon because I know this wine is going to be award winning.

2018 Sparking Riesling

Usually sparkling wines are made from either Pinot Noir or Chardonnay grapes, but in true Finger Lakes style, this one is made from Riesling grapes! This sparkling wine has a sweeter smell than many traditional sparkling wines that I have tried and it tasted extra dry on the sparkling wine sweetness scale. I think that the sweetness is a characteristic of using Riesling grapes. Although the wine did not show any bubbles in the glass, they exploded on your tongue after taking a sip.

2018 Pinot Noir Grace House *

This Pinot Noir is one of the most delicate I have ever had. For a red wine, it is extremely light in body, has soft tannins and smooth, tart cranberry flavors on a silky finish. The name really says it all, it is graceful and one of the best in the house. I would highly recommend trying this red if you normally prefer white wines!

2016 Meritage *

Did you know that Meritage is actually an American word that was created to separate their identity from traditional European Bordeaux style blends? It is a combination of the words “merit” and “heritage” and to pronounce it, use your best American accent. To create a Meritage wine, the producer must follow specific blending rules and can only use a handful of grape varieties. This blend has 64% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Cabernet Franc and 18% Merlot. Wagner only bottles this blend during exceptional production years, so it is bound to be tasty. I was impressed with the dark berry jam and spice characteristics brought out from the aging!

Since we could all choose our own wines, some of my family members, whom I tasted with, raved about a couple wines I didn’t have the chance to taste. Among the top mentions are the Reserve Chardonnay *, Alta B Red, Melody White and Vidal Ice Wine. The sweeter wine drinkers in the group fell in love with the Alta B Red – a blend made especially for the vineyard founder’s mother, Alta Button, who only drank sweet wine.

After our tasting, we headed to the Ginny Lee Café for a yummy lunch. I paired the Dry Rose with Upstate House Salad topped with the house Apple Riesling dressing! Yes, you read that right, Wagner makes a salad dressing with their Riesling grapes and yes, it was really good. The service in the café was impeccable as well and the dining patio offered breathtaking views of Seneca Lake framed by endless vineyards.

Even if you aren’t into wine, it is a safe bet that there is something at Wagner Vineyards for you. Although we didn’t have time to stop, there is a brewery on the property, and I hear they have some unique brews. The service, the views and the wines were truly outstanding. I will definitely be coming back in the future! If you want to taste some of their wines, they are currently offering flat rate shipping to 19 states! Apply “2020FlatRateShip” at checkout and be sure to leave a comment below telling me what you think!

Up Next in the Series

part 3 // Lamoreaux Landing Wine Cellars

part 4 // Standing Stone Vineyards

Previously in the Series

part 1 // Seneca Lake Wine Tour Overview