Brad Coelho – Unidentified Appellation – Ravines Wine Cellars, One of the Finger Lakes’ Finest

“While Morten’s chromosomal connection is undeniable, his scholastic route, achieving advanced degrees in Enology & Viticulture at Ecole Nationale Superieure d’Agronomie in Montpellier didn’t hurt.”

Quentin Sadler – Quentin Salder’s Wine Page – Finger Lakes New York, part 4, Keuka Lake

“These were world class wines and showed a level of winemaking skill and vision that was breathtaking, I look forward to watching what happens at this superb little estate in the future.”

Stephen Meuse – Boston Globe – Plonk of the Month: Domestic Policy

“Ravines Keuka Village Finger Lakes White Wine 2008 Featherweight tart-crisp vignoles-cayuga (hybrid) blend; delightfully breezy sip with a scant 12 degrees of alcohol and picnic written all over it.”

Brian Kirby - The Other 46 – In a New York State of Mind

“I know, I know, another post on New York wine.  What can I say, I’m in a New York State of mind, especially after tasting the Ravines 2007 Cabernet Franc.  A wine like this makes me want to rename my website TheOther47.com or better yet, EastoftheWestCoast.com.  You never know what the future holds…”

Lenn Thompson – New York Cork Report – The New York Cork Club’s June 2010 Selections

“Ravines Wine Cellars 2008 Pinot Rose : The Ravines is 100% pinot noir and offers nice floral character to go with orange-grapefruit, watermelon and cherry fruit flavors. Showing a subtle silkiness to go with fresh acidity, it stays true to pinot noir.”

Ball Square Fine Wines – Videos on YouTube – Ravines Wine Tasting with Morten Hallgren

Check out this video of Morten Hallgren, Ravines winemaker, giving a tasting at Ball Square Fine Wines.

Rick Van Sickle - New York Cork Report – Guest Post: A Drier Style of Riesling at Ravines Wine Cellars

“Morten admits that Ravines doesn’t “try to be everything to everyone” which, to be honest, is a refreshing change from so many of the Finger Lakes wineries that tend to do just that and end up with a whole mess of wine that perhaps is fine for the masses but misses the mark for serious wine lovers”

Sue Guerra – On the Vine: TasteCamp – East Highlights

“Dry Riesling 2008 – Argetsinger Vineyard: The wine had the same intense minerality with floral notes, citrus, and great acidity, plus a little more richness and body on the finish.”

John Witherspoon – Anything Wine : An Afternoon at Ravines Wine Cellars

“On paper he knows what he’s doing and his knowledge and passion definitely translate to the glass” (speaking about winemaker Morten Hallgren)

Remy Charest – The Wine Case : Tastecamp day 1: Great Riesling – and some surprising reds

“But the real surprise came from Ravines Vineyard … the wines displayed confident and precise winemaking choices, the Rieslings were bone dry and built for the long run”

Michael Gorton – Undertaking Wine : Ravines Wine Cellars: More Than Just Riesling

“…make sure you visit and taste Ravines. And if you happen to be around when they have wine pairing dinners, make sure you make a reservation. I know I would.”

Julien Marchand – Empty Glasses : Tasting Through Riesling at TasteCamp 2010

“…bone dry Rieslings are made for the long run as seen the oldest of the three was still razor-sharp, with the structure and acid which will hold this wine together for years to come.”

Rick VanSickle – Wines in Niagara – RickWines, The Blog: A Journey to the Finger Lakes: Part 1

“The Ravines style is built around tight, mouth-watering, bone-dry rieslings that are balanced between fresh fruit and acid. They are made for the long haul in the cellar even though they are released to the public with some bottle age.”

Sasha Smith – Spin the Bottle : Finger Lakes Highlights: Argetsinger Vineyard

“The wine, made in a dry style, had a steeliness, minerality, and finesse that set it apart from the other local Rieslings I sampled over the weekend, and it was one of my favorites of the entire trip.”

Lenn Thompson – The New York Cork Report : TasteCamp EAST 2010 Interview: Rick Van Sickle (WinesofNiagara.com)

“What tasting or vineyard walk was and will be the most memorable for you? The Ravines Wine Cellars tasting and Argetsinger Vineyard walk … Fascinating owners and winemaker who is steadfast in his beliefs. And perfectly matched to his grower.”

Cool-climate viticulture and the Finger Lakes This is only the first of what I hope to be many blog entries pertaining to cool-climate viticulture and the role the Finger Lakes could play in the American wine market. To most wine drinkers, familiar with both European and American wine regions, there is an inescapable paradox, which can be kept down for a while, but sooner or later has to surface. In Europe, the cool climate wine regions have historically held privileged positions in the minds of wine aficionados.

Think: Mosel, Champagne, Alsace, Loire Valley, Burgundy, Bordeaux and Piemonte. While subject to considerable vintage variations resulting from their limiting growing season, these regions have nevertheless been associated with the very finest wines produced in the World. Understanding the sources of the vintage variations, wine drinkers anxiously await the reports describing the growing conditions of a particular vintage. It is understood, that only a few privileged regions provide the necessary conditions to produce wines of such reputation and interest and that these wines command a premium. It is perhaps because the grape growing and wine making conditions in these cool-climate regions are more challenging, that they have received most of the attention over the last 200 years. It is perhaps also because of the intrinsically higher quality potential, as defined by the consumers, that they have been held in high esteem.

Contrast this scenario with what has been happening on the American wine scene. Not including the Jefferson-era East Coast attempts or the native Labrusca as well as French-American hybrids, the action was long restricted to the West Coast. Despite sometimes significant climatic differences, I will contend that nearly none of the West Coast wine regions would qualify as cool-climate regions. I base this contention on two essential criteria: cool-climate viticulture severely limits the grape varieties suited to that region and, equally important, the wines produced retain essential cool-climate characteristics: moderate alcohol, noticeable acidity, fresh fruit aromas and significant aging potential. While many West Coast regions meet certain of these criteria, I do not believe that any meet all of them. On certain occasions, you could argue that the natural conditions are there, but than wine makers ( and winery owners) choose to bend the natural conditions to the point of loosing the regional character of their wines. I could easily be wrong on this point and would welcome corrections.

In the United States, I would limit the significant cool-climate wine regions to the following: Michigan, Parts of Pennsylvania, Long Island and the Finger Lakes region of New York. I know there are noteworthy producers of interesting vinifera wines in other regions, such as Millbrook in the Hudson Valley or Sakonnet in Rhode Island, but they remain isolated. Returning to the initial paradox, my question is this: why have the cool-climate regions in United States received so little attention? As a winemaker in the Finger Lakes region I’m primarily concerned with our region. Why has our wine region, at least until very recently, failed to attract the attention of the American wine drinkers and wine professionals? From my point of view, there is nothing more exciting than a cool-climate wine region maturing to produce interesting noteworthy wines. To be able to follow this rapid evolution is a unique insight, that none of us could experience in Burgundy or Bordeaux. Much like these regions, vinifera winemaking arrived later in the Finger Lakes than it did in California, Oregon or Washington State. The same was the case in Europe, where winemaking followed up the Rhone Valley before spreading to the northerly wine regions. In Europe, the spread of viticulture took centuries. In North America, we are essentially talking about four decades.

There will always be great spread in quality and style in new wine regions. This is even more true in a cool climate region such as ours. However, our region has the potential to produce wines with a balance, an elegance, a purity of aromas that simply cannot be duplicated in a warmer climate. This is why the cool-climate regions of Europe are now considered the classic regions. Just following this evolution in our region would be a worthy endeavor, so why has this not happened yet?

It wasn’t an easy harvest and I’m sure everyone is glad it is over.  2009 was one of the years requiring extra sweat and blood from the growers, winemakers and production crews alike.  An early frost and somewhat rainy growing season complicated conditions for everyone.  Growers had to drop a lot of fruit to achieve desired ripeness levels and spend many hours on their tractors spraying vines to keep the mold & diseases under control.  Vintners who worked their tails off in the vineyards this year were rewarded with clean, ripe fruit, good sugar levels and nice acidity.  Pinot Noir and Riesling were the harvest stars at Ravines this year. Winemaker, Morten Hallgren, is delighted with the overall quality of the grapes.

Sam Argetsinger brought us beautiful Riesling  grapesfrom his famous limestone soil vineyard.  Sam’s father, Cameron Argetsinger died last year before he could see the wine made from the vineyard he planted 35 years ago receive one of the most significant scores for Riesling ever given to a Finger Lakes wine. 91 in the Wine Specator for the Ravines Dry Riesling, Argetsinger Vineyard.  He and Morten take it all in stride.