Building a Better Riesling: New York Aims for a World-Class Edge

For all of New York’s historical success with riesling, it’s only in the past decade or two that the state’s reputation for producing world-class expressions of the variety have expanded nationally, with the Finger Lakes leading the proverbial charge. Today, the state is home to a riesling culture of impressive accomplishment and diversity.

Between visits to the Finger Lakes and Long Island earlier this year and late last year, as well as extensive tastings in our offices, we reviewed 193 New York rieslings for this report, with 66 scoring 94 or above, and an impressive 185 earning scores of 90 or above. And while most of the top rieslings hailed from the Finger Lakes, other regions of New York are well represented, too.

In general, the best rieslings from the state, and from the Finger Lakes in particular, have more in common with their German counterparts from the Rheingau and Nahe, as opposed to the Mosel. For all of their classic acidity, they also tend to boast a sense of generosity, with lively citrus aromas and flavors countered by stone fruit and, on occasion, more tropical notes. That balance of structure and approachable fruit mean that they tend to show well in their youth and also have the ability to age with grace.

But since there is such complex terroir and vintage variability here, surprises can be found, especially given the significant differences in climate and geology from one region to another. So while the rieslings of Long Island tend to fall on the more ripely fruited end of the spectrum in relative terms, the best of the Finger Lakes have a more focused character, though not at the expense of textural complexity and depth.

The top-scoring riesling from Long Island in this report, the Wölffer Estate Riesling Long Island The Grapes of Roth Virgin Berry Dry 2021, maintains the bracing character that the best examples of the variety embody, but also a sense of suppleness. That generous texture carries expressive notes of nectarines, mandarin orange marmalade, citrus blossoms, slate and minerals. It’s drinkable now, but will also reward patience.

On the other end of the sweetness spectrum from Long Island is the Paumanok Riesling North Fork of Long Island Late Harvest 2022, a plush yet lively example whose chanterelle undertones counter generous stone fruit and honeysuckle.

The Finger Lakes, on the other hand, is a more classically cool-climate region, as opposed to the more maritime character of Long Island. As such, the region tops this report in terms of both the number of rieslings represented and the scores themselves.

“Riesling is so expressive of where it is grown, and the combination of the cold climate and glacial-till soils make the Finger Lakes a natural fit for the grape,” explained Josh Wig, co-owner of Lamoreaux Landing, not far from Seneca Lake. “The levels of ripeness that we are able to achieve balanced with the refreshing acidity yield a style of freshness that often transcends each winemaker’s individual efforts.”

The Lamoreaux Landing Riesling Finger Lakes Ice 2024 embodies this. It’s a sweet riesling that balances honeyed decadence with momentum and balance. Orange marmalade, caramelized apricots and pineapples are sweetly spiced, lifted with citrus blossom and linger through the finish. The Lamoreaux Landing Riesling Finger Lakes Red Oak Vineyard 2023, by comparison, is perky and polished, with a seashell-like minerality and bright acidity propelling nectarines and peaches.

Riesling from the Finger Lakes is finally gaining the international reputation it deserves. Paul Hobbs, one of the most important winemakers and consultants in the world, is originally from Upstate New York. And while he makes wine from Argentina to California to Hungary and beyond, he chose the Finger Lakes to establish his eponymous Hillick & Hobbs Estate.

Several of the rieslings he produced there are among the top-scoring wines in this report. In particular, the Hillick & Hobbs Riesling Seneca Lake Estate Vineyard North Ravine Dry 2024 is compact and cool, but not at the expense of richness. There is a minty freshness to this wine, which finds a fine counterpart in Amalfi lemons and dark minerality. It promises a long life ahead and speaks to the impressive character of the terroir and climate of the region, as well as of Hobbs’ laser-focus on quality.

He makes sure to point out, however, that the Finger Lakes is a more diverse region than it tends to get credit for – though there is some similarity to the soils throughout, they are not uniform by any stretch. “They do actually change quite a bit from place to place,” Hobbs said, adding: “Even rainfall varies quite a lot. How much topsoil, slate or shale, glacial till, drainage – all these things really play.”

For all of that nuance, however, Hobbs stressed that there is an inimitable character to the wines. “Well-made [Finger Lakes] rieslings, where the producer is obsessive with respect to quality … there is a crystalline quality, a purity, a depth of structure,” he said. “They have an incredible tension, almost like oyster shell, this sort of slatey feeling on the palate. They’re really remarkable how broad they are through the mid-palate, and how that carries into a long finish is very pleasant. They're not the same as anything I've had in Europe that I can think of.”

That unique character has led to a growing sense of excitement among sommeliers, and greater popularity among consumers. It’s a similar phenomenon as what’s happened with Long Island cabernet franc in particular.

As far as availability, the majority of producers offer convenient direct-to-consumer sales from their websites. And as their popularity continues to grow, they will increasingly have a greater presence on retail shelves and restaurant wine lists. Pricing tends to be moderate, often falling in the $25 to $50 range, though there are some producers whose smaller-production wines climb close to or into triple-digit territory. They are the exception rather than the rule, however. (Late-harvest and ice wines, of course, are generally priced to reflect their relative scarcity and challenging production.)

Wig, of Lamoreaux Landing, sees the Finger Lakes taking a preeminent place among New York riesling producers, although his views could apply across the state.

“I think we have worked very hard as a region, particularly over the last 20 years, to overcome the sweet and simple stigma that riesling experienced in the United States last century,” he said. “Finger Lakes riesling is so much more. We find that as the younger generations discover wine, and in particular riesling, it resonates with their quest for well-balanced, food-friendly wines that are naturally lower in alcohol. While this has not translated into an immediate change in the market, I think there is a lot of hope for the next 20 years.”

– Brian Freedman, Contributing Taster

The list of wines below is comprised of bottles tasted and rated by the JamesSuckling.com tasting team. They include many latest releases not yet available on the market, but which will be available soon. 

Note: You can sort the wines below by country, vintage, score and alphabetically by winery name. You can also search for specific wines in the search bar.