Great Value Wines: 7 Finger Lakes Rieslings for Under $40

New York’s Finger Lakes are having a moment. Never before have so many great wines been produced in the region, and it doesn’t seem like the trend will be slowing anytime soon. Driving the revolution are FLX rieslings, which are now of world-class quality and are comparable to anything coming out of Germany or Austria. And behind the improved quality of wines is a new generation of winemakers who are much more open and daring than previous generations.

A combination of unique, cool climatic conditions, an increased number of quality-driven producers and a growing consumer base is creating a perfect storm of opportunity. Even though FLX wines still don’t have the name recognition or get the same sort of praise that Napa or Willamette Valley wines do, they are already stunning and only getting better, and FLX rieslings are one of the best-value wine offerings on the market today.

The FLX region has been producing wines since 1829, when an Episcopalian minister named William Warner Bostwick first planted Vitis labrusca in his clergy house garden. These were native North American grapes, such as concord or catawba, and did not produce particularly high-quality wine. Nonetheless, commercial planting of these types of grapes began picking up in 1862, with sparkling wines becoming a specialty of the area. Wine production slowed as competition in California grew, and then stopped altogether during prohibition before resuming on a much smaller scale.

After World War II, there was a growing interest in drier, European-style wines in the United States, but no such grapes were grown in the Finger Lakes until Dr. Konstantin Frank, a Ukrainian viticulturist, relocated to Cornell University’s Geneva Experiment Station in 1953 and began planting European varieties. Dr. Frank had written his PhD thesis on cold-climate growing techniques of Vitis vinifera and ultimately proved that common grapes could be grown in the region with proper grafting and care.

In 1962, he produced his first "trockenbeerenauslese" (in fact, a riesling), proving that wine could be made at almost the same quality level as European wine. This first crop came from young vines, and it was also the first of its kind made in North America.

Since then, a number of varieties have been planted in the region with growing levels of success, including chardonnay, pinot noir, gewurztraminer and cabernet franc. And Dr. Frank’s legacy continues to this day under his family-run label, with one of his rieslings making our Great Value list below.

For context, the Finger Lakes are made up of 11 different glacier-formed lakes, just south of Lake Ontario. While it is often thought that the Finger Lakes themselves are the region’s most important weather-moderating element, it is actually Lake Ontario that warms the cool winds coming from the north, allowing for the ideal grape-growing conditions found there as well as the greatest vintage variation of any American wine region. Although the Finger Lakes region comprises one all-encompassing American Viticultural Area, or AVA, two of the Finger Lakes also have their own AVAs: Cayuga and Seneca. And while another of the Finger Lakes, Lake Keuka, does not have its own AVA, it is an important area and worth noting.

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Producers are also becoming more aware of the diversity of soil types in the region and making wines attuned to specific terroirs – from the limestone-rich soil in the north to more fragile shale farther south. You can expect even more site-driven wines in the future.

The growing season can often start quite late and be surprisingly warm for a cool region (thanks to the region's often very humid summers), but harvests are long because of the usually steady climate during the autumn, and can last from the start of September to the beginning of November. This allows producers to pick at ideal moments for ripeness, acidity and phenolics for either dry or sweet wines. As Kelby Russell of Red Newt Cellars put it in our special report on New York wines, “Conditions here are just so right for riesling, to make a bad one you have to try.”

We have put together a list of seven wines that we feel are an excellent introduction to what is quickly becoming America’s premiere riesling-producing region. Each of the wines listed below is dry, although many of these labels produce off-dry to luscious-style wines as well. Most are from 2019, which JamesSuckling.com board member Willliam McIlhenny recently found to be a fantastic, age-worthy vintage. Every wine below is available for less than $40 at any reputable wine retailer.

– Nathan Slone, Associate Editor

Empire Estate Riesling Finger Lakes Reserve Dry 2017 – JS94
U.S. price: $33

Hillick & Hobbs Riesling Seneca Lake Estate Vineyard Dry 2019 – JS94
Zachys.com: $39.99

Dr. Konstantin Frank Winery Rkatsiteli Finger Lakes 2020 – JS91
Vivino.com: $16.04

Forge Cellars Riesling Seneca Lake Caywood Vineyard 2019 – JS91
Wine.com: $29.99

Hermann J. Wiemer Riesling Seneca Lake Reserve Dry 2019 – JS91
Vivino.com: $31.99

Hosmer Riesling Cayuga Lake Dry 2019 – JS91
U.S. price: $11.99

Red Newt Cellars Riesling Finger Lakes Dry 2017 – JS91
Wine.com: $18.99