{"id":2841,"date":"2014-02-24T16:57:43","date_gmt":"2014-02-24T21:57:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/?p=2841"},"modified":"2014-04-02T16:52:07","modified_gmt":"2014-04-02T20:52:07","slug":"americas-region-of-riesling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/developer83.wordpress-developer.us\/culturecheesemag\/americas-region-of-riesling\/","title":{"rendered":"America’s Region of Riesling"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ask any sommelier what he or she wishes people would drink more of, and nine out of ten will answer Riesling. Rieslings are the epitome of versatility, simultaneously delicate and powerful, muscular and graceful, the modern dancers of the wine world. So when it comes to cheese\u2014with its delicate, milky nuances yet formidable fat\u2014Riesling is a no-brainer.<\/p>\n

However, if you want to test out the adage that what grows together goes together, it\u2019s not so easy with Riesling. The most famous Rieslings come from Germany\u2019s Mosel Valley, but I\u2019ll be damned if I can find a Mosel cheese stateside (I can\u2019t actually think of any I\u2019ve eaten there, either). For Austria\u2019s nervy, bone-dry Rieslings, there\u2019s Bergk\u00e4se, but it takes some searching to find even that. And good luck finding South Australian cheeses to go with Clare Valley\u2019s limey versions.<\/p>\n

But you can head to New York State, where the Finger Lakes region is putting out some of the best Rieslings in the nation\u2014and a slew of great cheeses to boot. Vines have been grown along the region\u2019s deep, glacier-carved lakes for more than a century, and over the last decade the area has blossomed, now boasting some two hundred wineries. While early winemaking attempts were focused on hybrids bred to withstand the region\u2019s brutal winters, local winemakers have found that Riesling excels in the Finger Lakes climate and soils.<\/p>\n

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The lakes themselves are integral to their success. Most of the vineyards are gathered along the banks of the central 4 of the region\u2019s 11 lakes\u2014Canandaigua, Keuka, Cayuga, and Seneca. Just as Germany\u2019s Mosel River moderates the chill climate of its surrounding wine region, and Austria\u2019s Danube channels a refreshing breeze through the vines that line its banks, these long, skinny lakes moderate the winter chill and sweaty summer heat common in central New York State.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s more, the Finger Lakes region is rich in shale, a precursor of slate, the stone that\u2019s essential to the identity of many Mosel Rieslings. Finger Lakes Rieslings actually exhibit the character that sommeliers go crazy for in Riesling\u2014and which is nearly impossible to find in other American examples: minerality, or a sense of the earth from which they came.<\/p>\n

Great cheese, of course, shares this ability to channel not just the flavor of its ingredients but also the flavor of a place, through notes of earth, herbs, and pure, warm animal funk.<\/p>\n

This is the factor that got me thinking: If the soil is detectable in a glass of Finger Lakes Riesling, then what will happen when it meets a cheese made from the milk of animals that grazed so nearby? Will the experience be any richer than drinking a Finger Lakes Riesling with a California cheese? Honestly, after a winter of happy experimentation, I can\u2019t say that I know for sure. Was it the freshness of Lively Run\u2019s ch\u00e8vre<\/a> that made it feel so alive next to the zippy, lean Ravines Argetsinger Vineyard Dry Riesling<\/a>, or something more?<\/p>\n

Does Treleaven\u2019s Riesling<\/a> go so well with Bronson Hill Cheesery\u2019s Red Meck because they are both born of Cayuga Lake or simply because the wine can handle the rich density of the sweet, milky cheese? Did I fall hard for Hillcrest\u2019s cheese curds with Salmon Run Riesling because there\u2019s a subtle synchronicity there or because I\u2019m a pushover for cheese curds and budget Riesling? Can there be a better match for the creamy, pungent Cayuga Blue than the coating richness of Hermann J. Wiemer\u2019sa honeyed, late-harvest 2009 Riesling<\/a>?<\/p>\n

All questions I have chewed on. Now that there\u2019s a Finger Lakes cheese trail map to go with the region\u2019s four wine trail maps<\/a>, you can, too. The answers are just a drive away.<\/p>\n

Finger Lakes Fare<\/h3>\n

The best way to explore Finger Lakes wines and cheeses is to go there, since many of them don\u2019t make it much past local stores. Until you can get there, here are some of the best of the more widely available wines and cheeses to search out.<\/em><\/p>\n

Local Wines<\/h4>\n

(from dry to sweet)<\/p>\n