Party brings out best wines of the region

Spring had not quite come to an end as the Corning Museum of Glass threw a great Summer Bouquet on June 18.

JEFF RICHARDS/Star-Gazette Heron Hill Winery winemaker Thomas Laszlo, right, describes the attributes of the winery's 2002 Riesling to Vineyard & Winery Management magazine co-publishers Hope Merletti and Bill Moffett on June 18 during Summer Bouquet at the Corning Museum of Glass.

More than 1,200 wine lovers were treated to samples of the wines judged best in the 2004 International Eastern Wine Competition in May. The award-winning wines were served throughout the first and second floors of the museum.

Several restaurants provided tasty dishes to munch on as wine tasters drifted through the Glass Center, tasting red, white, sparkling and dessert wines.

Richard Leahy, coordinator of the International Eastern Wine Competition, announced winners in the World Riesling Championship at the beginning of the evening.

Heron Hill winemaker Thomas Laszlo, decked out in a black tuxedo, proudly represented the Finger Lakes as he accepted the award for the Best Dry Riesling for Heron Hill's 2002 Riesling Reserve.

"You just have to spend time with this wine. (It has) subtle elegance with power," Thomas says.

The wine was made with a blend of 80 percent Riesling from Heron Hill's Keuka Lake vineyards and 20 percent from owner John Ingle's vineyards on Canandaigua Lake.

According to Thomas, the Heron Hill site provided mineral flavors typical of the slate found there, while John's vineyards provided a lift with more fruit flavors, such as melon. The two vineyards were symbolically brought together with the wine to celebrate Heron Hill's 25th anniversary last year.

The title of World Riesling Champion was awarded to Carlson Vineyards of Palisade, Colo.

I caught up with vineyard owner/winemaker Parker Carlson as he was pouring samples of his award-winning wine during the event. He categorized his vineyard as "high desert." Parker says that the vineyard is 100 percent irrigated -- the area only gets 8.5 inches of rain per year.

"This is the first year I got the acidity I was looking for," Parker says. Parker described the wine as having tastes of green apple, mineral, peach and melon. It is a delightfully smooth semi-sweet wine that blends the mineral and fruit flavors beautifully.

Other winners in the Riesling championship were: Best Semi-Dry Riesling went to Chateau Ste. Michelle for its "Eroica" Dr. Loosen 2003 Riesling from Columbia Valley, Wash.

Best Sweet Riesling went to Jackson-Triggs Vintners Proprietor's Reserve 2003 Riesling Icewine from Okanagan Valley, British Columbia.

In addition to the Riesling Championship, Best of Category winners were selected from 53 sweepstakes finalists.

The title of Best Fruit Wine was earned by Montezuma Winery's Blue Moon nonvintage blueberry wine. Winemaker Bill Martin said that locally grown fruit was used to make their blueberry wine.

"We were thrilled," Bill says. "I started as a home beer maker. When beer makers get bored, they make mead."

The Martins use their 7,500 beehives to produce honey to sell and also to make mead at the winery in Seneca Falls.

The other Best of winners were: For red wine, Alexander Valley Vineyards 2000 Cyrus from Alexander Valley, Calif. White Wine: Gray Monk Cellars Ltd., 2002 Siegerrebe from Okanagan Valley, British Columbia. Sparkling Wine: Jackson-Triggs Vintners 2003 Proprietors Reserve Sparkling Riesling Icewine. It was a double winner, as it also captured the Dessert Wine category.

Jeff Richards' wine column appears Saturdays. For comments or questions, he can be reached at 607/271-8279 or 800/836-8970, ext. 279, or e-mail: jrichards