Ed's wine blog

2017  Salmon Run  Chardonnay-Riesling  Finger Lakes  NY  (Dr Konstantin Frank)  Est.1962

I first visited this winery about 25 years ago, along with a half dozen other wineries that I had read about at the beginning of my journey of learning about wine. I was inspired by the writings of Hugh Johnson and a few other journalists who spoke highly of the white wines coming out this area. And it was a place I could drive to, and afford to stay out there for a few days.

At the time they offered around 7 or 8 wines, and it was still low key as people hadn't really heard about the area yet. More often than not if you were there during mid week the Winemaker or owner would be pouring your sample, and you could really ask some in depth questions like which vine clones they were using, what type of soils, how they fermented different grapes etc.
These days they offer 45 different bottlings including sparkling... all quality wines.

These days the Finger Lakes wine region is on a lot of people's radar, when wines from this area are poured at the White House for various functions, it's noticed.... several wine magazines now routinely include this area in their reviews of wines from around America.

Good for the region, but now during the summer months there are a lot of visitors, at times it's downright crowded in the tasting rooms. But it's still fun to go if you're interested in seeing the process of how a wine is made from the vineyard to when it's bottled. And it's less busy in the morning, (most wineries open by 9:30 am, so eat a good breakfast) or go visit after the Labor Day weekend, much less people and the weather is still nice. There are a ton of other things to see and do in that area as well.

This wine opens with a distinct note of pear, a hint of melon, and a hint of citrus that makes me think of tangerines in the nose, the palate has the melon, a mix of tangerine and white grapefruit, and the pear comes through on the finish. There is a nice level of palate cleansing acidity that is just right, it makes you want another sip.... all of these components of the wine were even better on day 2.

I would pair this wine with grilled seafood with fresh lemon or lime squeezed over it, bacon wrapped scallops, cheese fondue, fettuccine alfredo, maybe even grilled stuffed pork chops...

Available currently on sale at the NH Liquor outlets for $9.99 per bottle, there's also a case discount of 15% thru this Saturday, that drops the price to $8.49 per bottle. A great deal from a good producer that's in our region. They also have other Salmon Run wines in West Lebanon, along with the best selection of Finger Lakes wines I've seen in this area, go in and ask one of the staff where they are.

If you try some of these, let me know what you think of them....

Cheers!

Ed