Drink This: Keuka Lake Vineyards 2022 Vignoles
Nobody does bone-dry vignoles better than Keuka Lake Vineyards
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Vignoles has long been one of my favorite white hybrid varieties and I’m not alone. Peter Becraft, winemaker at Anthony Road Wine Company, once called it “honorary vinifera” back when hybrid grapes weren’t as accepted or beloved.
He may not have meant it only in this way, but I always took that to mean that it’s a grape that deserves to be taken seriously — both in the vineyard and in the cellar.
Anthony Road makes some terrific wines using vignoles, but no one in New York takes vignoles more seriously than Keuka Lake Vineyards, where you’ll find a skin-fermented orange wine example, a single-vineyard white wine version, a sparkling (pet nat) rendition, and Keuka Lake Vineyards 2022 Vignoles ($20*) a white, bone-dry blend of the estate’s various vineyard sites.
Most of the vignoles you see in the Finger Lakes (and anywhere, really) is off-dry or sweeter because, even when the grapes get very ripe, the acidity doesn’t drop off. That makes making it into dry wine a bit of a challenge. They can easily get shrill and tart and not all that fun to drink.
Many winemakers and producers leave some residual sugar to tame all that acidity. Even the sweetest ones I’ve tasted are never cloying. There always seems to be enough acidity.
At Keuka Lake Vineyards, the focus is on dry wine, including vignoles. This one doesn’t have any residual sugar. It walks a tightrope — brisk and fresh, but not too much so. That tension is actually one of the things I like most about it.
The nose smells like just-ripe peaches drizzled with wildflower honey, with delicate floral, citrus, and pineapple notes that took some time to emerge because I chilled it down too cold.
The lighter side of medium-bodied, the palate is more citrus-driven — lemon and lime — with some pineapple, and bee pollen accents. It crackles with acidity that — again — is almost too much but ultimately not. On the third day open, a delicious, concentrated core of Key lime curd pushed to the front and helped soften the pithy edges. The finish is long with a spiced honey note that you’d expect to find in a wine with some sweetness, but there isn’t any here.
At $20, I think it’s a good value too, so keep an eye out for it when it is released this summer.
Keuka Lake Vineyards 2022 Vignoles
Region: Finger Lakes AVA (New York)
ABV: 12.1%
RS: 0 g/L
TA: 8.1 g/L
pH: 3.37
Production: 310 cases
Rating: 90 pts
Price: $20* (Available Summer 2024)
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*sample provided by winery