The “Finger Lakes,” so named because, from above, they look like a handprint in the middle of New York State, produce some of the most criminally underrated Rieslings in the world. There are 11 lakes in total, all of them formed from the retreat of glaciers, and they boast a much longer wine-growing history than most people realize. Conditions in the Finger Lakes resemble Germany’s, with the lakes helping moderate a climate that might otherwise be too cold to ripen wine grapes. 

Hermann Wiemer is a native of Bernkastel, Germany, in the heart of the Mosel River Valley. His mother’s family made wine in the Mosel for more than 300 years, and his father was a nurseryman, so when he came to New York in the 1960s, he brought a lot of Riesling expertise with him. Now retired, he’s considered a “founding father” of Finger Lakes viticulture.

In the glass, the Wiemer Dry Riesling it’s a pale straw-gold with hints of silver and green, bursting with classic Riesling aromas of white peach, green mango, green pineapple core, lime blossoms, petrol, and crushed river rock. There’s some juiciness to the texture, balanced by a rush of mouth-watering freshness.