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United States

Finger Lakes

4 000 ha under vine

Soils
Glacial shale and slate on steep slopes above deep lakes
Climate
Cold continental, the deep lakes tempering the brutal winters

On the map

Finger Lakes — 4 000 haMendoza — 150 000 haCentral Valley — 120 000 haNingxia — 40 000 haMarlborough — 29 000 haColumbia Valley — 25 000 haSonoma County — 24 000 haNapa Valley — 18 000 haPaso Robles — 16 000 haStellenbosch — 15 000 haWillamette Valley — 11 500 haBarossa Valley — 11 500 haMaipo Valley — 11 000 haSwartland — 10 000 haCanelones — 7 500 haMcLaren Vale — 7 000 haCasablanca Valley — 6 000 haMargaret River — 5 800 haNiagara Peninsula — 5 500 haClare Valley — 5 500 haCoonawarra — 5 700 haHawke's Bay — 5 000 haOkanagan Valley — 3 000 haHunter Valley — 2 500 haYarra Valley — 2 500 haTasmania — 2 000 haCentral Otago — 2 000 haConstantia — 450 haFinger LakesMendozaCentral ValleyNingxiaMarlboroughColumbia ValleySonoma CountyNapa ValleyPaso RoblesStellenboschWillamette ValleyBarossa ValleyMaipo ValleySwartlandCanelonesMcLaren ValeCasablanca ValleyMargaret RiverNiagara PeninsulaClare ValleyCoonawarraHawke's BayOkanagan ValleyHunter ValleyYarra ValleyTasmaniaCentral OtagoConstantia
Blob size ≈ vineyard area · approximate locations · coastlines from Natural Earth

On the steep shale slopes above New York's deep glacial lakes, whose waters buffer the ferocious continental winters, the Finger Lakes have become America's finest cool-climate Riesling region. The wines are vivid and racy — dry to off-dry, all lime, green apple and slate — with a piercing acidity closer to the Mosel than to California.

Long a land of sweet hybrid wines, the region was transformed by growers who bet on European vinifera and above all on Riesling. Small, northern and utterly distinctive, the Finger Lakes are the East Coast's answer to fine cool-climate white wine.

The vineyard

Indicative share of plantings

The wines

Finger Lakes Riesling Dry white

Through time

Indicative presence index, 0–100Origins & Antiquity — 0The Monastic Middle Ages — 0Exploration & the Fortified Age — 0Classifications & the Golden Age — 5Phylloxera & the World Crises — 10The Modern & New World Era — 70Antiquity0500150017001875195070
Classifications & the Golden Age 1700 Phylloxera & the World Crises 1875 The Modern & New World Era 1950