WTN: Ravines Pinot Noir

Ravines Pinot Noir (Finger Lakes) 2012. 13% ABV.

First things first. It had a good long cork. I mean, a really long cork. No. Even longer than that. Like: "Why is this cork so long?" I wondered as the Screwpull kept Screwpulling. "Do they own stock in Portugal?" That long.

It turns out the cork is that long in order to be able to PRINT THE ENTIRE BACK LABEL ON IT. Check this out, this is verbatim what scrolls from side to side around the entire thing (pardon me while I don my jeweler's loupe so I can read the 2-pixel high font):

"RavinesWine.com
13 HD
Ravines Wine Cellars is
located on the glacier-carved
hillsides of the beautiful
Finger Lakes region of
upstate New York.

We are an artisan winery
dedicated to the craft of fine
European-style winemaking."

And then........

It repeats! All of the above was on just half a cork!

Holy angels dancing on the head of a pin, Batman. Are these the same guys who do those amazing rice grain sculptures at county fairs? Man.

Sadly, the cork was the most interesting and impressive thing about the bottle. The wine itself...I may never know. Bad bottle. Hardly any color, brown rim, tart...she's dead, Jim. Shame - I always root for Finger Lakes wines when I get them. Go, Mudville 9!

Oh well. At least I can say it was a real corker

While I may be in the minority, I have been underwhelmed by the wines from Ravines so I wasn't all that surprised by your notes..I believe the best PN's coming out of the FL region are from Hearts and Hands, near Cayuga..Have heard good things re PN from Damiani and have enjoyed a number of wines from them, one of my favorite FL wineries..Have not yet tried their PN's however.
Ravines gets a lot of favorable press re their white wines..Perhaps their whites will be more to your liking..

Ravines gets a lot of favorable press re their white wines..Perhaps their whites will be more to your liking..

Thanks for that, Jon. I've gotta say though, it's not that their PN was "not to my liking". I can't say that because, as it was a spoiled bottle, I still have no idea what their PN tastes like. For all I know it may be a New World La Tache.

In general I've preferred FL whites over reds. (A particular example stands out: a dry muscat suggested by the sommelier at one of the CIA restaurants, which was a spectacular food wine. I've been racking my brain trying to remember the vineyard ever since. The student somm has graduated and fled, and my local shops are no help.) Anyway, thanks very much for the PN suggestions. If I ever see them -or any other grape variety - on offer around here, particulaly the Damiani, I'll pick one up and let you know what I think.

Pinot Noir is not the easiest of red grape varieties to play around with; it's even tougher in an erratic climate like the one that blesses the Finger Lakes region. Damiani has produced some fine ones, as have a few other wineries, but with that grape, knowing the condition of the vintage is especially important.

In this case, it sounds like that long cork may have had an equally long thin hole in it

Re, Ravines whites: they certainly are signature wines--unmistakable style. They generally require a great deal of bottle time to develop (the winemaker will even tell you that). But because people drink them right away, their extreme dryness and relative austerity can be a shock.

Interesting interview w/ them on the Meritage blends:
http://flxwine.info/id-3/meritage--10-questions-for.html

I think his perception of what consumers associate "Meritage" with in wines is dead-wrong
and rather self-serving.
At least he's a believer in Blaufrankisch...as am I.
Tom

Tom:

Since there is no rule to prevent a Meritage from including either 90% Cabernet (or any of the other grapes) or 9%--or any percentage in-between--I don't understand what consumers are supposed to think of the category, other than the wine is produced from grape varieties found in Bordeaux (as well as in a host of other wine regions).

I've always considered Meritage a self-serving marketing concept no matter who uses the term.

But it gives one the opportunity to pronounce it "Mayor-Ee-Taggggghhhhhh" to show one's Euro-sophistication!



I love the dry Ravines Rieslings I have sampled. The Pinot was decent but not outstanding.

Ok, all you guys who have experience with Ravine:

Did the wines you got from them all have corks that reached almost down the the punt, with a mini Icelandic epic carved down the sides?

Am I the only one here who wishes he had a longer worm??

Ok, all you guys who have experience with Ravine:

Did the wines you got from them all have corks that reached almost down the the punt, with a mini Icelandic epic carved down the sides?

Am I the only one here who wishes he had a longer worm??

Should I respond with my first or my second thought???

Should I respond with my first or my second thought???

I got time. Let both of 'em rip!

Can't wait to hear what Thomas has to say on this one..

I'll start us out:

1. "Yes."

2. "Does your Marilyn Merlot say 'Is that thing in?'"

3. "Even Jenise's is longer."

4. "You ever thought of moving to New Zealand?"

Am I the only one here who wishes he had a longer worm??

One can only ponder the response if Tom had asked about a "longer screw"!!! I'd be very afraid!!
Tom

If you meant a longer yardstick, probably yes.

Re, corks: I can't remember, but knowing Morten's European-centricity, I assume that's why it's there. Sometimes, when opening an Italian wine I wonder if I can sneak in an aria while waiting.

Yeah, the '12 Ravines PN is not bad at all, so you certainly had a bad bottle. Don't remember the cork being particularly long, but I do remember all the text. I'll agree with the others here that Heart & Hands and Damiani are also doing nice work with that grape, and would add Forge and Bloomer Creek as others to try. Many other places occasionally make a decent PN (Fox Run, Wiemer, Red Tail Ridge, Dr. Frank, and Hosmer might fall into this category), but these five are reliable.

BTW, the '13 Ravines Cab Franc is very nice...

Will keep an eye put for Forge and Red Tail Ridge, no experience re those wineries..have enjoyed a number of whites from Wiemer (plus a very nice Cab Franc) Fox Run, Hosmer, Bloomer Creek and Dr Frank but have not tasted any PN's from this group..,

Will keep an eye put for Forge and Red Tail Ridge, no experience re those wineries..have enjoyed a number of whites from Wiemer (plus a very nice Cab Franc) Fox Run, Hosmer, Bloomer Creek and Dr Frank but have not tasted any PN's from this group..,

Forge is an interesting operation. There are three partners, two locals, Rick Rainey and Justin Boyette, plus Louis Barruol of Chateau St. Cosme in Gigondas and their intent is to only work with PN and Riesling. At present, they don't own any vineyards but buy grapes from some selected growers, and the winemaking is in the minimal intervention vein (ambient yeast, no finining or filtration for the reds). They are co-located at Hector Wine Company, near Hazlett on the east side of Seneca, where Boyette is the winemaker (some decent wines here, too).

Vini in Davis carried Forge Pinot Noir this year, and I found it lithe and pleasant. I will continue to follow them!