9 of the Best Pinot Noirs From New York’s Finger Lakes

There are those who think Finger Lakes Pinot Noir is an oxymoron — that the region in upstate New York is too cold, too wet, too unpredictable for the notoriously challenging grape to have much of a chance at success. Better to stick with the Rieslings for which the region is world- renowned, or perhaps the Cabernet Francs that have made their mark.

And yet, here and there, they are making some very good Pinot Noirs in the Finger Lakes, arguably the most important East Coast wine region with its glacial soils carved out from what became the lakes starting 2 million years ago.

“There are these little pockets and these growers that do really well with the variety and treat it with respect,” says Katey Larwood, the winemaker at Damiani Wine Cellars on the east side of Seneca Lake. But as we taste the winery’s crisp and complex Pinots while overlooking one of Damiani’s vineyards, Larwood is quick to add that “there’s a myriad of growers here that won’t touch Pinot Noir with a 20-foot pole. They won’t even go near it. They’re very anti-Pinot in the Finger Lakes.”

But don’t tell that to Frederick Frank, the president of Dr. Konstantin Frank Winery, which has been growing Pinot Noir in a vineyard on the west side of Keuka Lake since Frank’s grandfather — the winery’s namesake — planted it in 1958. The vineyard, which the winery says is the second-oldest Pinot Noir vineyard in the U.S., still produces the grapes used in its signature Old Vine Pinot Noir.

Credit: Edward Deitch

Frank believes the region and its cool climate are well suited to Pinot Noir — not the typically darker, more extracted and powerful Pinot style from California that many Americans are used to, but a leaner, lighter-colored style more reminiscent of wines from the world’s most famous Pinot Noir region.

“I would say that our Pinot is more Burgundian in style than it would be Sonoma in style,” Frank says as we discuss the wines in his tasting room next to the Pinot Noir vineyard. With his Pinots typically priced in the mid-$20s, compared with Burgundies selling for far more, “it becomes a great value,” he adds. He says his competition is not the California wines but lower-priced Burgundies “with a similar flavor profile.”

That profile includes red fruits, earth and savory notes, gentle tannins, moderate alcohol levels, and a refreshing, cool-climate acidity that makes the wines an easy pairing for foods — and gives them something else.

“We feel our cool-climate wines have great ageability,” Frank says. To prove the point, he had me taste his Old Vines Pinot Noir from 2022 (the vintage just being released) and two of his older Pinot Noirs, from 2015 and 2010. The older wines have held up beautifully, the 2015 especially vibrant with its freshness and still delicious fruit. “You’d never think this is from the Finger Lakes,” Frank says.

Credit: Edward Deitch

Katey Larwood at Damiani says she believes the Finger Lakes style of Pinot Noir plays well to increasing demand for the variety, “and I think that there are people excited about Pinot in different styles, so maybe going away from the bigger, extracted style and maybe finding the leaner styles, which is always going to be the Finger Lakes Pinot.” She adds, half laughing, “until, 50 years from now when we become California because of climate change.”

To gauge the state of Finger Lakes Pinot Noir, I tasted a broad sampling of the wines. Here are nine of the best Finger Lakes Pinot Noirs.

Dr. Konstantin Frank Old Vines Pinot Noir 2022

There’s good complexity and concentration in this Pinot Noir, one of the region’s benchmarks, with red and dark fruit aromas and flavors along with herbal, tea, baking spice, and savory notes. The wine really over-delivers for the price, which Fred Frank says is one of the winery’s hallmarks. (The ‘22 is just being released; the ‘21 is still available.)

Price: $28
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Damiani Wine Cellars Pinot Noir ‘Damiani Vineyard’ 2023

This single-vineyard wine is light in color but loaded with complexity. Concentrated yet fresh with raspberry and strawberry aromas and flavors and hints of herbs and braised meat. Whole-cluster fermentation — in which the grapes are not destemmed, adding dimension to the wine — was used for 25 percent of the grapes. Aged for 12 months in neutral French oak barrels, the wood influence is well integrated. Also worth trying: Damiani’s flagship 2023 Pinot Noir bottling, at $33.

Price: $42
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Thirsty Owl Wine Company Pinot Noir 2023

I liked the subtlety of this wine with its muted strawberry, cherry, and plum aromas and tastes, and accents of nutmeg, herbs, and freshly tilled earth. Try it with grilled salmon, tuna, herbed chicken and pork, or a mushroom risotto.

Price: $23
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Forge Cellars Pinot Noir ‘Classique’ 2023

Forge, a French-American partnership with Louis Barruol, the owner of the famed Château de Saint Cosme in Gigondas in the Southern Rhône, and wine industry veteran Rick Rainey, is known for its Rieslings and Cab Francs. But their Classique Pinot Noir showcases the variety’s potential in the Finger Lakes. A blend of grapes grown on gravelly loam atop shale from several sites on the east side of Seneca Lake, the wine is a nice mix of ripe and tart red fruit notes, mainly strawberry, wild raspberry, and spicy cherry, with touches of earth and vanilla. It rings out with acidity when first poured but settles down as it opens up. I’d love to try it with grilled full-flavored fish or a pork roast.

Price: $28
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Wagner Vineyards Pinot Noir Reserve 2022

There’s a more pronounced oak influence in this wine, which spent a year in French and American barrels. But it frames the fruit seamlessly, including the cherry, blueberry, and black plum flavors. A vanilla note emerges on the finish, all of it supported by moderate tannins. If I had one gripe about this wine, it’s the unnecessarily tall and weighty bottle clearly aimed at making a statement. In fact, the wine speaks well for itself.

Price: $30
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Nathan K. Pinot Noir 2023

Nathan Kendall, the man behind this bottle, has received a good deal of praise for his Finger Lakes wines and was Winemaker of the Year in VinePair’s 2023 Next Wave Awards. He continues the winning trend with his Pinot Noir, a high-acid wine from Seneca Lake whose tension settles a bit as the wine breathes. In fact, it really came into its own two days after I opened it as a balanced and delicious wine with black and red cherry, orange rind, and black pepper notes, demonstrating again that many Finger Lakes Pinots will benefit from and are made for aging.

Price: $32
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Lamoreaux Landing Pinot Noir 2023

Earth, mushroom, and meat announce this Pinot Noir as you breathe it in, leading to lovely spicy raspberry and blueberry notes on the nose and palate. Touches of herbs and smoke accent the fruit. It’s another wine that should age well.

Price: $28
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Six Eighty Cellars Pinot Noir 2022

If you’re into low(er) alcohol wines, this stunning Pinot Noir weighs in at just 11 percent. It offers notes of sweet red cherry, ripe raspberry, and blueberry cobbler. A spicy accent rounds out the picture. Someone I poured it for described it as “sweet.” While the wine is technically dry, it does offer lovely fruit. It comes alive with a slight chill.

Price: $34
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Standing Stone Vineyards Pinot Noir ‘County Line’ 2022

Standing Stone Vineyards, on the southeast corner of Seneca Lake, was purchased by the owners of the well-known Hermann J. Wiemer Vineyard in 2017. Standing Stone makes a range of wines, including this bright Pinot Noir that shows balance and elegance. Aromas of cranberry, violets, and wet stone lead to more red fruits on the palate and a black pepper note on the finish. Aged in larger oak barrels, the wood influence is just right.

Price: $42
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