By cork
There is an idyllic and picturesque region of New York located upstate, a far cry from the hustle and bustle of New York City, called the Finger Lakes. A patchwork of small towns sandwiched between Rochester and Syracuse, and located just south of Lake Ontario, the water source for Niagara Falls, to be there is like going back to the turn of 20th century America, similar to the setting of Thornton Wilder’s Our Town. The leaves still turn colors in the fall, but life was simpler then. From this quiet place comes a crisp, bright and fresh 2012 BILLSBORO Riesling. Medium-sweet and medium-dry with notes of apple, pear and peach, it is a sunny rendition of the grape varietal—rural in character and not serious (like the great German Rieslings), rather light on its feet but full of vibrant energy beneath its surface. This wine might as well have come from the fictional town of Pleasantville, USA, of the movies. There’s just no getting upset at the world with a glass of this in hand. And you just might find yourself in good enough cheer to say hello to your neighbor on the other side of the white picket fence, like in the old days. –J.M.
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