Ask almost any wine professional who understands the full picture of America’s wine and wine regions, and they’ll all say that New York State is home to the best Riesling in the country. You could argue that New York State is one of the best regions in the world for Riesling, and if you did want to argue that, a recent VinePair list of The 30 Best Rieslings for 2026 could be used as supporting evidence.
New York’s Eye-Opening Riesling
Chosen from producers that voluntarily submitted bottles to VinePair for consideration, 12 of the 30 bottles on the global list are from New York. Ten are from the Finger Lakes, and one each is from Lake Erie and Long Island.
Keith Beavers, VinePair’s tasting director, compiled the list. He admits that during his early days of wine drinking, he found Riesling a challenging wine. When he began working for VinePair many years ago, he found himself more open to the wine.
“It was New York Riesling that opened my eyes,” says Beavers. “It has a frame. It’s like a house. It has stuff inside that has air and acidity. It has structure and depth and character.”
Beavers attributes this, in part, to the winemakers who “have such a close relationship with their vines that they understand that they have a special spot in the vineyard” for Riesling. As an example, he cites Apollo’s Praise The Knoll Dry Riesling, which he included in the VinePair list, that’s grown on a small, sandstone hill in the vineyard, “that produces particularly concentrated wine.”
“What’s really great about the New York Rieslings I’ve tried, they’re all very individual,” says Beavers.
He’s not the only wine professional singing the Empire State’s Rieslings’ praises. Nancy Sabatini, wine manager and wine educator at Binny’s Beverage Depot in the Chicago suburb of Willowbrook, IL, says a visit to the Finger Lakes in 2024 “cemented the idea that this is an amazing place for wine,” including Riesling.
Her store carries several of the Rieslings mentioned in the article, but Sabatini believes that Finger Lakes Rieslings are still under the radar to most people in Chicago, but sommeliers are working to change that.
“I know many sommeliers and retailers try to lead guests to experience these quality-driven, versatile, food-loving wines,” she says.
We spoke with five winemakers of those “versatile, food-loving wines,” whose Rieslings made the VinePair list, to get a picture of what’s going on in the state.
Fox Run’s “Vintage after Vintage” Well-Made Riesling
In the VinePair list, Fox Run Vineyards 2023 Lake Dana Riesling received this accolade: “Vintage after vintage, Fox Run proves that Riesling belongs in the Finger Lakes.”
Scott Osborn, president and co-owner of Fox Run, says that Lake Dana Riesling is grown in a vineyard that 12,000 years ago was underwater. That body was given the name Lake Dana, and it’s estimated that it took 1,000 years for its water to drain out into Seneca Lake. The soil left there is sand and clay. The Riesling grown in those soils is turned into Fox Run’s sweetest Riesling that comes in about 4% residual sugar with balanced acids and sugars that create a “beautiful deliciousness,” according to Osborn.
Fox Run produces this sweeter style of Riesling because customers request it.
“One should listen to your customer,” says Osborn, but that doesn’t mean Fox Run doesn’t give customers a chance to see all a well-made sweeter wine can do.
“We do a food and wine experience, and in some of our dinners we will match one of our Rieslings, it tends to be Lake Dana, with red meat,” he says, a pairing sweet wine drinkers don’t always anticipate working.
As for being on the VinePair list, Osborne says, “It proves that we are a wonderful producer of Riesling. It shows that my winemaking team is doing the right thing. My vineyard management team is doing the right thing to bring in the grapes…to make styles of this quality.”
Johnson Estate’s “Classic Example” of Lake Erie Style
On the western side of New York, Johnson Estate Winery grows the grapes for its 2023 Sweet Riesling, which VinePair calls a “classic example of the Lake Erie style,” on a “little patch where the hills are highest and closest to the lake,” according to winemaker Jeff Murphy.
Johnson Estate crafts four different Rieslings from bone dry to this sweet version, but as VinePair noted, “the bright acidity ensures the sweetness is never overwhelming.”
That’s a testament to the winemaking skills gained over the years—the winery opened in 1961 with New York Farm Winery license No. 2—including Murphy’s 25 years as its winemaker. It’s also a testament to the Lake Erie region.
“This area can grow the best wines; it’s just about getting the word out,” says Murphy. Recognition, such as being on VinePair’s list, helps get that word out.
“It’s just one more brick in the edifice that says we have an ideal Germanic microclimate for growing all sorts of things,” he says, noting that the region makes Riesling just as good as other well-known global regions.
Jett Kolarik, sommelier and wine consultant in Atlanta, has that same mindset when it comes to New York Riesling.
“It’s so beautifully similar to wine you’ll find in Germany along the Rhine in Mosel, but it’s actually accessible to people in the States,” they say.
Wagner Vineyards “Quintessential Finger Lakes Riesling”
In Atlanta, Kolarik notes, there’s a lot of interest in New York Riesling, even with those unfamiliar with it. “Lots of folks who have trusted me throughout my wine career here know my palate and my passion and are excited to add the Finger Lakes to their trip rotation,” they say.
Another person Kolarik has convinced is their mom, who finally got into white wine because of the whites from Wagner Vineyards. Wagner’s 2022 Semi-Dry Riesling is on the VinePair list, and it’s dubbed the “quintessential Finger Lakes Riesling.” John Wagner, owner of the winery, believes inclusion on the list gives wine drinkers “the confidence” and “a little nudge” to give the wine a try.
“It was a gorgeous growing season for us,” says Wagner. Grapes from a combination of Wagner’s 60 acres of Riesling blocks went into the 2022 Semi-Dry.
“That brought some nice complexity and some beautiful ripe fruit coming in,” he says, and that allowed them to achieve the balance they strive for in the wine.
“It appeals to so many different palates because of the balance. It’s not overly sweet at all. If I’m going to a dinner party and I don’t know what people like, I often take the Semi-Dry Riesling because I know dry wine drinkers will like it,” Wagner says.
Three Brothers Highlights “the Finger Lakes’ Status as a Premier Cool-Climate Zone”
Three Brothers Wineries and Estates 2024 Riesling Clone #110 creates smooth flavors in the finished wine because of the specific clone selection.
“Clone 110 has a lot of strawberry and raspberry profile in the back palate. The front palate has a lot of peach and mango, so it’s a really tropical style,” says winemaker Aaron Roisen, who also happens to be mayor of the village of Ovid.
VinePair gave the wine 95 points, and Roisen says it’s had a really nice reception from other wine writers, too.
“It has a lot of complexities if you give it some time,” he says, “and it’s complementary to the region’s Rieslings. I don’t think it’s better than anybody else’s, but it adds to the overall expression of what we can do in the region.”
“It ripples across the palate like a smooth stone across the water. It skips and skips and skips and skips,” Roison says of the wine’s profile, keeping the drinker interested to find out when the stone sinks, quite possibly one reason why VinePair mentioned this wine “highlights the Finger Lakes’ status as a cool-climate zone.”
Wölffer Estate Vineyard’s Shows Long Island Can do Riesling with Age
The Grapes of Roth is the personal label of Wölffer Estate’s winemaker, Roman Roth, and Roth’s 2021 Grapes of Roth Virgin Berry Riesling comes from 100% Long Island fruit, although it’s not grown in Wölffer’s vineyards.
“In Long Island, the acidity goes lower [than the Finger Lakes] so I can get this lovely balance,” says Roth. This allows him to let the fruit ripen later into the season.
To make this wine, Roth went dry with the fermentation, then blended some of his Sweet Reserve Riesling to find the “sweet spot where it’s not too sweet.”
His goal for the wine, first and foremost, is to be food-friendly. His second goal is to be “authentic, like it tastes like grapes grown on Long Island,” he says. And his third goal is longevity, noting that the 2007 vintage of the wine is drinking “beautifully right now.”
“I am very proud of the quality of this Riesling,” says Roth, and he’s also pleased that there’s a photo of his mother on the label, calling it a “nice touch.”
“Sometimes people think only the Finger Lakes make good Riesling, but Long Island is well-suited for Riesling,” he says.
Roth sees the VinePair piece’s inclusion of his Riesling, along with others from the state, as one of the milestones for New York wine, part of the recent recognition the state is getting from wine professionals, including Beavers.
“Wölffer and others are showing that Riesling is also a possibility [in Long Island],” Beavers says, noting that whether it’s made in Long Island or another part of New York, “when a Riesling hits, it hits.” Recognition that New York Riesling has been hitting for quite some time now, and that knowledge is finally reaching many thirsty wine enthusiasts outside the state.
