I voted "other" for Ohio.

OK, it's probably (definitely) not the next best place for wine besides California - in fact I am a big fan of wines from the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York but there are some surprisingly good wines produced in Ohio that get little, if any, national recognition.

The best place to check out a variety of Ohio wines is at the annual "Vintage Ohio" wine festival, held at Lake Farm Park in Kirtland (approximately a 30 minute drive East of Cleveland) each August.

They already have a basic information page posted for 2011 (event to be held August 5th-6th) which you can view HERE.

You can view the list of Ohio wineries which participated last year (along with links to their own websites) HERE.

I like the Gruet wines from New Mexico

Michigan has some of the best wines. St. Julian Winery is one of the best.

I haven't tried enough wine from enough states to deem Pennsylvania wines objectively the "best," but I've had enough luck with them so far to call them my favorite.

Two wineries in particular:

http://www.crossingvineyards.com/

http://www.sandcastlewinery.com/

And here's my BLOG!

harmonious2 wrote:I voted "other" for Ohio.

OK, it's probably (definitely) not the next best place for wine besides California - in fact I am a big fan of wines from the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York but there are some surprisingly good wines produced in Ohio that get little, if any, national recognition.

The best place to check out a variety of Ohio wines is at the annual "Vintage Ohio" wine festival, held at Lake Farm Park in Kirtland (approximately a 30 minute drive East of Cleveland) each August.

They already have a basic information page posted for 2011 (event to be held August 5th-6th) which you can view HERE.

You can view the list of Ohio wineries which participated last year (along with links to their own websites) HERE.

I agree, I have liked the Ohio wines I have tried. I also would like to add Iowa to the list of best states for wine. There's some excellent little wineries hiding among the cornfields.

Texas

Michigan (northern michigan, leelanau county)

Not many folks realize this, but the wines from North Carolina are awesome! A couple of my faves are Childress, Raylen, Shelton, and Hanover Park. Check them out.

Possibly Wisconsin. I visited stones throw winery in door county and was very pleased with it.

Washington by a length. The only other state that even comes close is Oregon (and they're hampered by the fact that they really only do 2 grapes, Spangler in Southern Oregon notwithstanding). Washington makes better merlot and syrah (and better QPR cab in many cases) than Napa. Yes folks, it's true. Columbia Valley Syrah.

I have never had a good red wine (which is really all that matters) from New York (in fact, I have nightmares about it), and Michigan is all riesling and similar sugar-hidden garbage. No thanks.

I have had a PaSsable PS from Pennsylvania (Blue Mountain), but the other wines I've had from PA and other non-west coast states have been wildly disappointing, with the occasional exception of a few Virginia reds. The vinifera reds just don't ripen, the hybrid or labrusca reds aren't really pleasant, and it's hard to find a dry white with any sort of body. I think Texas, Idaho, and NM (along with AZ) may have a future, but there's a long way to go before they're even a stone's throw from Washington and even Oregon.

PetiteSirah wrote:Washington by a length. The only other state that even comes close is Oregon (and they're hampered by the fact that they really only do 2 grapes, Spangler in Southern Oregon notwithstanding). Washington makes better merlot and syrah (and better QPR cab in many cases) than Napa. Yes folks, it's true. Columbia Valley Syrah.

I'm going to have to completely agree with you on this one. Also, as a Texas resident, the best I can say about Texas wine is that some of them are drinkable.

Virginia not getting any love?

UniqueMadness wrote:Michigan has some of the best wines. St. Julian Winery is one of the best.

I have to agree with this, but not St. Julian. At least, none of what I've personally had from them. I'd have to say Black Star Farms from the northern area is one of the best in Michigan.

PetiteSirah wrote:I have never had a good red wine (which is really all that matters) from New York (in fact, I have nightmares about it), and Michigan is all riesling and similar sugar-hidden garbage. No thanks.

You've clearly not had enough Michigan wines. I will have to correct that.

"other" - Texas

@redwinefan: It's geting better all the time... http://www.winecurmudgeon.com/my_weblog/2009/10/texas-wine-whats-right-whats-wrong-and-what-still-needs-to-be-done.html

It's certainly not the best, but I like most of what comes out of the local winery, Messina Hoff. Of course, I like what comes out of my friend's homebrew better.

PetiteSirah wrote:Washington by a length. The only other state that even comes close is Oregon (and they're hampered by the fact that they really only do 2 grapes, Spangler in Southern Oregon notwithstanding). Washington makes better merlot and syrah (and better QPR cab in many cases) than Napa. Yes folks, it's true. Columbia Valley Syrah.

I have never had a good red wine (which is really all that matters) from New York (in fact, I have nightmares about it), and Michigan is all riesling and similar sugar-hidden garbage. No thanks.

I have had a PaSsable PS from Pennsylvania (Blue Mountain), but the other wines I've had from PA and other non-west coast states have been wildly disappointing, with the occasional exception of a few Virginia reds. The vinifera reds just don't ripen, the hybrid or labrusca reds aren't really pleasant, and it's hard to find a dry white with any sort of body. I think Texas, Idaho, and NM (along with AZ) may have a future, but there's a long way to go before they're even a stone's throw from Washington and even Oregon.

Please. Red wines are not all that matter. Get a palate.

cheron98 wrote:I have to agree with this, but not St. Julian. At least, none of what I've personally had from them. I'd have to say Black Star Farms from the northern area is one of the best in Michigan.

The gewürztraminer from Peninsula Cellars is quite good.

drdogfacejoe wrote:Please. Red wines are not all that matter. Get a palate.

Oh trust me, he's got a palate. Quite a good one. He just prefers reds, and there's nothing wrong with that

There's definitely people who'll say "Whites are all that matter" and it's not because they don't have a palate, it's because they just prefer them. One does not have to like every type of wine out there to be considered having a good palate.

There are also those who would flame you simply for the fact that you have no woot purchases and you are accusing one of the long-standing, well-known members of the wine.woot community of not having a palate.

drdogfacejoe wrote:The gewürztraminer from Peninsula Cellars is quite good.

I have not had the pleasure of trying that one - I shall have to put it on the list!

drdogfacejoe wrote:Please. Red wines are not all that matter. Get a palate.

Ok, Mr. White Square, 0 quality posts -- I'll follow your sterling example, lots of purchases, and years of interaction on the forums. At this point, I think my palate and experience on here speak for themselves -- and more importantly, so do yours.

I never said that reds are all that matter (in fact, I criticized the dry whites for being flabby or thin without sufficient depth of flavor) and the sweet whites for using residual sugar to cloak all sorts of flaws. And many California whites aren't exactly inspired either.

Washington does make some decent dry rieslings (Charles Smith's), and Washington is starting to make some nice albariño as well.

I think there's also much more of a challenge to making red wine than there is to making white -- residual sweetness is much more noticed and less part of the style (which makes it easier to cover flaws with palate-pleasing sugar), and you don't even have to worry about tannin management (from skin contact to taming the tannins with oak and aging). You're adding another variable, and perhaps the most difficult one, and it's just not there in white wine.

cheron98 wrote:You've clearly not had enough Michigan wines. I will have to correct that.

Any fortified red or or dry unfortified white, I'm willing to try.

PetiteSirah wrote:Any fortified red or or dry unfortified white, I'm willing to try.

You're on Next time you come over, there will be Michigan Whites Aplenty

Llano Wines of Texas should be tried and savored - I think you will be immensely pleased!

grundle626 wrote:Virginia not getting any love?

Virginia totally needs more love! Viognier, Petit Verdot, and Cab Franc especially....yummmmmmmm

dontneedausername wrote:Virginia totally needs more love! Viognier, Petit Verdot, and Cab Franc especially....yummmmmmmm

VA Viognier is pretty nice, quality wise (especially Valhalla and Chrysalis). The problem is that the price is still way too high, especially for a white from a still-emerging wine region.

I haven't had many PV from VA, but there's some potential. The Franc is probably the most successful there, out of all the vinifera grapes. (I will probably never like Norton, but Chambourcin is pretty good). The problem with VA is that like France, and unlike California, there will be a lot of vintage variation because the summers and harvests won't be dry, and there will be a much more variable amount of rain and humidity. Add to that that most of the VA vineyards aren't coastal, and there's a lot of potential for raisining before the tannins ripen.

Australia!

(*What... haven't we annexed them yet?*)

PetiteSirah wrote:VA Viognier is pretty nice, quality wise (especially Valhalla and Chrysalis). The problem is that the price is still way too high, especially for a white from a still-emerging wine region.

I haven't had many PV from VA, but there's some potential. The Franc is probably the most successful there, out of all the vinifera grapes. (I will probably never like Norton, but Chambourcin is pretty good). The problem with VA is that like France, and unlike California, there will be a lot of vintage variation because the summers and harvests won't be dry, and there will be a much more variable amount of rain and humidity. Add to that that most of the VA vineyards aren't coastal, and there's a lot of potential for raisining before the tannins ripen.

You'll have to come back down, and we can have a Viognier and PV tasting. I've found some very nice ones from the Charlottesville area. Yes, the QPR is not great - as we have both discussed at prior get-togethers. But I think the wineries here are really getting their arms around the grapes that are great for Virginia - not just growing the French varietals that every other dog tries to grow (and fails at growing).

I will be completely provocative and say that the praise of American wines outside California reminds me of nothing so much as Samuel Johnson's comment to Boswell about a woman preaching: "Sir, a woman's preaching is like a dog's walking on his hind legs. It is not done well; but you are surprised to find it done at all."

My sense is that praising the wines of one region or state over another is generally mere braggadocio - in truth, the wines speak for themselves far more directly and eloquently than ever we can.

rpm wrote:My sense is that praising the wines of one region or state over another is generally mere braggadocio - it truth, the wines speak for themselves far more directly and eloquently than ever we can.

Spoilsport.

The issue here is that in some sense all wine is local. I'm sure there are decent to excellent producers in many states. But the wine never leaves the state's borders.

To be 'best' folks need to try the wine. WA, OR and NY seem to make decent quantities. Are there any other states that actually produce enough wine to share? If a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it, does it make a sound?

gcdyersb wrote:The issue here is that in some sense all wine is local. I'm sure there are decent to excellent producers in many states. But the wine never leaves the state's borders.

To be 'best' folks need to try the wine. WA, OR and NY seem to make decent quantities. Are there any other states that actually produce enough wine to share? If a tree falls in the forest and no one hears it, does it make a sound?

With 50 or so wineries, Niagara does have enough wine to do it, but the export business across the border (closer than to Toronto!) is so difficult to get anything done. So yes, I agree the locals have it.

One of the most awarded wineries in the country outside of California is Frogtown Cellars. Georgia !!
I am a big fan of Washington state wines as well.

PetiteSirah wrote:Washington by a length. The only other state that even comes close is Oregon (and they're hampered by the fact that they really only do 2 grapes, Spangler in Southern Oregon notwithstanding). Washington makes better merlot and syrah (and better QPR cab in many cases) than Napa. Yes folks, it's true. Columbia Valley Syrah.

I have never had a good red wine (which is really all that matters) from New York (in fact, I have nightmares about it), and Michigan is all riesling and similar sugar-hidden garbage. No thanks.

I have had a PaSsable PS from Pennsylvania (Blue Mountain), but the other wines I've had from PA and other non-west coast states have been wildly disappointing, with the occasional exception of a few Virginia reds. The vinifera reds just don't ripen, the hybrid or labrusca reds aren't really pleasant, and it's hard to find a dry white with any sort of body. I think Texas, Idaho, and NM (along with AZ) may have a future, but there's a long way to go before they're even a stone's throw from Washington and even Oregon.

As a Washington native I will have to agree. I love that you mentioned spangler, which we stumbled upon on a trip north from cali. They had some awesome wines. That's umpqua valley right?