A Finger Lakes winery that specializes in German-style wines was the big winner in this year’s New York Wine Classic, the biggest annual competition for New York state wineries.
Weis Vineyards, on the east shore of Keuka Lake north of Hammondsport, was named the Winery of the Year for 2024. Its 2018 Riesling Ice Wine won the 2024 Governor’s Cup as the wine of the year.
Winners of the annual competition were announced today by the office of Gov. Kathy Hochul following Wednesday’s awards event hosted by the New York Wine & Grape Foundation.
The Governor’s Cup is the competition’s top award, recognizing the “Best of Show.” Winery of the Year goes to the winery with the best overall showing based on the level and number of awards.
In all, the New York Classic awarded top honors in six different wine categories, and handed out 2 Platinum, 190 Gold, 397 Silver, and 116 Bronze medals is various categories. The competition had 715 entries from 92 wineries from across the state.
Weis Vineyards was founded by winemaker Han Peter Weis, a native of the Mosel wine region in Germany. It produced its first vintage in 2016. Weis said he chose the location on Keuka Lake because the climate and soils there reminded him of the Mosel region in western Germany.
In addition to the two top honors, Weis Vineyards took home 10 total medals, including gold medals for four of its Rieslings.
These are the wines named the best in each category for 2024:
Best Sparkling | Damiani Wine Cellars 2017 Brut Méthode Champenoise, Finger Lakes
Best White Wine | Dr. Konstantin Frank 2022 Reserve, Riesling, Finger Lakes
Best Pink Wine | Fulkerson 2023 Estate Rosé, Syrah, Seneca Lake, Finger Lakes
Best Red Wine | Raphael 2019 Reserve, Cabernet Franc, North Fork, Long Island
Best Dessert Wine | Weis Vineyard 2018 Ice Wine, Riesling, Finger Lakes
Best Specialty Wine | Earle Estates Apple Enchantment Semi-Sweet Apple Wine, Finger Lakes
· See the list of all medal winners in the 2024 New York Classic.
· More on New York wines and wineries.
The Weis VIneyards tasting room is on the shore of Keuka Lake. (Weis Vineyards)SYR
Don Cazentre writes for NYup.com, syracuse.com and The Post-Standard. Reach him at dcazentre@nyup.com, or follow him at NYup.com, on Twitter or Facebook.