The Finger Lakes, Day 2: The Old Guard Learns New Tricks
Some of the Finger Lakes’ most seasoned veterans are also on the cutting edge
By James Molesworth
Posted to Wine Spectator: Nov 23, 2009 10:12am ET
(Full article available at http://www.winespectator.com/blogs/show/id/41280)

While the three places I visited today were all located near each other along the eastern side of Seneca Lake, I didn’t realize how interwoven they are, both to each other as well as to the fabric of the Finger Lakes wine industry itself. Phil Davis, 57, and Lou Damiani, 52, are lifelong friends, each with 30-plus years experience in Finger Lakes agriculture. Their respective family farms now supply the grapes for Damiani Wine Cellars.

Rob Thomas, 54, considers Davis his mentor, even though his own tenure in the area also dates back to the early 1980s, when he ran a farm for the Taylor Wine Company before moving on to Rolling Vineyards (the winery that pre-dated Atwater Estate) followed by Chateau Lafayette Reneau and then helping to start Lamoreaux Landing in the early 1990s. All the while, Thomas was squirreling away enough money to get his own place. He now owns and runs Shalestone, an all-red wine winery producing just 1,500 cases a year.

And then there’s Sam Argetsinger, 58, a part-Iroquois local, who spent 40 years in the woods as a logger before realizing he was destined to extend the grapegrowing tradition on his family farm, a property that has grown grapes since the late 19th century.

All are members of the generation that could be excused from joining the quality push, having come of age in the Finger Lakes when quantity reigned over quality. Yet all have seen the future that vinifera brings. And rather than shy away from vinifera’s related qualitative requirement of low yields, they’ve embraced it.

Davis, Damiani, Thomas and Argetsinger are a treasure trove of experience and information. A quartet of 50-plus-year-olds, this group has plenty of new tricks to teach others. Quietly, they’re helping to bridge the gap that has existed here between grower and winemaker, pushing winemakers to produce better wines while pulling growers to farm better grapes.

Atwater Estate has Vinny from Queens. Damiani Wine Cellars has Lou from Brooklyn. Lou Damiani moved to the area as a young child with his family in the early 1960s, and has been in the fruit and grapegrowing business since the 1970s. Winemaking was a natural extension.

“It’s pretty much developed into an obsessive passion,” said Damiani, whose first commercial vintage with his own label was 2003. Located in a small two-story white house right on Route 414, just south of Tichenor Road, Damiani and his lifelong friend and fellow grapegrower Phil Davis are focusing primarily on reds, a decision that puts them in the minority in the Finger Lakes, where Riesling has risen to prominence.

“Because that’s our palate and we’re two pretty stubborn guys,” said Lou, who talks in an almost perpetual half laugh. “We want to prove we can make reds up here. I like Riesling, but I think it’s been pushed too much, frankly, in terms of the other grapes that are grown here.”

“You’ve got to have an ideal spot for reds though,” said Davis, who mostly plays the straight man to Damiani’s constantly bubbling persona, though he has a quick, dry wit that flashes at times. “We’re so on the edge climate-wise for reds, it’s got to be the right spot,” he said.
Photograph of Davis fruit stand by James Molesworth

Grapegrower Phil Davis’ family has been growing fruit and grapes in the area for six generations.

Both talk fondly of the Finger Lakes’ pastoral history, when grapegrowing was easy as the big wine companies provided a pressure-free selling environment. But both have embraced the new challenge of growing and making wines themselves, with an emphasis on quality. Davis talks about nearby fields that were particularly good for sledding as a child, before they were eventually planted to orchards, grapes or other crops.

Today, Damiani’s 10 acres and Davis’ 6 acres of vines form the backbone for the winery’s 4,500-case production, which focuses on Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot, along with Pinot Noir, a new Syrah as well as small amounts of Riesling, Pinot Gris and Sauvignon Blanc. But the duo still buy in grapes for about half the production, a fairly common practice in the area, which is still developing its vineyard base.

“The glacial till has left so many pockets of differing soils, so there are certain sites that produce stuff you just can’t get from your own estate,” said Davis, as we walk down the steep slopes of one of their parcels. (See the accompanying video.)

But to ensure quality, Davis and Damiani try to dictate as much of the viticulture as they can with their growers, sometimes buying by the acre rather than ton. It’s an approach that’s in the minority, but growing, as the amount of vinifera grapes has risen steadily, forcing growers to compete on quality as demand only inches up.

“Plus, we’re still young in terms of the business, so it’s taken a while for us to establish credibility with the growers,” said Davis. “But growers are definitely starting to understand it’s a way to establish a relationship with someone that will be there year in and year out.”

As with other small, vinifera-focused wineries in the region, Damiani is seeing a new customer base coming through the tasting room.

“Our customers are generally young people who seem to really care about what they’re eating and drinking and where it comes from,” said Damiani.
Photograph of Damiani grapes by James Molesworth

Though there’s the occasional hiccup, the lineup at Damiani is more consistent than not, with the reds showing nice dark fruit flavors and good tannic spines, without being overly leafy or crisp, as many Finger Lake reds are. The Riesling, sourced from Argetsinger fruit, is dry and nervy in style. A new Syrah (just 20 cases to start) is Damiani’s and Davis’ new pride and joy. It’s peppery and lively, though lacking the flesh and depth of the Bordeaux varietals produced here. But it’s part of the fun mix at Damiani, where experimentation is actually being fueled (rather than stifled) by experience.