Hosmer Winery Receives honors of “Double Gold” and
“Highly Recommended”
Ovid N.Y. Friday, August 25, 2010–The 2010 N.Y Wine & Food Classic results are in and Hosmer has struck gold once again, actually double gold! Hosmer Winery received news this week of being awarded Double Gold for our Chardonnay and Cabernet Franc, both from the 2008 vintage. In total, nine medals were earned at this prestigious competition, often considered to be the equivalent to the “Oscars” of the wine industry.
The “Highly Recommended” award, also considered a Silver medal with a score of “86”, came from the Beverage Testing Institute (BTI) at their World Wine Championships for the 2008 Cabernet Franc. Hosmer winery is a highly regarded producer of Cabernet Franc and is known for setting the benchmark for Finger Lakes Cabernet Francs. This recent recognition adds to the list of accolades previously earned from the BTI in 2010 including the following:
“90” – Exceptional & BEST BUY – 2008 Dry RieslingHosmer has been growing wine grapes along Route 89 on the west shore of Cayuga Lake since 1972; established in 1985 the winery is now celebrating twenty five years of premium wine making. The winery tasting room features unique gift items as well as light food items and a selection of wines sure to please every taste. Open daily; the friendly atmosphere brings in thousands of visitors each year who always leave with a memorable experience. Hosmer wines are also available in liquor store and fine restaurants throughout New York State. Contact us for special events, hours or ordering information, at 888-HOS-WINE or visit our website at hosmerwinery.com
“88” – Highly Recommended & BEST BUY – 2008 Riesling
“87” – Highly Recommended – 2008 Pinot Gris
“84” – Recommended – 2008 Chardonnay
Hosmer Winery 2008 Dry Riesling
By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor, New York Cork Reportz
The tasting room isn't fancy and sure, I wish more of their wines were closed with natural cork (to see how they cellar) but for my money, Hosmer Winery offers some of the best value vinifera wines in the Finger Lakes. This dry riesling is no exception -- in fact, it's one of the best examples.
Hosmer Winery 2008 Dry Riesling ($12), made with grapes grown in the oldest section of their vineyard, planted almost 30 years ago, is very apple-y on the nose with hints of tropical fruit, fresh herbs and lime.
The palate is fruity and forward, showing more apple and some melon fruit character with a squirt of lime and a sprinkling of lemon zest. It's dry (.7%) with nice balance, but not austere or harsh.
The finish isn't super-long, but for $12 you can do far far worse -- not just in the Finger Lakes, but the world over. The Finger Lakes needs more quality riesling at this price point.
Buy our Hosmer 2008 Dry Riesling
Producer: Hosmer Winery
AVA: Cayuga Lake
Price: $12
ABV: 12.5%
RS: .7%
Rating: 85
News From The Tasting Room:
The Results are In!
The official results for the 2010 New York State Fair Commercial Wine Competition have been released and Hosmer wines have recieved a number of acknowledgements. Our brand new Dry Rose' recieved a bronze medal (in it's first competition, no less), our 2008 Cayuga White a silver and the Carousel Blush a gold. However our crowning achievement for this competition is that Raspberry Rhapsody took home a Best in Category award for Specialty Wines!
AND!
Tastings.com, the official website of the Beverage Testing Institute, has released a new set of ratings for a handful of Hosmer wines. The 2008 Dry Riesling scored an Exceptional rating at 90 points, the 2008 Semi-Dry Riesling a Highly Recommended 88 points, the 2008 Pinot Gris also recieved a Higly Recommended at 87 points and finally the 2008 Chardonnay is Recommended with a score of 84 points!
Come on over to check out these and the rest of our wine list for yourselves and tell us what YOU think!
From The Vineyard:Our Season as it Happens
June 2010
Saving Buds and Killing Weeds With The Grape-hoe Stay tuned for our next vineyard update.... Hosmer Winery - A Lake Friendly Farm Hosmer Winery and the other recipients of this award; Long Point Winery, Canoga Creek Farm and Switzer Farm are all located within the Cayuga Lake Watershed area - where agriculture is very important to the community culturally, economically and ecologically. Rhonda Fessenden, Chair of the award committee of the Cayuga Lake Watershed commented on the recipients saying, "We are particularly pleased to be able to honor two wineries in this year's award as they are the first since the award was started in 2006." Cameron Hosmer is also very pleased to have Hosmer Winery selected for this award, stating, "Here at Hosmer, we focus strongly on preserving and protecting our local water resources and it is an honor to receive recognition as one of the first wineries to win this Lake-Friendly Award."
In cool climate viticulture areas such as the Finger Lakes a common practice is the covering of grapevine graft-union bud-sites at the bottom of the vine with a mound of soil to protect those fragile vinifera buds from our low winter temperatures. This mound of earth is plowed over the vine bases after harvest and removed in the spring and early summer. Protecting bud-sites at the base of the vine is essential to vineyard health, yield and thus wine quality. An added bonus of grape-hoeing is vineyard floor weed control early in the growing season during the plow-down of the earthen mound. This helps us to reduce the use of dangerous herbicides and protect our farm soils and Finger Lake ecosystems. 
Cayuga Lake Watershed Network dubs Hosmer a "Lake-Friendly Farm"
Hosmer Winery was one of four farms from the three counties of Cayuga, Seneca and Tompkins to be selected for the 2008 Lake- Friendly Farm Award. Farmers receive this special award when they incorporate practices that conserve and protect their local water resources. Lake-friendly farming can include tree planting along streams, conservation of wetlands and manure handling practices.
Sustainability a Focus at Hosmer Winery
When Hosmer Winery first got started in 1972, being a good caretaker of the land was a focus. Today when good land stewardship, sustainability and ecological awareness is a concern to more than just the agricultural producers; Hosmer Winery continues to be a leader in environmentally friendly wine production.
Recognized environmental practices at Hosmer Winery which are considered to be important include:
- Completion of Agricultural Environmental Management (AEM) survey which is a complete assessment of our agricultural practices and its environmental impact.
- Awarded "Lake Friendly Farm" for our current conservation efforts.
- Hosmer Winery received a National Conservation Stewardship Award for past conservation practices and implementing new ones.
- We are networking with Cornell University?s weather monitoring system with our own on site weather station to use state of the art pest and disease forecasting models.
Future new developments that are of interest to Hosmer Winery include:
- The use of eco-friendly light weight glass packaging.
- Biofuel has just recently become available and we are planning to experiment with it in our vineyard equipment this summer.
Here at Hosmer Winery, we?re in it for the long run and realize we need to take care of our most important resources being soil and water.
Cameron Hosmer
News From The Tasting Room:
November 2009
Hosmer Riesling Receives Recognition at Canberra International Riesling Challenge
"85" Rating 2008 Riesling!
Wine Spectator, November 2009 - 85 Hosmer Riesling 2008 - "Very forward, with almost soft flattering apple, anise and lime candy notes. This has good weight and length. Drink now. 1300 cases made" -J.M
Purchase the 2008 Hosmer Riesling here
October 2009
Wine Tasting Tips from the Finger Lakes Wine Country
1. The Five Tips to a Successful Tasting
See examine the wines color
Smell the bouquet of the wine
Sip the wine and swish all the way around your mouth
Spit or swallow you tasting
Savor all the mouthwatering flavors
2. Please bring your ID with you. Our staff are instructed to check your identification if you appear 30 years old or younger.
3. Plan to include a lunch break during your wine tasting day. Visit one of the several restaurants along the wine trail or pack a picnic.
4. If you are traveling in a group of 15 or more, please call ahead to schedule your visits with each winery.
5. Many tasting rooms supply crackers, popcorn or water on the tasting bar and it is a great idea to use these items to cleanse your palate between tastings. The crackers and popcorn are a tool to enhance your tasting experience and are not intended to be eaten as a snack.
6. Avoid chewing gum or wearing heavy scents. Gum will distort the flavor of the wines for you and heavy scents will distort the bouquet of wines for others.
7. Hours at each winery vary so you should call ahead or visit winery websites.
Looking for Hosmer Wine in your neighborhood?
Click here for a list of liquor stores, hotels and restaurants where you can find our wines.
The Wine Enthusiast Buying Guide
"86" rating for Hosmer Winery 2007 Chardonnay
"This Chardonnay balances fresh and lush flavors, offering a toasty spice and apple nose and flavors of creamy vanilla toast and apple, peach and warming spice. Approachable but discplaying some complexity. A friendly everyday white."-S.K.
"85" rating for Hosmer Winery 2007 Cabarnet Franc
"This buoyant red starts with red berry and spice aromas, leading into a balanced, pleasant array of red berry, black cherry and cedar on the palate. Friendly adn expressive, it's quaffable wine for a myriad occasions."-S.K.
New York Wine & Food Classic, August 2009
Gold: 2008 Dry Riesling
Gold: 2008 Seyval
Silver: 2007 Chardonnay
Silver: 2007 Vintner's Reserve Riesling
Silver: 2008 Cayuga White
Silver: 2007 Cabernet Franc
Silver: Carousel
Hosmer Winery selected to attend the 4th Annual Riesling Summit in New York City at Astor Wine Center.
Cameron Hosmer presented the 2007 Vintner's Reserve Riesling in a comparative tasting seminar with wines from other key Riesling producing regions including Germany, Alsace, Australia and Washington State. This formal tasting was attended by some of New York's most devoted Riesling fans and coordinated by the International Riesling Foundation's President, May Ewing Mulligan. This prestigous event featured some of the world's most renowned Riesling producers and our Vintner's Reserve was selected as a showcase example of medium sweet styled Riesling, based on the International Riesling Foundation's newly created taste profile. Cameron Hosmer commented, "It was a real honor to have our wine selected to be poured with other world class Rieslings!"
Food Friendly Finger Lakes New York Rieslings: Ken's Wine Guide blog selects Hosmer Winery 2007 Dry Riesling
March 11, 2009Hosmer Winery 2007 Riesling from http://lennthompson.typepad.com/lenndevours/
Is there anything better than driving through wine country, stopping off at a winery that you hadn't planned to visit, and discovering a gem? It's one of the wine world's great joys and it happened to me and Nena on our last day in the Finger Lakes a few weeks ago.
As we drove up the western side of Cayuga Lake, we spotted a sign for Hosmer Winery. The winery we had planned to visit wasn't open yet, so we stopped in at Hosmer... and we're glad that we did. The wines impressed almost across the board. This was one of the wines that we liked best, so we bought a few bottles and I included one in my weekly tasting on Sunday.
In my experience, Cayuga rieslings are richer in their fruit profile and less minerally than those grown on Seneca or Keuka Lakes. This Hosmer Winery 2007 Riesling ($12) is a great example of that. The nose is ripe with big peach, candied lemon peel, overripe pear and somewhat tropical aromas most prominent with subtle floral-herbal and pencil eraser notes.
This is a medium-light bodied riesling with intense peach, melon and candied, almost honeyed citrus flavors. The mid-palate is fruity, round, lightly sweet and the finish is medium-long with a gentle dryness brought about by well-balanced, well integrated acidity.
And for $12? I wish more wineries brought this sort of quality at that price point. This is a killer value.
Producer: Hosmer Winery
AVA: Cayuga Lake
Price: $12
ABV: 11.2%
RS: 2.5%
Rating:(3 out of 5 | Recommended) March 11, 2009 in Finger Lakes Wine, Lenn Thompson, Tasting Notes | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0) ShareThis
SEARCH BEGINS IN CANBERRA FOR WORLD'S BEST RIESLING...results include two Hosmer Rieslings recognized as Top 10 USA Rieslings!
Hosmer Rieslings recognized as among the top ten Rieslings produced in the USA!!
Ovid N.Y., Tuesday, October 21, 2008 - Hosmer Winery is proud to announce that our 2007 Riesling and 2007 Vintner's Reserve Riesling were recognized as two of the top ten Rieslings produced in the USA at the eighth Annual Canberra International Riesling Challenge, held in Australia from October 14 -18, 2008.
"Having two wines acknowledged as among the ten best produced in the entire country is an incredible honor and reinforces the fact that the quality of our Riesling, and those of the entire Finger Lakes Region has been unrecognized and underestimated" said Cameron Hosmer, owner of the premium wine producing Hosmer Winery.� The 2007 Riesling was in the national spotlight earlier this month when USA Today featured it in an article entitled, Riesling would like your attention, please. It has been a fantastic year for Hosmer Riesling, having received numerous silver, gold and double gold medals at 2008 competitions, including being acknowledged as the �Best Semi-Dry Riesling� at the NY Wine and Food Classic in August. "Cameron provides me with the best grapes possible and starting with great grapes is essential to creating world class wines." adds Aaron Roisen, Wine Maker at Hosmer.
The purpose of the Hyatt National Riesling Challenge is to develop the profile, quality, and innovation in winemaking of Riesling wine styles and promote them to the world. Judges are selected from winemakers, wine merchants and media, in Australia and internationally.� 2008 eclipsed all previous records with 512 entries from six countries. 2008 also introduced the judging of wines by region.
"Best Riesling"
Hosmer Winery's 2007 semi-sweet Riesling has been awarded the title: "Best Riesling" by the 2008 N.Y Wine & Food Classic Competition. The 2007 Riesling has been doing fantastic all summer -taking�in five gold medals from various competitions nationwide as well as�one Double Gold from the Golden Nose Awards in Watkins Glen, New York.�To receive�yet another award for this 2007 vintage is very exciting and we are eager to see the results from the rest of the N.Y Wine & Food Classic competition.
Hosmer 2007 Riesling made the "wine list" in USA Today on Friday, October 10, 2008
The Food and Wine section ran an article entitled "Riesling would like your attention, please" and our 2007 Riesling was listed with one other Finger Lakes�Riesling, as well as�eleven other US wines.
Hosmer Rieslings Continue High Ratings Streak
Ovid, N.Y Thursday, August 21, 2008 - The prestigious Wine Spectator magazine has honored Hosmer Rieslings with high ratings throughout the years and this years 2007 vintages are no different.
The Wine Spectator rated the 2007 Semi-Sweet Riesling an "86" and gave the 2007 Dry Riesling an "85" - both of which can be found in the most recent September 30, 2008 issue of the WS Buying Guide. Ratings reflect how highly the editors of WS regard the wines that are being tasted. An 80-84 rating translates to: "Good - a solid well-made wine" while an 85-89 rating translates to: "Very Good - a wine with special qualities."
We had a very nice comment in an August wine blog. Check it out!
Just click here
Hosmer Rieslings are Golden this Summer!
Recent Competition Wins are making this Summer 2008 an exciting one!
Ovid N.Y. Tuesday, August 12, 2008 - A recent fax to Hosmer Winery showed that our Rieslings are doing excellent this summer, bringing in two more Gold medals! The Fourth Atlantic SeaBoard Wine Competition awarded Hosmer a Gold for the 2007 Vintner's Reserve Riesling and another Gold for the semi-sweet 2007 Riesling.
This brings the grand total of Gold medal wins to 5 for the 2007 Riesling; including one Double Gold, which was recieved from the 2008 Gold Nose Awards. The 2007 Vintner's Reserve Riesling is now up to two Gold medals- one of which was a Double Gold recieved from the 2008 New York�State Fair Commerical Wine Competition. The recent wins and anticipation of the upcoming 2007 wine vintages have�created an exhilarating atmosphere here�at Hosmer and we are looking forward to see what the rest of the summer has in store for us!
A complete list of our recent competition wins from the 2008 Fourth Atlantic SeaBoard Wine Competition can be found below:
Gold: 2007 Vintners Reserve Riesling
Gold: 2007 Riesling
Silver: 2006 Pinot Noir
Silver: 2006 Lemberger
Bronze: 2006 Cabernet Franc
Hosmer Starts the Summer Right!
June 25, 2008 - Over the past few months, Hosmer Winery has recieved many award winning medals from competitions across the United States and the month of June was no different! The 2008 New York State Fair Commercial Wine Competition brought in even more gold medals for Hosmer!
Hosmer's Rieslings continue to stand out as the anticipated 2007 Vintners Reserve earned a Double Gold and the 2007 Semi-Sweet Riesling recieved another Gold medal bringing the '07 Riesling to a total of 3 Gold Medlas and one Double Gold! Hosmer was also excited to recieve a Gold for their Cabernet Franc - a traditionally blended dry oak-aged red wine that holds a sweet plumy core and a smooth yet gripping finish and supple tannins.
Other wins that Hosmer recieved from the NYS Fair Competition were:
Silver: Champagne
Silver: 2006 Lemberger
Silver: 2007 Dry Riesling
Hosmer Winery Shines Again
June 3 2008 - The month of May came to a sweet end as Hosmer Winery recieved numerous medals from wine competitions such as the Golden Nose and The International Tasters Guild.
The 2007 Semi-Sweet Riesling continued to excel as it recieved a Double Gold from the Taster's Guild. Hosmer's new wine maker, Aaron Roisen couldn't be more pleased saying, "It's an honor that one of my first wine varietal here at Hosmers keeps recieving consistent wins!- It's an exciting time!
Other awards that Hosmer has been proud to receive:
Hosmer Winery Delighted by Consistent Wins
April 14, 2008 - Hosmer wines have recieved high ratings in both the Wine Spectator and the Finger Lakes International eastern Wine Competition. The newly released 2007 Riesling earned a Gold from the Finger Lakes Wine Competition- the first big win for Hosmer's new winemaker, Aaron Roisen. But more impressively, out of the 20 Finger Lakes Rieslings that were rated by the Wine Spectator- all three Rieslings from Hosmer recieved impressive scores which can be found below:
2006 Riesling - Rated "87" March 7, 2008
Ripe and forward, with apple, pie crust, fig and pear notes followed by a round, modestly juicy finish. Solid range, just lacks a little zip on the finish. Drink now.& 800 cases made. - J.M.
2006 Vintner's Reserve Riesling - Rated "86" March 7, 2008
Soft, but direct, with apple, anise and fig hints that linger easily on the finish. Drink now. 150 cases made. - J.M.
2006 Dry Riesling - Rated "85" March 3, 2008
Light, with taut pippen apple, lime and slate notes that show good drive on the finish. Drink now through 2009. 780 cases made. - J.M.
100 point system:
95-100 = a classic
90-95 = wine of superior character and style
85-89 = wine with special qualities
80-84 = a solid, well-made wine
Wine Spectator Ratings, May 15, 2007:
2005 Chardonnay - 84 rating
2005 Pinot Noir - 85 rating
2005 Lemberger - 84 rating
FingerLakesWine.com article featuring Hosmer Dry Rose!
"Refreshing and versatile, rose wine gets on famously with balmy-weather fare, such as fried oysters, burgers, grilled chicken and pasta salad. No longer the pink-headed stepchild or the afterthought at American wineries, rose has earned a loyal following in recent years."
Click Fingerlakeswine.com. To see the full article.
Indy International, Hosmer Riesling Races to the Top
July 27, 2006 launched one of the largest wine competitions in North America, the Indy International. More than 3,800 wines poured in from all across the United States, Canada, europe; Spain, Italy, and France - to name a few, South Africa, and Australia� the list goes on. It was a dynamic set of 3 days. Through the stiff, worldly competition, scrutinizing judges, and stern regulations Hosmer 2005 Riesling pulled rank. The Riesling claimed a Concordance Gold Medal; a decision of "Gold Medal Winner" from each judge on the panel.
In addition to the Concordance Gold, Hosmer claimed 6 additional medals: The 2005 Cayuga White was honored with the only Gold Medal in its class, the 2005 Dry Riesling and 2004 Cabernet Franc each claimed a Silver Medal, and rounding out the awards for Hosmer were the 2005 Seyval and non-vintage Fireside Red claiming Bronze.
"Being such a large slate of entries, from all around the world really makes these awards stand out." Virginia Graber, Sales Manager for Hosmer Winery. "Unanimous decisions for awarding a Gold Medal do not come easy; out of the field only 116 Concordance Gold Medals were awarded. Only 1 Gold Medal in the Cayuga division was awarded. Two very esteemed honors to be received. We at Hosmer are proud to consistently produce quality wines here in the heart of the Finger Lakes."
June 20062005 Dry Riesling is a Double Gold Medal Winner!
Sitting atop the slate of 468 entries in this years Great Lakes Great Wine wine competition is the Hosmer 2005 Dry Riesling. The Dry Riesling was joined by only two other wines in receiving the prestigious Double Gold medal. The right to a double gold did not come easily this year as past competitions yielded, on average, 6 recipients. The wines to pass the judges with a unanimous decision of gold medal winner must then meet the scrutiny of a second panel of judges. Only after being awarded an uncontested gold from both panels can a wine be deemed a Double Gold Winner. From the contesting field, assembled from 7 states and 1 Canadian province, our Riesling from the heart of the Finger Lakes was triumphant in obtaining the elusive Double Gold.
Wall Street Journal, Sept. 23
Tastings - Rediscovering New York Riesling
In view of the increased interest in New York State wines and the increased availability of wines from many states, the WSJ decided to do a tasting of New York Rieslings, focussing on dry and semi-dry wines. In comparison to German imports, the article notes:"Germany's Riesling is often ephemeral and flowery - New York's has real backbone and a sense of earth". Our 2003 Dry Riesling received one of the top "Very Good" ratings and also was rated "Best Value - Rich, like a lemon souffle. An interesting, muscular Riesling, with some earthiness and a little honey. Real personality".
The full article can be found here.
October 15 2005Wine Spectator Buying Guide
For the second year in a row, our Rieslings have been rated in the Wine Spectator Buying Guide:
The 2003 Vintner's Reserve Riesling received an 87 rating - "Ripe and racy, with fresh apple, lime, slate and honey notes that show nice length on the finish".
The 2004 Dry Riesling received an 85 - "Lime, grapefruit and litchi flavors run through this medium body wine".
The 2004 Riesling received an 84 rating.
See the 100 point scale listed with our May 2007 ratings.
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