What to serve at an early morning breakfast tailgating? Generally, it’s Mimosa, Bloody Mary’s and lots of Champagne. But last weekend I switched things up and surprised my fellow tailgaters. While there was a lone bottle of Champagne, it got little attention, the medium dry and medium sweet Rieslings stole the show.

The breakfast menu included two casseroles, one a traditional Strata and the other a sausage egg casserole. Plenty of bagels, muffins and a fruit tray completed this hearty early fall outdoor breakfast.

The Wines

2010 Rooster Hill Vineyards Medium Sweet Riesling

Harvested from vines located on the east side of Keuka Lake, all stainless steel aging; this wine is classified as Medium Sweet. Sweetness classification has to do with sugar levels in the grapes at time of harvest. This wine has fresh lemony aromas with lots of citrus flavors and a very crisp finish. The medium sweet classification on the label could turn away wine sippers who tend to prefer dryer wines. Hide the label if you have to, but get everyone to taste this wine. I loved this wine! This wine retails for $14.99* Alcohol 12.1%

2010 Sheldrake Point Riesling

Hand harvested from estate vineyards on the west shore of Cayuga Lake, this wine is classified as Medium Dry. Because it was not classified as ‘Dry’ on the label, I included this wine in my ‘sweeter side’ Riesling classification. The aromas on this wine was gorgeous fruit, lemony citrus, pear and apricot. The finish was crisp and refreshing. This wine is spectacular and was the first empty bottle of the day! A tremendous medium-dry Riesling.  This wine retails for $15* and has an  alcohol level  11.8%

2010 Lamoreaux Landing, Yellow Dog Vineyard Riesling

Harvested from one of Lamoreaux Landings newest vineyards located on the shores of Seneca Lake; this wine is labeled medium dry although it drank a bit sweeter. The aromas on opening were intense pungent petrol, and did not mellow with time. Tons of grapefruit and green apple flavors, with an intense finish. If we weren’t awake yet, we were now! I would like to revisit this wine with a jambalaya. Unfortunately it did not show well with the breakfast menu. Retails for $19.99* Alcohol 12.7%

If any of my upstate New York friends have visited any of these Finger Lakes Wineries, please share with all of us your experiences and which wines were your stand out favorites!

Thank you to the Finger Lakes Wine Alliance for coordinating the debut of the 2010 Finger Lakes Riesling offerings.

Note* This wines were supplied to me by Finger Lakes Wine Alliance