Zero Degrees of Riesling 2010

The first Finger Lakes Riesling that we tasted was the Zero Degrees Riesling produced by Three Brothers Wineries and Estates from Geneva, NY.  The 0 Degrees is 1 of 4 wines in their Four Degrees production.  The 0 Degrees is the driest and the 3 Degrees is their sweet Riesling.  The 0 Degrees wine was harvested in September from the Estate vineyards located on the north east end of Seneca Lake.  The grapes for this wine are from vines 30+ years old.  Upon opening, this wine had a rather tight nose but slowly opened up to some passion fruit and floral notes, along with a hint of slate. The initial tastes included fresh apricots along with some pears. Then, a green apple covered in honey hits you in the mid palate.  Although it is a very dry wine with only 6 grams of residual sugar, the ph was 3.23 and to both my wife and I this was a rather sweet wine.  If the Zero degrees is the driest and the 3 is their sweet Riesling, I can only image how sweet it must be.  We started drinking this while cooking and then served it with our fish dinner.  We both agreed that it completely over powered the fish.  It is a nice wine to drink on the patio with some appetizers or for the first course of a salad with a citrus dressing.  Be sure to keep this wine COLD!!  Also, we tried it the next day and I highly urge you to finish the bottle upon opening.  Overall, a decent wine for relaxing on the patio or to serve with an appetizer.  We now have our base for comparing the other five Finger Lake Rieslings.  I would really enjoy doing a tasting of all 4 wines from the Four Degrees of Riesling production.  The Zero Degrees Riesling 2010 retails for $14.00.