Robibero Family Vineyards is one of the newest wineries in the Hudson Valley. They recently won a Double Gold Medal in the Finger Lakes International Wine Competition. What a wonderful achievement for them! I recently interviewed Tiffany about the win.
HVWG: How were you notified of your big win for the 2010 Dry Riesling?
Tiffany: By an email from the New York Wine & Grape Foundations WinePress. It was Monday night around 7:30pm and Iopened the email and started glancing through the list of winners. Since Iopened the email on my iphonethe article was very small so when my eyes saw Robibero under the Double Goldwinners I had to do a few double takes before I realized what we had wonfor.
HVWG: This is your first big competition win, a Double Gold Medal,when you got the news, what was the first thing you did after you closed the email. (keep it clean:)
Tiffany: Ryan was on the phone in the other room and I startedscreaming “We won, we won a double gold for our Dry Riesling!”. He hung upthe phone and I showed him the email and he was just as excited, if notmore than I was. We immediately called my dad and our winemaker toshare the big news. The next night we celebrated with family, friends andof course our 2010 Dry Riesling. We have rarely entered competitions in thepast so this win was a very big surprise to us,especially since it was our first international wine competition.
HVWG: Where did the grapes get sourced from for the Riesling?
Tiffany: The grapes were sourced from a vineyard located in the FingerLakes “banana belt” region on the eastern shore of Seneca Lake.
HVWG:Describe the process for making the Riesling?
Tiffany: The grapes were hand picked at 20.5 Brix. Ph-3.18,Acidity-7.2 gr/L. We used Prisede Mousse Yeast (EC-1118)from France. Fermentation was 30 days @ 48 degrees F. We fermented at coolertemperatures to bring out the fruit in the wine. It was then aged in StainlessSteel.
HVWG: Tasting notes for the Riesling
Tiffany: A delightful citrusynose of pear grapefruit that leads into green apple and lime flavors on thepalate. Dry and crisp with fresh acidity and subtle slate character. Alingering spicy pear finish with a touch of honey. 1% R.S , 12.5% Alcohol
HVWG: What is your favorite pairing for the Riesling?Tiffany: Sushi!! We eat sushi at least 3 times a week in ourhouse and we always have a bottle of Robibero Riesling on the table.
HVWG: What’s next for you and the winery?
Tiffany: We are looking forward to releasing our 2011 winesand winning a lot more awards . This year our winemaker Kristop Brown has been busy inthe cellar producing a 3rd Robibero Riesling. This Riesling will be uniqueas it was made from Arctic Riesling grapes and currently agingin 3 year old oak barrels. We are very excited to add another Riesling to ourwine portfolio. The great thing about Riesling is that it is such a versatilegrape. You can play around with it to produce many different styles ofwine.
