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Kemmeter Wines Riesling ‘One Note’ 2025 Review – Exquisite

On a recent trip to the Finger Lakes, we were told to check out Kemmeter Wines on Seneca Lake while tasting at one of our favorite producers, Boundary Breaks.

We, unfortunately, could not score a last-minute reservation here, but we did roll up and enjoy some of their delicious dumplings from their on-site kitchen (takeaway and on-site picnic tables) and grabbed a few bottles to enjoy when we got home.

Their dry Riesling was one such bottle, and we couldn't wait long before we cracked it open.

To put it bluntly, it was so good I wish we would've grabbed three!

Note: At the time of visiting, Kemmeter's Riesling seemed to have a unique menu label with one, two, or three music notes on it, seemingly corresponding to respective residual sugar levels (one being dry and three being a bit sweeter). We've seen some commentary around wines as “One Note” which points to this; however, online details are also limited- this was the driest they had available during our visit.

While the Finger Lakes has, in the past at least, had a reputation for an abundance of overly sweet wines, as you sift through the options you really start to see that this is in fact a world-class wine region. Even better, it's reputation is growing with each passing vintage.

During our many visits, we have been fortunate enough to try many of the best Finger Lakes wineries, and in this one we wanted to share a few of our very favorites that we think are must-visits on any trip.

Before a recent trip to explore more Finger Lakes wineries, we decided to crack open one of our older Riesling bottles from one of our favorite producers- Boundary Breaks!

This bottle, their #90 Extra Dry, had been in our cellar for nearly a decade, and we were curious to see how the 2017 vintage was shaping up in 2026.

If we were going to the source to buy more, well, it felt like a good opportunity, and all we have to say is this one aged beautifully!

Every now and again, we like to try large producers, and as far as Oregon production is concerned, Argyle is among the largest with tens of thousands of cases produced every year.

Naturally, given that we quite enjoy Oregon Pinot Noir, we thought we'd try Argyle's Pinot Noir on for size and wanted to share a bit more in this review!

One of the joys of having a robust wine cellar at home is you can start to forget about bottles you've purchased. Sometimes this is on purpose to let bottles age. Other times it is simply because you have too much wine and opt to wait for a perfect pairing to come along.

For us, this often happens with varietals that we don't drink too much of regularly, and we acquire a bottle, forget about it, forget about it some more, and then the next thing you know it is a decade old. Heron Hill's Reserve Merlot from 2016 was one such bottle. We purchased it directly from the winery on one of our first trips to the Finger Lakes and promptly forgot about it for years.

It was worth the (accidental) wait.

One thing I absolutely love to do when shopping for wine is checking out a store's clearance bin. When you'd think a clearance bin would be just for poor wine, we've had some surprising finds, including many bottles from many famous producers marked down because wine staff thought “they were getting old.”

This is how we found a bottle of Robert Mondavi Chardonnay 2018 for about $10 off list price, and snatched it up right away.

A seven year old California Chardonnay at a much more appropriate price point? Well, we are in, and took that discount in a heartbeat thank you very much.

One of our fears with California Chardonnay is that they can often be quite oak and malolactic fermentation forward. While these have their place, we often find the intensity to be not for us.

But when we find one that has a prominent intensity that hits our tastes, we absolutely love it, and Lloyd Cellars Chardonnay from Carneros was one such bottle- oak and malo forward, but very well balanced and how we like it.

When it comes to planning a wine trip to Napa and Sonoma, you'll naturally come across one very important question- where do you stay?

The good news is that these two counties have no shortage of options, most of which are easily accessible to just about any winery in either county in 30 to 75 minutes (or a bit more). The bad news is, that may make figuring out where to stay harder, not easier, as you can almost stay just about anywhere and have a great time.

So in this one, let's break down more details on what you should consider when planning on where to stay in Napa and Sonoma for a wine trip, and share why keeping the drive times and hotel prices in mind may be the most important factors!

To call the Finger Lakes region sprawling is an understatement. The twelve lakes in the region span a length of about 60 miles as the crow flies, and the rural back roads that loop each lake can make for some considerable driving time when exploring.

It is due to this reason that being strategic in where you stay can make or break a trip as drive times can add up before you know it.

Thankfully, for those who are visiting for wine, odds are good you'll be clustering your visit to the 100+ wineries located on just three lakes, Cayuga, Seneca, and Keuka. While this helps with planning to some degree, the simple truth is that between driving to (and around) these lakes can still mean a lot of car time.

So, how do you plan where to stay in order to get the most out of your visit? We have some thoughts!

Arista is one of our favorite wineries in Sonoma, and makes some of the best Pinot Noir we've had in the USA.

Naturally, we became club members and regularly add bottles to our cellar to age.

Arista's Perli Vineyard Pinot Noir is one that we have the most of in our collection. Now that our first bottles, from the 2017 vintage, are now entering their drinking window, we thought we'd pull one out and see how they're stacking up!

Kemmeter Wines Riesling ‘One Note’ 2025 Review – Exquisite

15 of the Best Finger Lakes Wineries You Must Visit

Boundary Breaks #90 Extra Dry 2017 Review – Best With Age

Argyle Pinot Noir 2023 Review – Red Cherry Overload

Heron Hill Reserve Merlot 2016 Review – Showing Its Age

Robert Mondavi Chardonnay 2018 Review – Balanced With Age

Lloyd Cellars Chardonnay 2023 Review – Balanced Oak and Malo

Where to Stay in Napa and Sonoma – Drive Times Add Up

Where to Stay in the Finger Lakes for Wine Tasting

Arista Perli Vineyard 2017 Review – Even Better With Age