Elmont Online

Martha Clara Vineyards on Long Island's North Fork won top honors with an estate-grown semi-sweet Riesling at the 2011 New York Wine & Food Classic competition at Watkins Glen in the Finger Lakes.

That a Riesling should win the prestigious Governor's Cup as best of show at this competition, which ended Tuesday, is not uncommon. What is, though, is that the winner is from Long Island and not the Riesling-rich Finger Lakes.

Martha Clara's 2010 Riesling ($19.99), soft and fragrant, beat out 740 other entrants from 105 wineries statewide. This same wine earlier in the summer took best of show at the Atlantic Seaboard Wine Association competition. The Classic, considered the Oscars of the New York wine industry, is open only to New York wines and is conducted by the New York Wine and Grape Foundation.

Winery of the year, which is based on the number and level of the medals earned at this competition -- at least seven wines must be entered -- went to Lamoureaux Landing from the east side of Seneca Lake. The winery, which is owned by Mark Wagner, also won best chardonnay at the competition with their 2008 estate bottled. Lamoureaux Landing was named one of the 100 top wineries in the world last year by Wine & Spirits magazine.

Another Long Island North Fork benchmark winery, Bedell Cellars, won best sparkling with their 2006 blanc de blancs, and was also designated as the best producer in the state of a dry gewurztraminer with their 2010 from Corey Creek Vineyards.

Best red wine was an unusual contender, a Keuka Lake Vineyards 2010 Leon Millot estate bottled wine, from French-American hybrid vines planted in the 1940s. It is the sole user of the variety in the Finger Lakes.

Best dessert wine was a sassy and sweet 2008 vidal ice wine from newcomer Leonard Oakes Estate Winery in western New York. Best blush wine was won by another newcomer, Owera Vineyards in the western Finger Lakes with their 2010 Cazenovia Blush.

Perennial fruit and mead powerhouse Earle Estates in the Finger Lakes was specialty wine champion. They won for both a raspberry infused honey mead, and an apple wine.

Twenty-one judges from all throughout the United States and England, representing a wide range of interests in the wine industry, picked the winners.

Contact LeBrun at 454-5453 or by email at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .