Wine "Discovery" at Wine & Spirits Top 100 Tasting: Hermann J. Wiemer's Incredible Rieslings

Fred Merwath, Hermann J. Wiemer
head winemaker and vineyard manager

One of the best tastings of the year is always the Wine & Spirits magazine Top 100 tasting in downtown San Francisco. Held on the fourth floor of the Metreon, overlooking SFMOMA and the park below, it pairs exhilarating views with exhilarating wines from 100 producers around the world. Of those, roughly a third - or 36 - are from the U.S. And of the U.S. producers, roughly a third are featured in this year's Slow Wine Guide USA (which was recently featured in the San Francisco Chronicle).

Some of these illustrious producers are further afield than my regular travels take me (since I mainly travel to California and Oregon), so it was a huge pleasure to meet and taste and talk to the folks from Hermann J. Wiemer Vineyard in upstate New York. 

Head winemaker, vineyard manager and co-owner Fred Merwath, who has worked at the winery for more than 20 years, was there pouring with co-owner Oskar Bynke. 

Wiemer officially retired in 2007, after handing over management to Merwarth, his apprentice, who became a co-owner in 2003. In 2021, Wine Enthusiast named Merwath Winemaker of the Year, a title never before bestowed on a New York winemaker. 

I did not know these things before writing this post. Mostly I was just wildly interested in meeting and tasting this producer's wines since Merwath and Wiemer have been pursuing biodynamic and organic wine grape growing in this region, where this has been a very big challenge for dozens of producers. (Plus, my sister lives in nearby Ithaca). 

Only one certified organic producer exists for (solely, vinifera) wine grapes in New York–Farrm Wine on Long Island–where proprietor Rex Farr has grown apples, pears and peaches organically since 1990 and only recently ventured into wine grapes. He grows 8 acres of Bordeaux varieties. He's certified organic. (Though he says he farms biodynamically, he is not Demeter certified.) Though laudable for being local, the wines are not submitted to major wine critics.

At Wiemer, on the other hand, they grow 90 acres of Alsatian varieties (vinifera only), and say biodynamics makes the difference in being successful. 

"It is easier for us to farm biodynamically rather than organically," Merwath said as we chatted briefly at the Wiemer table, sampling the glorious Rieslings he was pouring. The extra sprays help the plants become healthier and more resilient in the face of disease pressure, he said.

Oskar Bynke and Fred Merwath, co-owners

That glorious bit included the stunning $39 Wiemer HJW 2020 Riesling, from vines planted in 1977. Only 185 cases are made. And the $32 Dry Reserve 2020 Riesling, too, which was equally delicious, in a wholly different way. Both are cluster pressed and vinified solely on native yeast. 

While I was standing there, who should come along but my (and everybody's) pal Chris Sawyer, who was equally impressed with the quality of these outstanding wines. That got Chris started on a story I can only start, not finish, as the conversation did not conclude, but it more or less had something to do with Antica planting the Wiemer clone on Atlas Peak in Napa. To be continued. Someday.

Anyway, as you seek out winter wines for holiday meals, gift giving or festivities, you would be wise to seek out Wiemer's. For Californians used to outrageous wine prices, these are especially compelling. 

Here's the other outstanding wine they were pouring at the event. 

Photo by Chris Sawyer

One last note: just because I only write here about producers with certified organic or biodynamic vineyards, Wiemer is officially on the path to organic and biodynamic certification. It's already converted 33 acres to BD farming to date. I'll raise a glass to that.