Connor Smith

9.1

Finger. Lakes. Saperavi.

If this ain’t American winemaking in the 21st century we don’t know what is! 🇺🇸🍷🇬🇪🍇

At least, that’s what we were thinking before reading up on Standing Stone and founders Marti & Tom Macinski. They actually first planted this fascinating Georgian grape here in ***1994*** (just 3 years after Georgia left the USSR, for those keeping score at home) intended for blending.

Increasingly impressed by the quality of the grapes, they offered their first varietal Saperavi in 2010 - as “The Dark Red”, since the grape name was as yet unrecognized by the federal government. Once it was, they became the first American winery to release a wine labeled Saperavi.

Fine tuned to the cold, high mountains of Kakheti in eastern Georgia, it makes sense why it would thrive in the Finger Lakes! The name Saperavi literally means “ink”, a sensible name for a grape with pitch-dark skin AND flesh! 🖤

Marti and Tom sold the winery and retired in 2017. But their enduring legacy may just be budding. We’ve heard of Saperavi planting projects underway in New York, Virginia, and Oregon.

Saperavi’s runaway affinity for the Finger Lakes may have been a bit of a happy accident, but the Macinskis deserve every bit of credit for thinking outside the box, putting it in motion, and bringing it to fruition! 🙌🙌🙌 — 6 years ago

Jörgen Lindström Carlvik

Owner, Brix Wine Consultants

9.2

Gideon Beinstock produces some of the worlds most exciting wines and this vintage has now finally entered the plateau of pleasurable drinking. Complex and layered with smoke and tarry notes. — 7 years ago

TheSkip

9.8

Finest IPA in the land. #micdrop — 8 years ago

Mike Saviage

9.4

Boyz Raveneau tasting. Light straw color. Honeyed nose with light fruit. Soil and stone notes in the mouth to go with lovely Chablis fruit Tight at first but really opened up nicely. — 10 years ago

Kavi Kapadia

9.5

Stefs wedding — 12 years ago

Aaron Tan

8.9

Surprisingly, I kinda liked this despite my aversion to overly-hopped beers. The nose is a straight up hop-bomb - floral, citrusy, piney. The palate's also full-on, with heaps of hoppy bitterness, but balanced by malty sweetness and tropical fruit notes (passionfruit and mango for me). Finishes crisp and earthy. Not bad, but not my kind of beer (not an IPA fan basically). — 6 years ago

Kylie Farr

9.0

Cherries warmish fruit, enjoyable not overly complex — 6 years ago

Chris Klebba

9.6

Ripe, purple lift oak — 8 years ago

Lee Pitofsky

9.3

High energy, beautiful notes of gun flint, peach, lime, wet stone — 8 years ago

Tara Rowland

9.4

One of my favs...now avail in can, perfect for walking around London in the spring 😍 — 8 years ago

Amanda Gavelek

8.9

Initially spicy like a zin, but after breathing it mellowed out and was quite delicious! — 9 years ago

Joe Carroll

Owner/Wine Director Spuyten Duyvil, Fette Sau, St. Anselm & Gotham Artisanal Provisions

9.2

Odd for a restaurant (with a Michelin star) to sell wine like this but not have decanters or stemware. — 10 years ago

Rachel Hughes

9.0

Shiraz (70%), Cabernet Sauvignon (23%), Merlot (7%)
2009
Padthaway, Australia — 13 years ago

Sean Christensen

9.0

Like a flat sour beer — 6 years ago

Greg Koslosky

9.6

Minerals ,apricot stone fruits , golden raisin , caramel , nuts . Incredible depth and richness but with perfectly balanced acidity lingering notes of nougat , minerals and dried fruits . — 6 years ago

Mike Saviage

9.4

Straw gold color. Caressing aromatic nose of lemon curd, river stone, spices and a little apricot. Really good balance of structure, fruit and acidity in the mouth. Lasting finish. Textbook white burg. — 7 years ago

Jason Caron

9.2

Tight but really good — 8 years ago

Connor Barbaree

10

At first taste- bright, crisp, rambunctious, high-toned citrus. After 20min- rounded and developed, concentrated stone fruits. Very dry, but also rich on the palate. Could go another 20yrs before the youthfulness begins to fade. — 8 years ago

Patrick Herrington

9.2

Floral nose, crisp with long stone fruit like finish
Very nice! — 10 years ago

Rudy DeLaurentis

9.7

Hawkes 2010 Alexander Valley Van Sauvignon Stone Vineyard. Fantastic! 93+ points. Will only get better. — 11 years ago