Book Review: Summer in a Glass

Book written by Evan Dawson

Reviewed by Dick Rizzo

One of my friend's pastimes is browsing in the Barnes and Noble bookstore. He enjoys reading in the store, but very few books find their way to his favorite chair at home. I was quite surprised to hear him say that he could not put this book down and had to buy it on the spot so he could finish it at home. It was a few days before its official release announced in the newspaper. When I saw him, he could not stop relating some of the stories he had read. He urged me to buy Summer in a Glass at once. He was familiar with wine from the Finger Lakes, but was not an avid consumer. He prefers to drink red wine, but reading the book convinced him to start sampling more whites from the area.

Evan Dawson is a wonderful storyteller. Each chapter begins with a background story of a Finger Lakes wine personality. What follows is a descriptive narrative derived from hours of recorded conversation that makes the reader feel as if he were at the same table enjoying a glass of wine with the principals involved. Many of us are familiar with the wineries mentioned in the book, but not many will be familiar with the story of their founding or of the personalities of the growers or winemakers who work tirelessly to produce a quality product. We have enjoyed their wine, but have not shared the ups and downs of its journey to the bottle.

One of the themes that runs through this book is that of the friendly collaboration among many of the major winemakers in the region. The mutual respect they have for each other and regular tasting critiques of their efforts allows each to improve and produce better wines. As more wines of the region are successfully entered into worldwide competition, this area of New York State is becoming better known for producing world class wines.

The quest for making world-class vinifera wines in the Finger Lakes has accelerated in the past ten years. Favorable reviews of Reisling in major wine publications like Wine Spectator or Wine Enthusiast have alerted many in the industry to the hidden potential of this area. By reeducating growers to limit grape production in order to maximize juice quality, winemakers are focusing their efforts on producing quality wine through collaborative efforts. This is the story behind some of the winemakers who are striving to make the best wine in the world.

We all know of the fanatic devotion that Dr. Konstantin Frank had for growing vinifera in the Finger Lakes since the late 1950's. He reasoned that with careful attention to the vines, European style wine, specifically Riesling, could be made here. Another German, Hermann Wiemer, who got his start with Walter Taylor at Bully Hill, is highly regarded in the Mosel River winemaking area in Germany as one of the few in America who know how to make good Riesling wine.

The story behind Ravines Winery on Keuka Lake is told by Morten Hallgren. He describes how the French Mafia stole his family's 350-year-old winery in France, forcing him to relocate in the U.S. to further his winemaking career, and how he came to settle in New York State. One of the more serendipitous meetings involves a young, single mother with two girls, from Canandaigua, who traded a teaching career for that of an assistant winemaker at Fox Run, with no experience other than an unparalleled ability to taste wine.

The story of Johannes Reinhardt, award-winning winemaker at Anthony Road Winery, begins with his decision to leave his family in the middle of the night and turn his back on their 600-year history of making wine. He came to America to pursue his desire to try new and different techniques in winemaking, something denied to him by his family. His story is woven throughout the book. Dawson's description of Reinhardt's saga with our government's frustrating immigration policies and possibility of his deportation will cause you to cry out in support of his quest for becoming a permanent, productive resident of our country.

Get the book. Get a comfortable chair, a glass of wine and take a virtual tour of the Finger Lakes.

How did my friend enjoy the book? He told me it was so good that it cost him $200 to scour the local wine shops to find and try many of the wines described. What an impression it made for him to do that!

Summer in a Glass is available in bookstores and online. Visit Evan's website, www.evandawsonwrites.com, to view the trailer and read an excerpt.