Hermann Wiemer Vineyards

The Hermann Wiemer Vineyard is one of the pioneers in vinifera wines in the Finger Lakes. The winery was started by Herman Wiemer who is a native of the Mosel Riesling production areas of Germany. His family was involved in the winemaking business for many generations before he came to the United States. He came to the Finger Lakes to work with Walter Taylor of the Bully Hill Winery, the grandson of the founder of Taylor Wine Company. Hermann worked with hybrid and native grapes varietals at Bully Hill.

Hermann realized that the antediluvian shale soils, cool climate, and moderating influences of the great heat sinks of the lakes made ideal conditions for the Riesling grapes of his old homeland. In 1973 he purchased a farm west of Lake Seneca and turned it into one of the premier vineyards and nurseries in the region. The first vintage, a 1979, was released in 1980. Considering Hermann Wiemer’s background, the vineyard has a tendency to produce some of the more German style wines in the Finger Lakes region. They have a proclivity to be a touch lighter and more classically ethereal that many of his neighbor’s wines. They are not lightweights, however, typically showing extraordinary balance, complexity and elegance within a constrained palette.