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Rick Rainey

@rickrainey

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It’s always a pleasure hosting @sipsandtripswithpaige and @beccadrinkswine — two wine educator-creators who love what’s happening in #flxwine country because they’ve seen it up close with #vawine

I was thrilled for them to preview the exciting new project from @domaineleseurre — a 560 year old reconstructed French barn they are calling @1487heritage

It sits amidst ten acres of old vines they have been working with for years but only recently purchased. Sebastien walked us through the vineyard with a deep dive on the soil and microclimate. Can’t wait for opening!

At @damianiwinecellars winemaker Katey Larwood walked us through several stunning sparkling wines and a flight of Chardonnay that includes the only #flxchard to make the @vinepair top 30. We love showing the world class chards being made here!

@rickrainey of @forgecellars generously walked us through his incredible 2025 tank samples—a sensory exploration of cru vineyards here in the Finger Lakes.

We couldn’t visit Seneca without experiencing @trestle_31 — we are so proud to have @nova_cadamatre_mw as our winemaker. Nova is stunningly talented; her Chardonnay sings. we were lucky to taste this beautiful library selection from 2017–layered and succulent.

After this we were hosted by @michaliskalampoukas of @aszuwines who provided a study in contrasts, pouring our own 2024 Dry Riesling beside two from Europe.

On day two Becca and Paige enjoyed the relaxing setting here in the Glen where I took them through a vertical flight of our own cru vineyard. Nearly 40 years old, its last four vintages have been vinified from four different producers by three different winemakers, earning 90 or more points from four different rating agencies.

Afterward, I was happy to share the very first pour of our own Estate Sparkling Brut. 100% chard with only 12 cases made!
Traditional method, 11 months on lees, this elegant cremant style is nuanced and bright.

A visit to the vineyard followed, where we are in our third year of restoring these low yield vines and their concentrated fruit.

Then: a quick taste at partner @heronhillwinery before dinner
at @lockstockbristol for trivia and a bottle of our chard!

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Impeccable vintage preview at Forge Cellars this past weekend. It was difficult to remember that many of the samples we tried were barrel samples and not actually fully mature wines yet.

We met some amazing people, drank some incredible wines, and learned so much about what is to come. We are pretty excited for the 2025 vintage!

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Safe to say we took full advantage of this first sunshine-filled weekend in the Finger Lakes!

Vintage preview tasting and absolutely phenomenal dinner at @forgecellars (with some incredible library vintage wines!) on Friday night 🫶🔥🙌

Then Saturday we finally got to chauffeur @monapass around Keuka Lake all day as a delayed Xmas gift 😅 and had an excellent meal to end the day at @torreyparkrestaurant!

Give me all of that 🌞 ☀️ , the FLX at its best 👌

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Huge shout out to @rickrainey and @forgecellars for hosting this Cab Franc seminar with @cabfrancchronicles in their amazing Salon Space!

We got to taste some stellar Cab Francs from peak producers in the Loire Valley to see how winemaking specialists with this variety respond to the varying conditions of terroir, vintage variation, and cultural legacy.

This was an invaluable exploration into the breadth of stylistic variation available with this incredible grape using references from a region that faces many of the same challenges we do—and has learned how to master them.

Afterward, the many vintners in attendance shared bottles of their own recent vintages. The 2024’s that were there showed our own range and capacity to explore what is possible with Cabernet Franc in our region.

I was not able to taste everything that was there, but there were some beautiful standouts from @rias_wines @boundarybreaks @billsborowinery @vagabondwinesflx and especially the hosts @forge. Of course, we were proud to share our own as well — an early preview bottling as we haven’t hit official production as yet.

A stunning event, showing off some of the best #cabernetfranc in the world.

@cabfrancforward #flxwine #wineclass #innycabmeansfranc #flxwinecountry

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One of our favorite Finger Lakes producers, Forge Cellars, has great wine and a great story. Founder Rick Rainey will join us on the Flatiron Wine School mezzanine to share Forge’s delicious wines, his own wine journey, and a report on the last few fantastic vintages in the region. We’ll taste Forge’s dry Riesling, Chardonnay and Cabernet Franc wines including several single-vineyard examples. Link in bio to purchase.

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One of my favorite childhood meals: Hainanese Chicken Rice. Tender, moist chicken, rich, gingery broth and all the toppings. Served with Domaine Champalou Vouvray. My 11-year old self was so happy! Thank you to my chef husband. ❤️

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Another great event at Forge Cellars hosted by @mariamillay.wineevents comparing Italian wines with Forge wines🔥

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It’s a Caywood kinda of night💕
#wine #chardonnay #grill #flx #cayugalake

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I spent SEVEN HOURS at @forgecellars on Sunday for the festivities surrounding @pascalinelepeltier’s book signing.
I could’ve stayed a lot longer.
What people, what a place 👏

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Two of my absolute favorite people. Thank you for sharing the (literal) fruits of your labor with us. It wouldn’t have been a @waxlight_bar_a_vin celebration without both of you there. @rickrainey @rtrwinemaker
@forgecellars @redtailridgewinery
📸 @kckratt 🖤

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Finally got to @forgecellars to visit with @rickrainey & Lèana Godard. Forge is a winery of unwavering conviction towards terroirs expression via nearly a dozen single site Rieslings, and with strong ties to France (the chief winemaker is, after all Louis Barruol of #chateaudestcosme in Gigondas). The grapes are picked late (a nail-biting endeavor in a climate like the FLX’s), ferment is slow, gentle, with time in very old barrels. The results-from the 2022 vintage anyway- are beautifully expressive (dry) wines of intensity, generosity and minerality. Truly singular Rieslings - and very well priced for the quality. There’s a lovely Chardonnay, a,shockingly Burgundian Pinot in the line up, and a sappy, un-messed with Cab Franc too. This is Finger Lakes at its finest.

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Louis is an artist in the cellar, but did you know he also can wield a pen and brush? The other day he decided to do he and Rick’s portraits…

“𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘥𝘭𝘺 𝘍𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘩 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯, 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵, 𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘵…𝘩𝘢!!“
-RR

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