New York

Seneca Lake

Riesling

White

Circle Riesling is meant to be a quintessential example of Finger Lakes Riesling; a touch of residual sugar to bring out the rich orchard fruit flavors without overwhelming the lemon zest and citrus that make it crisp and refreshing to drink.  The overall wine is easy to drink, but made with as much seriousness and as many individual layers as any Riesling that Red Newt releases. 

"Circle" Riesling

United States

Red Newt Cellars

Tango Oaks Vineyard- Riesling

Kelby James Russell - Gruner Veltliner

Pinot Noir - Glacier Ridge Vineyards

Merlot - Glacier Ridge Vineyards

"Newt" Riesling

Kelby James Russell - Dry Rosé - Nutt Road Vineyards

Lahoma Vineyards - Riesling

Syrah - Glacier Ridge Vineyards

Gewurztraminer - Curry Creek Vineyard

Pinot Gris - Curry Creek Vineyard

Riesling - Semi-Dry

the Knoll - Lahoma Vineyards - Riesling

Dry Riesling

Cabernet Franc

Gewurztraminer

Pinot Gris

Red Newt Cellars is located on the east side of Seneca Lake in the hamlet of Hector in the Finger Lakes region of New York. Red Newt Cellars was founded in 1998 by David and Debra Whiting. Wine production was started with the 1998 vintage with a mere 1,200 cases of Chardonnay, Riesling, Vidal, Cayuga, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. The first white wines were released at the grand opening of the winery and restaurant in July of 1999.

Red Newt Cellars has joyfully produced Riesling and Cabernet Franc from Seneca Lake since 1998.   With a full suite of Rieslings, from dry to dessert, and several Cabernet Franc bottlings every harvest, winemaker Kelby James Russell embraces the single vineyard ethos that he inherited from founding winemaker David Whiting.  Pushing the envelope with spontaneous fermentations, lees contact, cold soaking, and basket pressing; Red Newt's wines are designed to open up in bottle for years to come.

Debra and David have received recognition from local and regional press as well as from national publications such as Food and Wine, Nations Restaurant News, and Wine Spectator. Recently, Red Newt Cellars has been named among Wine & Spirits Magazine’s 2011 Top 100 wineries of the year. The Wine Spectator describes David and Debra as “untrammeled lovers of the Finger Lakes scene,” and it couldn’t be more true. David and Debra Whiting met in the late 1980s. At that time David was working as cellar master at a Finger Lakes winery while Debra was supervising microbiology labs at Cornell University. Following a passion for food and wine, David continued his oenological career as winemaker at three different wineries in the Finger Lakes. Debra’s path led her into a gourmet cheesecake business and then an upscale catering business. When the opportunity arose in 1998, David started wine production with the 1998 vintage and the following summer Debra opened the Red Newt Bistro concurrent with the first wine releases in June of 1999. Red Newt Cellars represented the achievement of David and Debra’s longtime goal to combine their efforts and expertise in the exploration of regional wine and cuisine. Their focus was on not only producing exceptional wines and food, but also creating a synergy between them.

David is one of the top winemakers in the Finger Lakes Region. His career spans three of the most exciting and progressive decades of the Finger Lakes wine industry, including winemaking at McGregor, Chateau Lafayette Reneau, Swedish Hill Vineyards, and Standing Stone Vineyards. The current production at Red Newt Cellars is approximately 20,000 cases with the white wine focus on aromatic varieties: Riesling, Gewürztraminer, and Pinot Gris. “Circle” Riesling, Red Newt’s most popular and widely distributed wine, shows off a classic Finger Lakes style, expressing bright aromas of tangerine and honeysuckle and an elegant palate of citrus and peach. The wine – and the price – are great, and represent one of the best value Rieslings in North America. Red varietals include Pinot Noir, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon.

Debra Whiting was a visionary chef in the Finger Lakes wine growing region, and was a pioneering localvore chef before it was popular. The Bistro featured eclectic and seasonal menu changed about every three weeks. The Bistro has been celebrated in its emphasis on building relationships with local farms and producers and fostering the concept and practice of regional cuisine.

Her passion was not just the food as it appeared on the plate, but the food as it grew on local farms, supported local farmers and communities, and offered a wholesome and rewarding lifestyle to an entire region. Drawing on her relationship with husband and winemaker David Whiting, the evolution of a truly inspired regional cuisine was developing on her plate.

As chair on the executive board of the Finger Lakes Culinary Bounty – an organization committed to increasing the awareness of regional products and developing relationships between regional chefs and farmers – Debra had seen the regional restaurant farm scene transform from a handful of local, sustainable farms to a region with dozens of farms producing greens, produce, meats, and artisanal cheeses.
During the 12 years that Debra led the culinary team at Red Newt Bistro, she was a leader in the development of farm to table relationships that blossomed with the development of the burgeoning wine industry of the Finger Lakes. Debra Whiting Foundation has been formed to carry on Debra’s vision and commitment to wine, food, farms, families and community.

In addition to her efforts in the bistro kitchen, Debra was very active in promotional activities and teaching. She presented at 171 Cedar Arts Center in Corning, NY and at the NY Wine and Culinary Center in Canandaigua, NY – both as lectures/demos and as hands-on workshops. In New York City she presented Master Classes at Vintage New York in Soho, and co-hosted “a Finger Lakes Regional Dinner” at the James Beard House in New York City.

Debra Whiting was a visionary chef in the Finger Lakes wine growing region. Her passion was not just the food as it appeared on the plate, but the food as it grew on local farms, supported local farmers and communities, and offered a wholesome and rewarding lifestyle to an entire region. Drawing on her relationship with husband and winemaker David Whiting, the evolution of a truly inspired regional cuisine was developing on her plate. With her life cut short on June 30th, 2011, the Debra Whiting Foundation has been formed to carry on Debra’s vision and commitment to wine, food, farms, families and community.

Gewürztraminer

Gruner Veltliner

Merlot

Pinot Noir

Syrah

Tango Oaks Riesling has established the vine age and maturity to support a dry and mineral driven Riesling.  With the vineyard’s Alsatian clone Riesling and extremely gravelly soil, our goal is to continue pursuing the elegance that Tango Oaks Riesling is capable of both young and with appropriate bottle age.

There are oceans of Grüner Veltliner, both in the New World and Austria, that are pleasant but nondescript white wines. Coming from the back portion of The Knoll vineyard site, with all the opulence that pedigree implies, the KJR Grüner Veltliner takes as its inspiration and goal the dense, weighty, and powerful styles that mark top-end Austrian examples. White pepper, flint, and rich fruit run from the nose right through to the palate and finish, with more structure provided by the long ferment in neutral french oak barriques.

The Pinot Noir from Glacier Ridge Vineyard has a finesse and structure that is unique to the Finger Lakes; a credit to the spectacular vineyard they hail from and management by Tony Damiani.  Put simply, this bottling tries to stay out of the way of the vineyard and let the fruit and vintage speak for themselves.  The result is a rich wine with the characteristic cherry and earthy notes of Pinot Noir married to the smokiness typical of Glacier Ridge grapes.

The reds from Glacier Ridge Vineyard have a power and structure that is unique to the Finger Lakes; a credit to the spectacular vineyard they hail from and management by Tony Damiani.  Put simply, our Single Vineyard bottlings from Glacier Ridge try and stay out of the way of the vineyard and let the fruit and vintage speak for themselves.  The result is a ripe and rich wine with the characteristic plum and chocolate notes of Merlot married to the smokiness typical of Glacier Ridge grapes. 

The 2020 Newt Riesling marks the first vintage of this wine for Red Newt; a Riesling that embraces the exuberant aromatics, juicy fruit, and racy balance that we so love in Finger Lakes Riesling.  Made from some of our best fruit and with the same exacting standards for cold soaking and spontaneous fermentation, this is a Riesling everyone can enjoy, and can afford to enjoy.

Rosé

True to form, the goal every vintage is to make a crisp, dry, and acid-driven expression of Cabernet Franc rosé from the Nutt Road Vineyard.  With 72-hours cold soaking prior to pressing, the aim is to overlay bright fruit and intense color on a focused and structured core; ideally this is more than a summer-sipper.  The fruit source and winemaking for this wine has remained rock solid since the inaugural 2013 vintage.

A vibrant nose of orange fruit, flowers, and cherry is astonishing for how fresh it reveals this wine is despite being in bottle for 6 years. This 'fountain of youth' impression only continues with the juicy, acid-etched, and finely balanced midpalate, with a long and refreshing finish of blood orange fruit and pith.

Syrah is a beguiling grape with many expressions in the vinous world, from the gamey classics of France to the inkiness of Australia.  In the Finger Lakes, it takes a special site to nurture these beautiful vines to full maturity, but in Glacier Ridge we have found just such a vineyard.  With intense Vietnamese peppercorn aromatics, bright red cherry flavors, and a brooding minerality underneath, this Syrah is a pure expression of what can be achieved with one of our favorite grapes in a cool climate.   Put simply, think northern Rhone rather than Barossa. 

Curry Creek Vineyard always delivers a Gewurztraminer for those who love Gewurztraminer.  Opulent, rich, generous in floral and fruit characters; this is an exuberant expression of the perfume and richness that we love in Gewurztraminer.

Our goal is to respect that passion and the fact that their fruit bares little resemblance to a light and fruity Pinot Grigio. This wine is very different.  With an ideally ripened crop and an overnight cold soak to extract the flavors locked in the skins, we aim to dial in the wonderful structure that make this wine a treasure in Alsace and now the Finger Lakes. 

The Red Newt Riesling is our expression of the richer style of Finger Lakes Riesling, a style that we believe ages spectacularly well.  Just off-dry in style rather than overtly higher in sugar, our Riesling plays on the same tropical and orange fruit that are echoed in the Dry Riesling.  For us, this is a hidden gem in our portfolio that we hope rewards Riesling fans everywhere.

Aromas of grapefruit and smoke lead into a palate of passion fruit, pineapple, candied lemon and white pepper. This Riesling provides ample concentration and power that are showcased from the surge of bright fruit on the nose through the expansive and lasting finish.

Intense and intriguing smoky notes on the nose evolve to grapefruit peel with time. These aromas lead to a rich mid-palate that features exotic fruit while still being steely and dry through the finish. 

This stainless steel expression of Cabernet Franc captures the beautiful fruit that this grape has in the Finger Lakes. Aromas of violets, cranberry, and sweet raspberry leap from the glass. The palate is bursting with expressive pomegranate and cherry with a subtle black pepper note. The fruit is heightened with integrated acidity and enveloped with soft tannins.

The Red Newt Cellars ‘Classic Label’ Gewurztraminer is internally referred to as “the every night Gewurztraminer.”  As beautiful as the single vineyard Gewurztraminers we bottle can be, they are opulent and bruising wines with a very loud personality.  This wine is made and blended in such a way that it is lighter, more refreshing, and with more fruit aromas as compared to rose perfume.  A friendlier Gewurztraminer.  

This Pinot Gris is more fruit-forward, relaxed, and ready to be sipped on a summer night.  A wine that is uncomplicated and joyous for those very occasions.

New York

Red Newt Cellars

2020

"Circle" Riesling

Seneca Lake

Release Price

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