French Tradition In New York State : Forge Cellars

A few thoughts from Louis:

*“As a person who is part of an old French wine family, I know what the weight of traditions means. It is great to improve an estate that has been built over the centuries by many different ancestors: it means being a little part of a very long adventure. Trying to develop a new estate in the Finger Lakes represents a completely different perspective, a different exercise in a different environment. But at deep, is it that different? Maybe not that different, as the feeling is the same, the wish of proper understanding is the same and the final goal is the same: express in a wine the soul of a place.

“All that to say that I deeply enjoy being part of such a great project with my friends Rick Rainey (RR) and Justin Boyette (JB). It is a nice "human adventure" as well as an achievement at every step that we climb, simply because we began this project with almost nothing but clear and strong ideas.”

The Finger Lakes is a great area which needs to be discovered, understood and loved. Its potential for quality is very high. We want our wines to be closely related to the place they come from because this is where the pleasure is. When I smell a wine, I want to be transported to its origins. I want to see a landscape. I want to relate it to good memories, I want to experience a strong feeling of identity. This is why we try to listen, be soft and transparent. A funny sentence comes to my mind: "bring the lakes in your glass.” Well, you better be…very thirsty. But think about it: there is 87% water in a Riesling; and 12% alcohol and then 1% of the hundreds of components that make the difference between a bad and a good wine. This last 1% is nothing but everything…

We would like to share with you our adventure in the Finger Lakes.*