***EXTENDED thru 1/30*** - Cool Climate Before It Was Cool: Finger Lakes Excellence from Red Newt Cellars

---

What an incredible response to our BD13 offers! So good, in fact, that we’re going to keep it going for the rest of the weekend!

We know that for many of you, the Finger Lakes is new vinous territory as you’ve been considering your purchase decisions. So have no fear, all the offers below will still active as you peruse what others have said and our reviews! Enjoy! Hello, Everyone! It is such a pleasure to be participating in BerserkerDay 13 as the first ever Finger Lakes winery to be represented!

With the recent attention our region and wines have been getting, we thought we’d use these offers to give you a great way of exploring what makes us special at the equivalent of wholesale prices. Now you can see what all the fuss is about - just why did Jancis Robinson pick the Red Newt Dry Riesling to launch her own line of wine glasses with? Besides, we all like having bottles to pull out from our cellar that elicit ‘ooos’ and ‘aaahs’ of intrigue!

Why the Finger Lakes? Cool, long growing seasons that are moderated by epic bodies of water allow us to make wines that can’t be replicated anywhere else in the US. There is a reason our German colleagues consider us the North American home of Riesling; we’re small in production, but mighty in impact. And the promise of the wines here is what drew me back home after graduating from Harvard and thinking I would never live outside a city again (whoops). This is your favorite Somm’s favorite secret wine region

Why Red Newt Cellars? Because we’re a passionate and small team that has been joyfully producing single vineyard Riesling and Cabernet Franc from the Seneca Lake AVA 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. Classic, elegant, world class wines await you.

We’ve put together four spectacular deals below as a one-time Berserker Day Special, but on top of that use code BD13 on any of the packages below for $20 flat rate shipping, or to receive shipping included when you purchase 12+ bottles!

And as a bonus for all of you and in honor of the lucky 13th Anniversary of Berserker Day:
every 13th order will receive a free gift card in their package!

Shipping Disclaimer:
Please note that we are going to wait to ship a week or two until the current arctic cold snap abates here!
We are currently able to ship to the following states NY, AK, CA, CO, CT, DC, FL, GA, IL, MD, MA, MI, MN, MO, NH, NJ, NM, NV, NC, OH, OR, PA, TX, VA, WA, and WI.

1. Stock Your Cellar Pack: Looking for a way to stock your cellar with killer domestic Riesling in both Dry and Kabinett expressions, at a price point that is a no-brainer for a weeknight wine? Look no further than this 6-pack of our two flagship wines!

• 3x 2017 Dry Riesling - Smoky, grapefruit, multilayered, and with an incredibly long finish, this Dry Riesling is the gift that keeps on giving. 91 points from Wine Advocate, Wine and Spirits, and James Suckling. “Years Best Rieslings” from Wine and Spirits.
  
  
  
• 3x 2019 ‘Circle’ Riesling - Still a baby of a wine, this is our house kabinett made from the same single vineyards, spontaneous fermentation, and 10 months aging on Gross Lees that we give our very best wines. Expect an exotic nose that opens up over an hour, a fruit filled mid-palate, and the whipcrack of acidity in the finish that we are famous for

$79 for 6 bottles, a $105 value!
Plus $20 flat rate shipping, or shipping included if you make it to a full case, with code BD13.
Purchase Here!


2. Finger Lakes Classics: Taste the cool climate rainbow with 1 bottle each of our 6 benchmark grapes and styles! The Finger Lakes has an amazing array of soil types and microclimates, this package celebrates them all:

• 2017 Dry Riesling - 91 points from Wine Advocate, Wine and Spirits, and James Suckling. “Years Best Rieslings” from Wine and Spirits.
  
  
  
• 2017 Semi-Dry Riesling - 91 points from Wine Advocate, Wine Enthusiast, and 90 points and “Best Buy” from Wine and Spirits
  
  
  
• 2019 ‘Circle’ Riesling - Our house kabinett style listed as a ‘Top Ten Value Rieslings in the World’ by Stuart Pigott in Best White Wine on Earth
  
  
  
• 2018 Pinot Gris - This is not for the faint of heart, overnight cold soaking results in a bronze, rich, textured expression.
  
  
  
• 2019 Gewürztraminer - A new release of a grape pioneered in the region by founding winemaker David Whiting. Opulent but dry, if you are used to floral and slightly sweet Gewürztraminers this will be a delight.
  
  
  
• 2019 Cabernet Franc - Another new release, this time of our classic Cabernet Franc. Bramble fruit, crunchy minerality, the closest you can come to Cru Beaujolais you can find this side of Lyon.

$79 for all 6 bottles, a $111 value!
Plus $20 flat rate shipping, or shipping included if you make it to a full case, with code BD13.
Purchase Here!


3. Ice Wine Bonanza: You can’t be this close to Canada and not make Ice Wine - and with our first vintage of it we hit it out of the ballpark! From our Tango Oaks Single Vineyard site, this Ice Wine was picked on Boxing Day 2017, took three days to press and then another 43 months to finish its (technically impossible due to osmotic pressure) spontaneous fermentation. A wine for the ages, bottled in specially ordered 375ml Stelvin-Closure German Hock bottles for cellaring.

• 3x 2017 Tango Oaks Vineyard Riesling Ice Wine (375ml bottles) - 95 points and “Cellar Selection” Wine Enthusiast

A $300 value, for $200!
Plus $20 flat rate shipping, or shipping included if you make it to a full case, with code BD13.
Purchase Here!


4. Finger Lakes Grand Crus - 4 vineyards, 3 vintages: If you want to try the best of the best while learning about the Finger Lakes, you cannot do better than these verticals. 1 bottle each of the 2017, 2018, and 2019 vintages of our four top vineyards, this is a remarkable set of wines that invites exploration of sites, verticals, or horizontals as you see fit. And, to make it even more special for BD13, these wines are nearly all pre-release exclusives for this day only. Available as 3-bottle verticals of each vineyard, but with a extraordinary price for the full case:

• The Knoll Riesling - Our top vineyard site, both in terms of prestige and elevation. This is a dry Riesling of particular texture, power, and salinity that appears in conferences around the world. Did you order the Monopole Crü offer yesterday for The Knoll? Purchase this three pack to make a full 6-year vertical of our top wine! If you missed out, this is still a fantastic opportunity to try our best. (And if you aren’t Monopole Crü - fix that for next year!
  Berserker Day Deal: $109 for the 2017, 2018, 2019 three-pack.
  
  
  
• Tango Oaks Vineyard Riesling - A rare planting of Alsatian clone Riesling on a rare site that features 20 feet of gravel, this dry Riesling features complex aromas of Thai Basil and White Peach year in and year out. Slightly more friendly than ‘The Knoll’, but no less serious.
  Berserker Day Deal: $61 for the 2017, 2018, 2019 three-pack.
  
  
  
• Lahoma Vineyard Riesling - From the slopes around ‘The Knoll’ we make a reserve caliber Kabinett Riesling every vintage that is as explosive in its fruit aromatics as it is ripping in its acidity. This is a wine that demands aging, a la some of our favorites from the Mosel; the current release is 2014 for a reason.
  Berserker Day Deal: $61 for the 2017, 2018, 2019 three-pack.
  
  
  
• Glacier Ridge Vineyard Cabernet Franc - The greatest red vineyard site in the Finger Lakes, a steep slope with that dives into Seneca Lake on its Southeast side. This slope and exposure result in a set of climatic conditions that result in a sub-region colloquially known as the ‘Banana Belt’ for the fantastic ripeness it delivers in a cool climate. With shale bedrock only 8" under the surface, Glacier Ridge takes this to the extreme and produces a Cabernet Franc of structure, savoriness, and smoke. This isn’t the Loire, it is old-school Bordeaux. And, much like our Rieslings, bottle age is its friend (we’re drinking the 2008 at the winery these days).
  Berserker Day Deal: $71 for the 2017, 2018, 2019 three-pack.

Interested in the full monty (not counting the photo below)? An even deeper discount than the above awaits you! A $450 value regularly, with code BD13 this case is only $275, including shipping! Yes, a full case of the best wines in the Finger Lakes for $275 total!
Purchase The Full Case Here!

Thank you so much for your time and giving us a shot!
Fan of Red Newt? Purchasing one of our specials? Let us know below, we love to hear from you!

Click Here For All The BD13 Deals on Our Store!
Join us in the Finger Lakes, we have some skin in the game.Winemaker Kelby and Assistant Winemaker Meagz posing for a Charity Pin-Up Calendar.
Don’t let the tan lines blind you.

I hope you have a fantastic Berserker Day.

Awesome write up Kelby! And that pin-up pic is to die for, hahaha!

My TNs will be up tonight.

Cheers from another believer in Cool Climate! Welcome Kelby!!!

Yay for the Finger Lakes! Kelby makes great wines!

Awesome! Love these wines!

Great to see you here. We have been spending a lot of time in FLX after dropping our son off at Syracuse the last several years. Looking forward to experiencing your wines

Did you really need the magnum bottle, though?

Very interested to try these!

No comment, but thank heavens for Photoshop

We did raise $25k for charity with the calendar that came from, however. Organizing it was my project during 2020 to keep from going stir-crazy. Apparently everyone else did go stir crazy, however, if that many people ordered a winemaker Pin-Up Calendar!

Thanks to so many of you for the love! I don’t want to clog up the thread with my comments, but I’m thrilled there is so much interest in a Finger Lakes producer such as ourselves. We’re making some amazing wine and having a great time doing it, and the word is clearly starting to spread Hopefully these offers are enticing start!

To any of you who come visit the region (or are close enough already), never hesitate to reach out if you are coming by - or with any other questions!

Excited to see the enthusiasm already building for Kelby’s Finger Lakes wines from Red Newt - these are some tasty looking offers!!

Check this guy out, Berserkers, especially if you appreciate thoughtful winemaking informed and inspired by the greatest Rieslings in the world for a fraction of the cost.

<3 FLX

I was selected to try and review Kelby’s wines. I decided early on to not award points to any wine because not everyone knows me and I value my credibility too much to imitate James Suckling. Before the pandemic, I would cycle between Ontario wineries and I still have between 3 and 4 cases so I figured it was much better to taste them against my Ontario favorites also some German rieslings that have scored in the low 90s in the WA. I also shared each wine with my wife who is a more casual wine drinker and all except the dry riesling made their way into apres ski in Telluride after being open a couple of days.

On another note I think that churning and burning through Electronic Medical Records at work in a timely fashion has trashed my writing ability and I figured this is a chance to claw it back a bit.

2017 Dry Riesling: On initial opening from the refrigerator the acid was a little aggressive and the wine was fairly closed. The nose had a little smoky element but was primarily apple and pear as opposed to floral. After warming up and air exposure the structure appeared and the wine took on a considerable amount of weight. The flavors of the fruit were apple and pear. Very little residual sugar is present on the palate. The weight is similar to a German GG. The finish is long. Very good and holds up well against German counterparts. When the wine was gone and my guests were still thirsty, I opened up a 2015 Max Ferdinand Richter Veldenzer Elisenberg Riesling Spätlese which was a step up but this wasn’t a fair comparison.

2013 Lahoma Vineyard Riesling: From the same vineyard (functionally) as the Dry Riesling, this named-Lahoma VIneyard bottling is always done in a Kabinett style (30s-50sg/L RS depending on the vintage). Like the classics it is modeled on, it rewards time in bottle to open up. This wine is older than the wines offered so this is a good indication that this will reward aging. This wine made a great impression from the first sip to the last sip and was a great crowd pleaser. My wife who wants me to cut back on buying wine said to me " YOU SHOULD BUY THIS ONE." This wine had great fruit aromatics of apples and pears and the wine was extremely balanced with the fruit, acidity and sugar being seamless. The body is much lighter than the dry riesling. This wine held up to a couple of German Kabinetts that we tasted and drank at the same time.

2016 Glacier Ridge Vineyard Cabernet Franc: When I first opened this wine it was fairly closed and not showing much. I had opened a 2016 Kacaba reserve cabernet franc which had won a couple of awards and is highly regarded and for the first hour was a clear winner. By 2 hours after opening the wines were fairly even and over the next 2 days the Red Newt really opened up to show a lot of interesting structure highlighting savoriness over the black fruits but none of the pepper notes that are commonly found in NY and Ontario. I have tasted a lot of cabernet franc in Ontario and NY and this wine is a very good example.

2017 Tango Oaks Vineyard Riesling Ice Wine: This wine has notes of peaches and apricots on the nose and in the middle. With 364 g/dl of residual sugar this wine is syrupy and not for the faint of heart. This wine reminds me of some of the wines in CA during the late 1970s where wineries like Chateau St. Jean and Joseph Phelps were trying to make German TBA on steroids. The wine is very rich but not cloying and more interesting than any Vidal icewine that I have tried
This wine is delicious now but needs more time to fully develop. I have several German TBAs and Eisweins that were Grosser Preis winners which serve as my benchmarks. A little more acidity and more age would put this wine alongside. Winesearcher tells me I could buy everything on this offer and not pay for one of those bottles. At the end of the apres ski this bottle was finished and put smiles on everyones face.

To summarize, Kelby is doing a great job and his wines are among the best I have tasted in the Finger Lakes. Red Newt is a little bit out of the way but this summer I plan to make an effort to visit. His rieslings compare very well with their German benchmarks and the cabernet franc compares well with the best Ontario has to offer. I plan to buy some for myself.

Thanks, Mont

You had me at Finger Lakes Riesling!

After 40 years of not visiting that area because the wines were too sweet for our changed tastes, we visited again 2 years ago. Finger Lakes wines are great and we will be sure to visit you next trip.

I also had the fortune to try this awesome lineup. Here are my notes:

Red Newt Cellars
2019 Cabernet Franc

Dark Ruby color. Pretty nose of blackberries, cocoa & graphite. Super minerally on the initial palate; air coaxes out flavors of red fruit, a bit of grassiness and more bitter cocoa. Tannins are definitely present with a bit of puckering dryness in the mouth. Finish is quite nice, lasting a good minute or so. This is a very good wine that I can see improving with short term cellaring.

2019 Circle Riesling

Pale straw in the glass. Bright nose of grapefruit, a bit of dried grass. On the palate, some sweet stone fruit, quince and citrus. Sweetness is medium. Finish is soft and pleasant. A very enjoyable apperitif style Riesling.

2017 The Knoll Riesling Lahoma Vineyards

Pale Lemon with lime hints at the edge. Beautiful flinty, minerally, petrol nose. Bone dry on the palate with elegant white fruit, lemon peel and an interesting anise note. Finish is medium long. This is a beauty.

2017 Riesling Ice Wine Tango Oaks Vineyard

Gorgeous faint amber color. Pours in a sirupy, viscous manner. Amazing nose of guava, roasted pineapple and bananas foster. The palate surprises with its beautiful acidity and balances the super ripe tropical notes incredibly well. There’s sweet mango, quince paste, dried dates galore but, man, that acidity keeps it all in check. This is fantastic and incredibly well made.

To summarize: these were all very good to excellent and a revelation as to what’s going on in FLX. I will definitely be picking up some more of the Knoll and Cab Franc.

Buy with confidence.

Thank you so much to everyone for your interest and kind words - the Finger Lakes has evolved rapidly in the past 10 years and we are thrilled to be at the vanguard of it!

In particular, thanks to Mont and Jorge for being such thoughtful previewers of the wine. It was a pleasure to send them each a mixpack to evaluate, and their thoughts above mean the world to us. We can’t wait for more of you to give the wines a try after BD13 and be able to chime in next year!!

Those rieslings are LEGIT. serious stuff!

In for the full monty! Thanks Jorge and Mont for the notes - very helpful!