Unlike California, where summers are reliably dry and conditions stable, the Finger Lakes see “precipitation of some sort throughout the year \u2014 and it includes us having rain during the growing season,” Cadamatre told Fox News Digital.\u00a0<\/p>\n
IRANIAN REFUGEE BUILDS WORLD-RANKED AMERICAN WINERY ROOTED IN HERITAGE AND HEALTH<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n The result is wine that tastes different than anywhere else in the country, she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Wine Enthusiast recently named the Finger Lakes as the American Wine Region of the Year \u2014 a feat that Gov. Kathy Hochul’s office<\/a> said “recognizes the region\u2019s world-class winemaking, sustainable practices and collaborative community that have helped define New York State as a leader in American viticulture.”<\/p>\n Nova Cadamatre, the first female Master of Wine in the United States, opened Trestle Thirty One winery in New York’s Finger Lakes region with her husband in 2015. (Autumn Stein)<\/p>\n Her office’s note added, “It\u2019s a win for our state\u2019s economy and our reputation as a global wine destination.”<\/p>\n In bestowing the honor, Wine Enthusiast<\/a> said, “New York\u2019s largest wine-growing region has come a mighty long way in a few decades. Where wine lovers once had to search for quality, these days it\u2019s the norm.”<\/p>\n NASHVILLE’S HIDDEN ‘WINE COUNTRY’ PROVIDES TASTE OF TENNESSEE IN WHISKEY BARRELS<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n “Making wine in New York really forces you to be creative and very resourceful because the industry is not as well established as it is in California,” said Cadamatre.<\/p>\n The region has been evolving fast.\u00a0<\/p>\n Wine Enthusiast recently named the Finger Lakes as the American Wine Region of the Year. (Getty Images)<\/p>\n Since her very first Finger Lakes harvest, Cadamatre said she’s watched the area shift from underdog to emerging powerhouse.<\/p>\n Climate change,<\/a> while destabilizing in many wine regions, has had a paradoxical benefit in the Finger Lakes, Cadamatre said.<\/p>\n Trestle Thirty One’s Engine Riesling is featured in the Fox News American Wine Club.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n “We are becoming warmer,” she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n “We’re able to grow different varieties than we did 20 years ago and ripen them more consistently.”<\/p>\n Cadamatre founded Trestle Thirty One winery in New York’s Finger Lakes region. “We’re able to grow different varieties than we did 20 years ago and ripen them more consistently,” she said.\u00a0 (Jay Gillotti)<\/p>\n She likens the region’s trajectory to Napa’s early ascent<\/a>.<\/p>\n “The Finger Lakes, right now, is kind of like where Napa was in the 1970s,” she said.<\/p>\n TEXAS WINERY BEATS NAPA ELITES WITH SMALL-TOWN SAVVY AND TOP-NOTCH TASTE<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Cadamatre views Trestle Thirty One’s Engine Riesling, featured in the Fox News American Wine Club,<\/a> and Cabernet Franc, available through the Fox News Wine Shop, as ambassadors for a region still creating its identity.<\/p>\n Cadamatre splits her time between New York’s Finger Lakes region and California’s Napa Valley.\u00a0 (Autumn Stein)<\/p>\n “They’re really great exposure to what the region has to offer,” she said.<\/p>\n CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR LIFESTYLE NEWSLETTER<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n The Engine Riesling is “great as just an ap\u00e9ritif or a sipper or with a cheese plate and charcuterie,<\/a> hanging around with friends,” she said.<\/p>\n “But it’s also dry enough where it’ll go really well with lighter, red meats.”<\/a><\/p>\n CLICK HERE FOR MORE LIFESTYLE STORIES<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n For a winemaker who has built her career on both coasts, Cadamatre is bullish about the future of viticulture in the Finger Lakes.<\/p>\n Cadamatre has high hopes for the future of winemaking in the Finger Lakes. (Autumn Stein)<\/p>\n “I think it’s just a real testament to all the work that the community’s done here to get the word out about our beautiful wine region,” Cadamatre said.<\/p>\n TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZ<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n She’s the first female winemaker in the United States to earn the prestigious Master of Wine title \u2014 which she earned in 2017.\u00a0<\/p>\n “It’s the highest level of certification you can achieve in the world of wine<\/a>,” Cadamatre said. “Right now, there are about 432 of us in the world.”<\/p>\n CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n As she also recently told SUNY Morrisville<\/a>, where she earned her degree in horticulture, “I’ve been working my butt off for a long time. I’ve made a lot of wine over 20 years.”<\/p>\n![\"Nova](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/nova-cadamatre.jpg\")
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