Name: CLOSING KEYNOTE: What Does Riesling Want? @ Smith Opera House
Start: 2026-06-29T15:00:00-0400
End: 2026-06-29T17:00:00-0400

Welcome to the FLXCURSION 2026 - International Riesling Expo!

CLOSING KEYNOTE: What Does Riesling Want? @ Smith Opera House

Monday June 29, 2026 3:00pm - 5:00pm EDT

Smith Opera House @ 82 Seneca St, Geneva, NY 14456, USA

We are thrilled to host an exciting evening seminar at the Smith Opera House with Valerie Kathawala and Paula Redes Sidore, the brilliant duo behind TRINK Magazine, the only English-language publication devoted to the wines of Alsace, Austria, Germany, South Tyrol, and Switzerland.
Trink Magazine presents TRINK: UNBOUND, a live podcast format bringing Valerie Kathawala and Paula Redes Sidore’s sharp, thoughtful perspective to FLXcursion for a dynamic conversation on how historic wine identities are evolving in real time. Together, Valerie and Paula will explore the tension between tradition and modernity, from climate change and shifting bureaucracy to Germany’s 2026 classification rollout and the Finger Lakes’ movement toward single-vineyard delineation. The conversation will also examine the stylistic shift beyond rigid categories, including the pivot from Prädikat to Landwein in Germany and parallel conversations taking place in the United States.
Finally, the seminar will look at wine through the lens of structure, phenolics, and texture, considering what white wine producers are learning from red wine techniques and how these evolving practices are reshaping the way we understand style, place, and identity.

A conversation with growers from Germany, Austria, and the FLX.

1st Hour / Panel 1: Rewriting the Rules. An exploration of evolving wine laws and classification in Germany/Austria, how growers work within and outside these rules, and how FLX is developing in this context.

2nd Hour / Panel 2: The Style Shift. A look at Riesling’s evolution in structure, texture, and phenolics — from skin ferments to traditional method Sekt — and what’s driving this shift in farming, climate, and cellar technique.

WHAT DOES RIESLING WANT?
A Conversation with Growers from Germany, Austria, and the Finger Lakes
Valerie Kathawala · Paula Sidore
3:00-5:00pm · The Smith

1. A.J. Adam Dhroner Hofberg Riesling, 2024 Mosel, Germany
2. Koehler-Ruprecht Kallstadter Saumagen Riesling, 2021 Pfalz, Germany
3. Weingut Heinrich Spindler Kirchenstück Riesling Trocken Grosse Lage, 2023 Pfalz, Germany
4. Weingut Heinrich Spindler Kirchenstück Riesling Trocken Grosse Lage, 2021 Pfalz, Germany
5. Nikolaihof Steiner Hund Riesling, 2019 Kremstal, Austria
6. Apollo's Praise Dry Riesling, 2025 Seneca Lake, Finger Lakes, NY
7. Apollo's Praise Riesling [Kabinett], 2025 Seneca Lake, Finger Lakes, NY
8. Fritz Haag Brauneberger Juffer Riesling Kabinett, 2024 Mosel, Germany
9. Weingut Sommer Handwerk Riesling, 2021 Leithaberg, Austria
10. Jurtschitsch Heiligenstein Riesling, 2023 Kamptal, Austria
11. Jurtschitsch Heiligenstein Riesling, 2016 Kamptal, Austria
12. Lukas Hammelmann Riesling Klostergarten Trocken, 2023 Pfalz, Germany
13. Hermann J. Wiemer Bio Riesling, 2023 Finger Lakes, NY
14. Dr. Lippold Signature Brut Nature, 2014 Finger Lakes, NY
15. Dr. Frank Riesling Nature Sparkling, 2021 Finger Lakes, NY

Moderators

Valerie Kathawala

Moderator

Paula Redes Sidore

Co-publisher, German regional editor jancisrobinson.com, TRINK Magazine

Writing, hiking, literature, old Riesling and young Scheurebe, the absurdity of the German language, intriguing anecdotes.For the boring details, see more here: https://trinkmag.com/writers/p-sidore/

Monday June 29, 2026 3:00pm - 5:00pm EDT
Smith Opera House

Seminar, Conference Attendees ONLY

Attendees (79)

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FLXCURSION 2026

Valerie Kathawala

Paula Redes Sidore

Attendees (79)

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