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Welcome
to Russel's Ramblings™! This is the third installment of my
addition to the website, which focuses on the various aspects of the
joy of the table- WINE! In this issue, I discuss tasting in the
Finger Lakes region of New York. Read on and send your comments and
questions to me at mailto:info@joyofthetable.com.
As
you may recall from the first
Russel's Ramblings™, the first place Tonya and I
visited for wine tasting was the Finger Lakes region in New York
State. This was the summer of 2002 right before we got married. I had
been trying to think of a great getaway that was not a long drive or
too expensive of a trip. We had visited Montreal (another great city
with awesome food and culture, a/k/a Europe at half the price!) the
summer before. An attorney I deal with occasionally had mentioned
that he vacationed in the Finger Lakes region of New York near Keuka
Lake and enjoyed tasting the wines. I had also recalled traveling
through the region as a kid on the way to Niagara Falls. Once I
researched the bed and breakfasts and the wineries in that area, I
was certain that it would be an ideal place to visit. Plus, there was
also the potential to fish and golf! I decided to focus on Seneca
Lake (www.senecalakewine.com), which is the largest lake and has the
most wineries. I figured it would be easy to find one that we liked.
We
stayed at the 1819 Red Brick Inn located in Dundee, New York just
outside of Watkins Glen. The owners of this place were very friendly
and very knowledgeable and helpful. As a side note, one of the best
things about bed and breakfasts is the various levels of luxury you
can have. Some are quaint and set in a certain time period, while
others are like boutique hotels. In our experience, all of them have
the friendliest, most helpful and pleasant innkeepers and employees
of all places to stay. They also usually have great breakfasts
(Perhaps I will do a rambling on bed and breakfasts in the future.)
The
Red Brick Inn was very quaint, quiet and located within minutes of
the wine trail. It was perfect for what I was looking for. Tonya is
very tech savvy and is always busy with something. I was trying to
get her to relax and disconnect so I had to locate some place outside
the norm. This place had poor cell phone reception and limited
internet accessibility, which made it perfect! The rooms were very
comfortable, the innkeepers had great recommendations for food and
were very friendly and made us feel as if we would be friends for
life. Another good thing was that the rooms had private bathrooms (a
must for Tonya and anyone twenty-first century traveler)!
The
first winery we visited was Castel Grisch. The owners are a Swiss
family who make very good German styled wines. The Riesling is lovely
and the Gewurtztraminer is exceptional. They also make a very
quaffable chardonnay and Traminette. I can't forget the Baco Noir and
Burgundy. The ice wines are also top notch. In addition, the tasting
room has a cafeteria attached with Swiss/German foods that go great
with their wine.
Some
of the other wineries we visited on Seneca Lake during that trip
were Fox Run, Glenora, Atwater Estates, Chateau Lafayette Reneau,
Wagner Vineyards and Lamoreaux Landing. I know there were others but
they are not all part of the wine trail. On Cayuga Lake, we visited
Sheldrake Point Vineyard, Lucas Vineyards, Swedish Hill and Goose
Watch Winery. We went nuts and purchased about one hundred bottles of
wine! All these wineries have beautiful views of the lake and offer
different tasting experiences. The best times to go are during the
week when there are no buses. Visiting on "non-peak hours"
also increases the amount of time you can spend with the winemaker
and winery staff. During the slow times try to ask as many questions
as you can so you will be able to find out about the entire
winemaking process. You may also get an impromptu tour and barrel
tasting! It is during these times that we have had our best visits
and have received special bottles of wine.
We
also visited a few on Cayuga Lake near Cornell University (the hated
arch rival from my Penn days). Because all the lakes are relatively
close, you can spend a week visiting the wineries and the parks
around the lakes.
I
recommend this trip to anyone. This was great for us because it was
an extended weekend (Thursday to Sunday) and was only a six hour
drive from Philadelphia. There are plenty of hotels, motels, bed and
breakfasts, and also rental units in the area. The wine trails have
weekend events during most weekends. The spring and fall are some of
the best times to visit. The summer gets very busy but you can still
have a great time during the warm months because you can swim, fish,
golf, hike and see road races at Watkins Glen.
One
of the things that I recommend when visiting a winery is to join the
mailing list and wine club if you really enjoy the wines. You will be
privy to special events and deals that make it worthwhile. We have
received great information about fun events at local wineries (most
publicize holiday events), limited releases (like small production
award winning wines) and big discounts on purchases (Castel Grisch
offers a 10% to 25% discount on purchases to its Alpine Members). So
I highly recommend a trip to the Finger Lakes Region for an amazing
new world wine tasting experience.
Cheers!
Russel
