Contest & News & Notes

- Announcing The First Finger Lakes Weekend Wino Blog Contest-
I'm giving away one of my new Finger Lakes T-shirts (See link at left) and a Pre-Release CD copy of my new Finger Lakes CD titled "Sparkling Diamonds - Songs of the Finger Lakes" to one lucky winner. All you have to do is write the name of the 11 Finger Lakes (I know some people will debate how many there are, but most sources are in agreement that there are 11) in the form at the bottom of the page. Only one entry per email address. The contest will end next Wednesday, August 16 at midnight. I will print all of the emails with correct answers out, fold them real small, put them in a bucket, and have the neighbor kid pull one out randomly. Very Scientific. My decision is final. I hope I don't have to include a lot of legalese. Good Luck and start sending those entries!

- Jim Trezise of NYWGF reports the following from the Indy International Wine Competition:
INDY INTERNATIONAL wine competition celebrated its 15th anniversary last week by becoming the largest wine competition in the country, with 3,859 entries. New York wineries came away with a total of 118 medals including 4 “Concordance Gold” (requiring unanimity), 8 Gold, 44 Silver, and 62 Bronze. The Concordance Gold winners included Chiappone Cellars Winery 2005 Ives, and three 2005 Finger Lakes Rieslings from Chateau LaFayette Reneau, Hosmer Winery, and Thirsty Owl Wine Company. Gold medals went to Chateau LaFayette Reneau 2003 Chardonnay, Chiappone 2005 Diamond, Earle Estates Apple Enchantment, Hazlitt 2005 Pinot Gris, Hosmer 2005 Cayuga, Honeymoon Trail 2005 Pink Catawba, Lakewood 2005 Delaware and 2005 Abby Rose. These and other recent competition results or other forms of recognition will soon be posted under “New York Gold” at www.newyorkwines.org.

- The Finger Lakes Weekend Wino will be on the other side of the tasting room bar this Saturday as I help pour wine for tastings at Seneca Shore Winery on the northwest side of Seneca Lake. Stop by and say Hi. But you'll have to help sing the Seneca Shore song if you want to taste!

- I had a great time last weekend at the Italian-American festival by the lake in Watkins Glen (awesome pierogies) and also at the Garlic Festival at Fox Run Vineyards (I never knew there were so many different types of garlic and now I know what scapes are). There's always something happening in the Finger Lakes. This weekend is no exception with a ton of things happening:
Keuka East Side Wineries- Summer, Sip, & Savor event
Keuka Overlook Wine Cellars- A Touch of Venice & Sicily
McGregor Vineyard Winery- Blues and Blueberries event
Barrington Cellars- Cold Pastabilities
Keuka Spring Vineyards- Merlot and Mignon
Swedish Hill Vineyard- Limited Release Tasting event
Ravines Wine Cellars- Cab Franc with Argentine Beef
Catch the last month of the Ansel Adams exhibit at The Rockwell Museum of Western Art in Corning
The Skaneateles Festival features top Classical performers
And I hope to see you at The Glen for NASCAR on Sunday.
It's going to be a BUSY weekend!!!
For more info on what's happening in the Finger Lakes, The Visit Finger Lakes website has a nice calendar feature.