Finger Lakes News & Notes

- We had another great weekend last weekend performing songs from the new CD as well as palying acoustic rock and blues classics at Dr. Frank Wine Cellars. I want to Thank Joe, George, The "Finger Lake Shake" Dancers, and everyone at Dr. Frank for their warm hospitality and for making it so much fun to be there. Remember, My new CD "Sparkling Diamonds- Songs of The Finger Lakes" is now available at the retail shops at Dr. Frank Wine Cellars (west side of Keuka Lake), Lakewood Vineyards (west side of Seneca Lake), Barrington Cellars (east side of Keuka Lake), & Artizans Gift Shop in Naples NY (south end of Canandaigua Lake). Or to order a CD by mail, just fill out the form at the bottom of this page.

If you are a Finger Lakes winery or an organization having a Finger Lakes wine-related event, I am available to perform. Also, I'm looking for additional wineries or gift stores or retailers to carry the CD. It makes a great Finger Lakes gift item. Just email me by filling out the form at the bottom of this page.

- Another Finger Lakes Wine Center is proposed for Ithaca

- Sandra Silfven (one of my favorite wine writers) visits the Finger Lakes

- Californians to open new winery in The Finger Lakes. Also watch a nice video of the new owners talking about the winery

- Finger Lakes Calendar of Events for July

- Finger Lakes wine finds gold in Michigan

- FingerLakesWine.com profiles White Springs Winery

- Here's proof that wine does not have to be expensive to be good. $2.00 Chardonnay beats out the rest in California wine competition.

- Owasco Lake water quality still a major concern

- Finger Lakes wineries cracking down on rowdy wine tour groups

- If you're looking for books, music, and gifts about New York state, check out Hope Farm

- Hotels offering unique Food & Wine Experiences

- Ethanol plant controversy rages on

- New Yates County lodging tax is debated

- Chinese Honey making a buzz with New York Honey producers

- Finger Lakes town mistakenly voted to be "dry"

- Cycling the Erie Canal (Floating bicycles? No!!!)

- Booze Brother Dan Ackroyd to open winery in the Niagara wine region

- Are high gas prices GOOD for Finger Lakes tourism?

- Has anybody ever tried these Copper Wine Enhancers?

Finger Lakes Winery Visit Reports

Mrs. Wino and I explored the further reaches (for us) of Cayuga Lake over Memorial Weekend a few weeks ago. If you enjoy birdwatching, Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge is the place for you. There are educational exhibits in the main building and then you can drive your car through the refuge and observe the wildlife. And right down the road, of course, is:


--- Montezuma Winery, northeast end of Cayuga Lake, http://www.montezumawinery.com/,
This winery specializes in Mead (Honey wine) and Fruit wines. My tasting notes are:
- Diamond, 3.6% RS, $8.99, sweet white with the aroma and taste of fresh picked grapes.
- Sparkling Honey Wine, 3.5%RS, $13.99, This wine was crafted for the wedding of the winemaker, A very unique SPARKLING Mead, subtly sweet and bubbly. -Rhubarb Wine, $14.99, Another unique wine made from 100% Rhubarb yielding flavors of citrus and melon and a hint of sweet strawberries. - 2004 Merlot, $17.99, smokey raspberry with deep toffee undertones and a long smoky finish, a nice dry red find among the sweet fruit and mead wines. - Gewurztraminer, $13.99, A lovely floral nose, a dry light-bodied style with classic Gewurz ginger and tropical spice.

--- King Ferry Winery (also Treleaven brand), east side of Cayuga Lake, http://www.treleavenwines.com/, Taste 6 wines for $1.00, My tasting notes:
- 2005 Cabernet Franc, $14.99, soft medium tannins, nice cherry fruit, a balanced and easy drinking Cab Franc. - Meritage, $22.99, tastes of ripe black cherry with a hint of smooth leather, very smooth and balanced with heavy tannins, should age very well. - 2006 Semi-dry Riesling, $12.99, beautiful rounded juicy peach tones waltzing elegantly with subtly sweet lemon drops, Loved It! - 2003 Saumon, $8.99, a grape I have not seen used anywhere else in the Finger Lakes, lightly sweet, zinfandel blush style, with hints of strawberry.

I hope to see some of you at Dr. Franks this weekend. I'll be playing from Noon to 4pm on Saturday & Sunday. Make sure to come up and say Hi, even if I'm playing.

Finger Lakes Wine Notes

- Remember to come on out and see me at Dr. Frank Wine Cellars (west side of Keuka Lake) next weekend, Saturday & Sunday June 23 & 24, from Noon to 4pm both days as I perform songs from my new CD, as well as Acoustic Rock & Blues Classics. The June 9th performance was a lot of fun and I thank all of you who stopped by and all of the great staff at Dr. Frank for their hospitality. If you'd like your own copy of my new CD "Sparkling Diamonds - Songs of The Finger Lakes", it's now available at the gift shops at Dr. Frank Wine Cellars, Lakewood Vineyards, and Barrington Cellars

- New Releases:

2005 Fulkerson Noiret, A “just released” Hybrid Red developed by Cornell U., layers of black cherry and elderberry fruit, 0% RS, aged in French & American Oak barrels for 12 months, $12 .00 (Notes from Fulkerson)
2005 Fulkerson Cabernet Sauvignon, Generous fruit forward aromas of blackberries with a touch of leather and tobacco carry through
to a fruity tart taste edged with vanilla that ends on a serious tannic note, 0% RS, aged in French Oak barrels for 1 year, $16.00 (Notes from Fulkerson). Fulkerson has also received an 86 Rating in the July '07 Wine Spectator magazine for their 2004 Vidal Blanc Iced Wine.

2006 Lakewood Pinot Gris, Lakewood's first bottling of Pinot Gris and it is excellent, Perfectly balanced with delicious rounded peach and pear tones and a long finish.

2006 Prejean Gewurztraminer, Following last years excellent vintage, this 2006 Gewurz is just as good, semi-dry, awesome floral and spice aromatics, lots of fruit with a touch of sweetness and finishing with a good dose of Gewurz spice. I'd also like to give accolades to Prejean's website. It is very informative and I particularly recommend the Winemaking section as a good primer for any new wine drinkers who want to know a bit more about the winemaking process.

- Lots of changes coming to Nagys' Winery (northeast Seneca Lake), Home of what was the smallest tasting room in the Finger Lakes, but not anymore. They are building Three!!! new businesses- Passionfeet Dance Barn, which will feature live music, and Stony Lonesome Winery, and Rogues Hollow Winery. Construction was proceeding quickly when we recently visited.

- Finger Lakes wineries continue to win awards. Here are the award winners form the 2007 Critics Challenge Competition. Congrats to all!!!

Chateau Frank
Critics Gold 2000 Blanc de Blancs Finger Lakes, NY $29.99
Critics Gold 2000 Blanc de Noirs Finger Lakes, NY $29.99

Dr. Konstantin Frank Wine Cellars
Critics Silver 2006 Rkatsiteli Finger Lakes, NY $24.99
Critics Silver 2006 Pinot Gris Finger Lakes, NY $19.99

Fox Run Vineyards
Critics Gold 2005 Riesling, Reserve Finger Lakes, NY $30.00

Fulkerson Winery
Critics Gold 2005 Semi-Dry Riesling Finger Lakes, NY $13.00

Glenora Wine Cellars
Critics Silver 2005 Meritage New York $19.99
Critics Silver 2001 Brut Finger Lakes, NY $24.99
Critics Gold 2006 Riesling, Dry Finger Lakes, NY $13.99

Finger Lakes Winery Visit Report - Long Point Winery

Photo:

Long Point Winery Dog "Spike" relaxes while we taste.

Long Point Winery- East side of Cayuga Lake - http://www.longpointwinery.com/

6 tastings for $1.00

There are only a few wineries on the east side of Cayuga Lake, so I don't get over that way a lot but, after tasting this time, I think I'll be getting over there a lot more!!! Owners Gary & Rosemary Barletta have a beautiful country winery nestled off the beaten path overlooking Cayuga Lake. Gary was our friendly and gracious wine server and educator and I came away extremely impressed with Long Point Winery. Here are my tasting notes:

- 2006 Vidal Blanc, $8.99, 1.9% RS (Residual Sugar), aromas of fresh cut flowers, semi-sweet, light and subtle with layers of citrus, apricot and mango, with a balanced crisp, even elegant finish and an amazing value at $8.99, This is one of my new favorite value wines, An amazingly complex Vidal Blanc. - 2005 Chardonnay, $12.99, aged in French oak, perfectly balanced fruit, vanilla and sweet oak. - 2006 Semi-dry Riesling, $12.99, 1.6% RS, very aromatic fruit blossoms on the nose, a lighter style of Riesling with more melon & green apple than citrus, Very Nice.

- 2006 Moon Puppy, $9.99, 3.0 RS, a sweet Cab Franc that works surprisingly well, again a lighter style but it certainly does not sacrifice fruit with lots of cherry on the tongue, a unique and brave Cab Franc experiment that really works out rather nicely. - 2004 Syrah, $19.99, Earthy aromas, again a somewhat lighter style with no shortage of fruit, my notes say "This is what happens when Smoky Robinson and Halle Berry get together - Smoky Berry", and that's what you get with this delectable Syrah. - 2004 Merlot Reserve, $25.99, Medium tannins, with abundant berry and plum and a clean finish, excellent in my book. This is one of the few wineries where I liked everything I tasted. I came away with a new respect for the eastern side of Cayuga Lake. It may be a bit of a drive, but Long Point is well worth it!!!

Finger Lakes News & Notes

Memorial Weekend was absolutely gorgeous at Seneca Pier in Watkins Glen.

- Jason Feulner interviews Ravines' Morten Hallgren

- Hazlitt Vineyards to sponsor concerts at The Glen

- Finger Lakes Skydivers turns 25

- More Finger Lakes land preserved

- The Official Birthplace celebrates Memorial Day. And Mrs. Wino & I proudly attended the ceremonies in Waterloo this year. I'll post more on our Memorial weekend adventures soon.

- Finger Lakes Summer Festivities

- Holly Howell's white wines of summer

- Take a hike with the Triple Cities Hiking Club

- Settlement proposed for the Cayuga Indian Nation

- Finger Lakes Catawba makes a nice summer picnic rose`

- Finger Lakes Tourism strengths and weaknesses discussed

- New York wineries featured in upcoming TV special

- Whit offers his wines of summer

- The Oneida Indians helped fight the British in the American Revolution

- Finger Lakes wine gaining awards and prestige

- More awards for Finger Lakes wine

- Another new wine trail is created

- Interesting new wine book

- Secrets revealed on growing Finger Lakes wine grapes