Busy week for the Finger Lakes Weekend Wino

- It was a very busy for the Weekend Wino. I attended the Wineries Unlimited conference in Valley Forge. VWM always puts on a great wine show with top-notch seminars and lots of exhibitors. Being an amateur winemaker, this show gives me a wealth of information on how to make better wine and what new products are out there. There were lots of people from the Finger Lakes wine industry in attendance and I saw folks from Dr. Frank, Lakewood, Hazlitt, King Ferry, Hunt Country, Glenora, Bellwether, & Finger Lakes Wine Gazette to name a few.

- I also participated in the Finger Lakes Wine Alliance Vintners Roundtable. The theme was Finger Lakes Red wines, with reds from Billsboro, Sheldrake Point, Standing Stone, Ravines, Fox Run, & Hunt Country featured. As I continually preach, Finger Lakes wineries produce some impressive reds, but some of the other media folks on the call who were skeptical before, were surprised and impressed with the quality of the wines. I'll post more about this soon.

- Finally, it was filtering and bottling time this week for me any my winemaking partners. We bottled Diamond, Aurora, Vidal Blanc, Niagara, Apple, and the most amazing Concord that I have ever tasted with a very soft and silky mouthfeel, loads of fruit without being grapey, and a smooth long finish. We will be entering some amateur winemaking competitions this year and I will let you know how we do.

- Also, I wanted to let you know that The Finger Lakes Weekend Wino Acoustic Duo featuring myself and Mr. Tom will be performing at Arcadian Estate Winery for the "Cruisin The Tropics" event on Sunday, March 30th from Noon to 3pm. Wear your coolest tropical attire and come on out for good wine, good fun and good tunes, featuring songs from my "Sparkling Diamonds- Songs of The Finger Lakes" CD. I hope to see you there! Click here to listen to the songs.

- Well it's time to get some rest today and gear up for the start of the wine tasting season for me in The Finger Lakes. Once again this year, my goal is to visit every one of the over 100 wineries (I've lost count now) in the region and post my visit reviews and tasting notes. Wish me luck!