Upstate NY Wine Tour

[GordonCooks]

I enjoy a nice wine tour as much as the next person. If you can survive the onslaught of syrupy sweet Niagara, Catawba, and Delaware - you'll find some very good whites (and some very good reds this trip) The finger lakes wine economy is basically - make something sweet for the masses to pay the bills and offer a small, quality portfolio for the wine folk. Lots of stops along the way but here are the highlights

2005 Ventosa Tocai Fruilano – light with good balance – more honeydew than traditional peach but a nice pear fruit profile from extremely young vines

2005 Standing Stone Ice – not traditional “Eiswein” per se as they pick and then freeze the grapes. Typical Vidal profile – a little light in body but slightly oversweet due to a lack of acidity.

2002 Standing Stone Ice – Nice with a slight sherry note and not as overly sweet – a little more balance. This wine is sold out I’m told.

2005 Silver Springs Don Giovanni Late Harvest Vintner’s Select – Non-malo by guess., nice acidity without being bracing. Wet stones and apple and some weight. Good stuff

2003 Silver Springs Don Giovanni Merlot – very reminiscent of Palmer. The grapes are sourced from their land in Long Island. Very full-bodied and luscious. Would not have picked this as a finger lakes red.

2003 Silver Springs Don Giovanni Merlot Reserve – Nice balance of red fruit and tannin. Very fleshy and bright. Another surprise – reminiscent of a St. Emilion.

[Don Giovanni]

Gordo,

It always seems that way...I was working with a woman from a wine club and your buss pulls in...so you got to meet my wife...I was monopolized although I did get to say hello...next time maybe like Enzo was saying dinner up the road...and we can start off sampling off the deck... if the weather is nice...anyway it was a pleasure to meet you...

[GordonCooks]

Gordo,

It always seems that way...I was working with a woman from a wine club and your buss pulls in...so you got to meet my wife...I was monopolized although I did get to say hello...next time maybe like Enzo was saying dinner up the road...and we can start off sampling off the deck... if the weather is nice...anyway it was a pleasure to meet you...

←

No doubt our paths will cross again. Sante'

[docsconz]

This is something that I have been quite remiss about as I rarely venture to the central or western parts of the state. I will have to try to make the time to visit my own backyard!

[GordonCooks]

This is something that I have been quite remiss about as I rarely venture to the central or western parts of the state. I will have to try to make the time to visit my own backyard!

←

Try it, you'll like it

[Stevarino]

I did a Wine Dinner with Konstantin Frank over the winter. They are in Hammondsport NY. I'm pretty sure thats in the finger lakes region. They make quite a few different wines, various levels. One in particular stood out with me. A gamay that they call Petit Noir. All of the wines were challenging to pair up, but in the end, we were pretty successful with all of them; a rose, a chardonnay, a riesling, the gamay mentioned, and a pinot noir. In all fairness, they were well made, and drinkable if paired with the right food. The petit noir is definitely worth a shot. Try it with some roast chicken with citrus, cilantro, green olives, sherry vinegar, a little harissa. The acid & heat really turned on the wine nicely.