Finger Lakes Wine Country 2018

I was introduced to New York State wines and a few of the wineries around the Finger Lakes region in the 70s. The family-owned Taylor Wine Company was a very large wine producer and they gave popular tours. This was after the company went public in the 60s and before Coca Cola bought them in 1977. Taylor later went out of business in the mid 90s and some of their brand continued on as "Taylor Desserts," but a recent search for it doesn't show any results.

Back when Taylor made a real NYS "Champagne."

I also visited Bully Hill, another popular Finger Lakes winery, in the 70s (and again in 2012).  Founded by 4th generation Taylor family winemaker and grape grower, Walter S. Taylor. I thought Bully Hill made pretty good wines. After the Coca Cola-owned Taylor Wine Company sued Bully Hill they weren't allowed to use the Taylor name on any of their wines or marketing materials. This led to the rebellious slogan on their White Goat Wine: “They have our name and heritage, but they didn’t get our goat!” 

One of my old favorites, a FLX Pinot Noir.
  "The Wine With Laughter!" is a winner.

Their wines were OK for the 70s, but revisiting them in later years I'm not as fond of them as I once was. But hey, I used to think Budweiser and Miller were good beers too!

Tastes change, but after visiting wine growing regions around the world, I must admit that the Finger Lakes region is one of the most scenic and lush wine growing areas I've ever seen. Too bad I just don't appreciate Riesling, Gewürztraminer, or Cabernet Franc that much. Maybe I would have voted with all of those USA Today readers in the poll that recently named the Finger Lakes as America's top wine region if I did.

Our last tasting trip to visit Finger Lakes wineries was in 2012 and it was a much more colorful October than this year.

This time I noticed that not only are there many more wineries (distilleries and breweries) to explore, but the wines have generally improved in quality, whether or not you're a fan of the predominant styles. I tasted some very good Riesling (which is still not my favorite style), even some good Chardonnay, and some Cabernet Franc that didn't taste like green bell pepper juice!

We didn't visit as many wineries as we had in the past, but we managed to find several very good ones along the way. Favorite wines are indicated with an asterisk (*).

SENECA LAKE WINERIES

Lamoreaux Landing Wine Cellars
What we tasted:
2009 Brut Sparkling
2017 Dry Rosé
2011 Red Oak Vineyard Riesling (also the 2016)
2010 Merlot
2016 Merlot Block 137

The 2011 Red Oak Vineyard Riesling was the first time I experienced what is a "petrol nose," as Kayla in the tasting room explained. The strong essence of street paving or "road tar" is not something I like in any wine, even a little! This is what Wine Spectator explains as the chemical compound known as TDN (1,1,6-trimethyl-1,2-dihydronaphthalene), which can be more pronounced in riper or older Rieslings. I can see it now, sitting by the side of the road on a hot summer day and sipping an old Riesling while a road crew resurfaces the road...

Silver Thread Vineyard
What we tasted:
2016 Good Earth White is a blend of 77% Vidal Blanc, 19% Riesling, 4% Gewurztraminer.
2016 Chardonnay from 31-year-old estate vines and barrel fermented. *
2016 Dry Riesling is a blend of 30% Estate Vineyard, 57% Doyle Fournier Vineyard and 13% Gridley Bluff Point Vineyard. *
2015 & 2016 Pinot Noir, 100% Estate Vineyard Pinot Noir
2015 Blackbird Red Wine is a blend of 76% Cabernet Franc & 24% Cabernet Sauvignon, 100% estate grown. *

I really enjoyed the full-bodied 2016 Chardonnay from old vines and aged sur lie. The 2016 Dry Riesling was very good for its style with a low residual sugar level of .7%. The Blackbird Cabernet Franc was the mellowest (no green bell pepper) and was very good when decanted.
What we bought (and drank on the trip):
We were traveling light so we limited ourselves to just a bottle of the 2017 Riesling "Doyle Fournier Vineyard" and the 2016 Dry Riesling. We enjoyed both during our stay in Ithaca.

Great view from the Silver Thread Vineyard Tasting Room.

What a difference it makes to visit a winery where the owner or winemaker can pour your wine! We encountered some very good tasting room people on our trip, like at Ravines, but Shannon Brock at Silver Thread did a super job of talking about the grapes, vineyards and winemaking by her husband, Paul Brock.

We were also happy to discover the earthy Pepitas (brined and roasted Heirloom Pumpkin Seeds) snack that was served with our tasting. They are available from Stony Brook WholeHeartedFoods in Geneva, NY.

Hermann J. Weimer Vineyard  
What we tasted:
Field White *
2017 Chardonnay *
2017 Riesling Dry *
2017 Riesling Semi-Dry
2016 Riesling HJW Vineyard * 
2016 Riesling Magdalena Vineyard *
2017 Grüner Veltliner
2017 Gewürztraminer
2017 Field Red
2017 Cabernet Franc

Read more about Hermann J. Wiemer here.

What we bought (and shipped to CA):
Field White *
2017 Chardonnay * 
2016 Riesling HJW Vineyard * 
2016 Riesling Magdalena Vineyard *

Billsboro Winery

What we tasted:
2017 Sauvignon Blanc
2016 Chardonnay
2017 Riesling
2017 Dry Rose of Pinot Noir
2016 Syrah
2016 Cabernet Sauvignon

What we bought:
A bag of Stony Brook Pepitas (brined and roasted Heirloom Pumpkin Seeds).

KEUKA LAKE WINERIES

Keuka Lake Vineyards

What we tasted:
2016 20 Rows Dry Riesling
2016 Turkey Run Vignoles *
2017 Dry Amber Vignoles
Tin Pathi (white blend)
KLV Red (blend of Cabernet Franc & Leon Millot)
2017 Cabernet Franc
2017 Leon Millot

What we bought (and drank):
2016 Vignoles, Turkey Run Vineyard

Ravines Wine Cellars on Keuka Lake
Our first visit to Ravines was in 2012 and we enjoyed it so much we had to go back again. Their range of dry wines makes it one of my favorite wineries in the area!

90 Points from the Wine Spectator for the 2015 Dry Riesling.

What we tasted:
2015 Dry Riesling *
2016 Dry Riesling
2015 Dry Riesling White Springs Vineyard *
2017 Sauvignon Blanc
2016 Keuka Village White
2015 Chardonnay *
2015 Pinot Noir
2014 Maximilien
2017 Ayre

What we bought (and drank on the trip):
2015 Dry Riesling
2015 Chardonnay

We enjoyed our 2015 Ravines Chardonnay overlooking Keuka Lake's "Top of the Lake" in Penn Yann.

Rooster Hill Vineyards
Our first visit to Rooster Hill was in 2012 and we enjoyed it so much we had to go back again. Their wines weren't quite as good as I remembered though, but they were still making wines with the Lemberger varietal, originally from Germany.

CK Cellars (Paul Curcillo and Stephanie King) owners of Torrey Ridge Winery and other Finger Lakes beverage brands, recently became the new owners of Rooster Hill Vineyards.

What we tasted:
Bubbly Bantam
2016 Vidal Blanc
2017 Silver Pencil
Keuka Sunrise
2017 Sauvignon Blanc
2017 Estate Lemberger
2016 Barrel Reserve Pinot Noir
2016 Barrel Reserve Lemberger
2016 Cabernet Sauvignon
2017 Cab Franc/Lemberger

What we bought:
A cool Rooster Hill hat.

Breakfast In Ithaca

During our stay at La Tourelle Hotel we found the hearty breakfasts served by the Bistro to be amazing! They were excellent quality and reasonably priced. Worth going to even if you're not staying at the hotel.

Lunch In Hammondsport

Although the Village Tavern Restaurant & Inn in Hammondsport seemed to be a very popular place for lunch, I was glad we went across the town square to find the Timber Stone Grill. The food and Iced Tea were fantastic! We had the Timber Burger with fries and the Salmon BLT with a side salad.  It was really great eating on the patio while watching motorcycles and a variety of tourists pass by.
 
Dinner in Ithaca

The best dinner we had in nearby Ithaca was at the John Thomas Steak House. The food was great, large portions, the wait staff was excellent, and they had an extensive wine list. Not inexpensive, but well worth it!

Bonus Bourbon Surprise!

I found this McKenzie Bourbon Whiskey (91 Proof; 70% corn, 20% rye and 10% malted barley) from Finger Lakes Distilling to be very good! It was served at the bar at La Tourelle Hotel.

Worth Visiting Again...
I would go back to taste wines at these wineries again:

• Silver Thread Vineyard
• Hermann J. Weimer Vineyard
• Ravines Wine Cellars on Keuka Lake.

Cheers!

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