Wineries along Lake Keuka
cayugawinetrail.com
Cayuga Lake wineries
senecalakewine.com
The site for Seneca's wineries
Recently, I have decided to catalogue my wine-tasting experiences. I'm no professional wine chump, no no no! But in the spirit of theoryofpaul, I am going to share my opinions with the world anyway. I'm starting close to home, with a number of Finger Lakes wineries.
Although there are a huge number of lousy wines in the area, there are also some real gems. Whatever. The region is wonderfully scenic, and it's great to be able to stop at a winery and sample a half-dozen vintages for a buck, even if they are a little "quirky". Towns and cities like Ithaca and Skaneateles are interesting too, and the whole region is definently worth exploring.
This is very much a work in progress. In time I may visit these wineries again and change my ideas about them. I am very much a beginner at this, so keep in mind that I have no pretentions of studied knowledge in this area. As my experience grows, I am going to expand this page, rename it, and catalogue wines from other regions.
If you are a vintner, and want to email me to bitch about my ideas, by all means do so. I'd love to hear from you. I don't know that much so maybe I'll learn something.
Finally, let me state that I am independent. Nobody's paying me anything here for my opinions. They're mine! The wineries are listed in random order.
Some data
According to nywine.com, the Finger Lakes region has 58 bonded wineries, and 10,414 acres of land is given over to grape cultivation (that's 4214 hectares, or 42 square kilometers). The growing season lasts from about 190 to 205 days, and grape production averages about 61,448 American tons, or about 55,000 metric tonnes.
It seems like most of the wine is consumed locally, though. There seems to be very little distribution outside New York. Some wineries we visited have barely made it into the wine stores in Rochester and Buffalo. Some wineries with larger distributions include Konstantine Frank and Wiemer. I bought Wiemer in Princeton, NJ. Yea!
Wine-growing regions
Most wines from central New York, it seems, come from grapes grown around Lakes Keuka, Seneca and Cayuga. There are three main reasons for this. First, vines need good drainage; the soil around the big lakes is shaley and seems to have the right characteristics. Also, the land directly around the Finger Lakes tends to be hilly, with drainage going west-east or east-west, and allowing the right amount of sun to hit the grapes as they mature. Finally, the presence of largish bodies of water (Seneca & Cayuga lakes are over 50 kilometers in length!) moderates the otherwise intolerably harsh winters up here -- although I have heard that some vintners go to great lengths to protect their vines from the winter winds and snows.
The Riesling grape is grown in huge quantities throughout the region, and indeed, the Finger Lakes produce some vintages of Riesling that can hold up extremely well against Californian and European counterparts. The region also benefits from the extensive agricultural research at Cornell University, and several varieties of grapes have been especially developed for the climate. Among these are the Cayuga White grape. From what I gather though, the majority of vines have been imported from Europe.
The other principal grapes grown around the Finger Lakes seem to be Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Gewürztraminer, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. While it is very common in many parts of the world, especially Eastern Europe, there is only a little Rkatsiteli production because it is so hard to grow here. The region produces Champagnes in smaller quantites; port & sherry production is relatively small.
Seneca Lake Wineries
- Fox Run Vineyards
This is one of the bigger operations on Seneca. They have a decent restaruaunt which comes in very handy sometimes. As far as their wines go, I would say they ranged from unpleasant to reasonably good, with one exception: the 1999 Pinot Noir, which is excellent. Avoid the normal suspicious-sounding stuff - "Ruby Vixen" is perhaps good for cooking but not much else. They must make a lot of money from selling geegaws in their large store. Lots of busses stop here because it's easy to get into with a large bus. Worth a stop, especially if you need lunch. Lots of retired folks come here.
- Seneca Shore Wine Cellars
This appears to be a kind of "themed" winery. The theme is "Medieval". They were playing some sort of fake Medieval music quietly in the background when we visited, and had imitation Medieval torture devices hanging from the walls, which made the place look more suited for S & M then real honest-to-god torture. The wines are strange. They seem to be aimed for people who might become a little intimidated when trying to pronounce "Cabernet Sauvignon". So instead they have wines called "Moon Rise".
While their cat was very sweet to us, the sweetness of the wines was a little less than desirable. If you skip this one, you won't miss much.
- Prejean Winery
Prejean struck me as a pretty decent winery. One of their wines is featured on the menu at Moosewood in Ithaca. I enjoyed their dessert wines - a little sweet but not at all bad. They have a small store and a pleasant atmosphere.
- Miles Wine Cellars
Definently one of the wineries on Seneca that thinks highly of itself. For one, they have probably the most magnificent building I've seen so far on the lake. Warning: they have expensive stuff here. I thought their reds were generally among the better wines in Seneca, but they were priced out of what I thought was a reasonable range. The Cayuga White was decent and moderately priced, but I think it sold out quickly in 2002. This might be a good place to bring a picnic, as they have a great view of the lake and several park benches set up. Worth a trip.
- Glenora Wine Cellars
I went here for lunch once and it was pretty nice. No vegetarian selections on the menu except for salads though. I tasted their Cayuga White - very sweet but ok on a hot summer day. They have a lovely porch out back but it can get very hot in the summers since there are no umbrellas over any of the tables!
I tried a bottle of their 2001 Riesling. Not so good. It was really on the sweet side, and nearly murdered the cheese I was serving. I should try some more of their stuff though.
- Torrey Ridge Winery
While they have a very imposing building, I would say this place had some pretty low standards. They had an enormous store - two floors! - where they sell all sorts of touristy stuff. Their wines were consistently mediocre; some were just bad. One I thought had a bouquet of inflatible air-mattress. Thin, sweet wines were more the rule than the exception here. You might as well skip this place.
- Earle Estates Winery and Meadery
My question was, where is the friggin estate?! This place is a cabin along the side of the road, and if you're not careful, you'll mistake it for a mobile home. Their wines were not at all memorable, but they do sell honeyed mead. Mead is essentially a mix of fermented yeast and honey. Mead is an excellent pairing if you're cooking Ethiopian, and it's marginally interesting on its own, especially if you've never tried it before. The stuff keeps forever in a refridgerator after being opened. They have three varieties of mead; the best balanced of them is the "traditional". The others were way too sweet for me.
- Chateau Lafayette Reneau
Never been here, but their 2001 Dry Riesling is a real winner. One of the best Rieslings I've had. I'd like to try more of their products but haven't had a chance. It's on the eastern side of Seneca.
Unfortunately, Renau's 2003 Dry Riesling is a real, real dissapointment. I picked up a bottle on sale for $10, thinking I was getting a terrific deal. But it's unbelievably sweet for a dry Riesling. Good thing I have three bottles of the 2001 stashed away...
- Hermann J. Wiemer
There are about a half-dozen signs along the road directing you to Wiemer's place, so you really can't miss it. I've never visited, but I tried the 2001 Dry Riesling and it's pretty good. Definently one of the better Rieslings I've tried. I'm definently going to pay a visit to Wiemer's winery soon.
Cayuga Lake Wineries
- Swedish Hill Winery
With names like "Viking Red", "Radical Raspberry" and "Just Peachy", my suspicions were aroused just moments after stepping in the place. While it seems to have a huge following among the Scandanavian-born populance, this place definently doesn't top my list. One wine we tried had an aroma of body odor.
- Knapp Winery
I bought a bottle of their 2000 Pinot Noir in a store here in Rochester. I have to say it's a little dissapointing. The texture is very thin and translucent. Not at all like the dark Pinot Noirs I've seen elsewhere. Maybe I'm just ignorant, but most of the other Noirs I've tried are quite a beautiful dark red. The taste was kind of grapey and weak ill-defined. Even at $11.99, I had hoped for something a little more. I'd like to try their Riesling.
Christina and I visited Knapp in June 2004. We were most impressed with the Semi-Dry Riesling, which was not overly sweet but had a lot of good flavors. The dry Riesling was a little less forthcoming and seemed kind of nondescript. Their reds, including the Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot were average to poor. The Merlot was probably the best of the bunch but even that seemed forced.
Interestingly, Knapp is one of the only wineries I've encountered in the Finger Lakes to make Grappa, Brandy and several other interesting concoctions including Limoncello. Their Grappa was fine, but the Limoncello seemed better. Knapp's Limoncello beats the store-bought stuff easily.
I should add that there is a Restauraunt at the winery, so if you need to stop for a bite, this would probably be an excellent place.
Keuka Lake Wineries
- Dr. Konstantin Frank
We visitied this place on 7 July 2003. In short: this place is TERRIFIC! One of the best wineries I've visited. Excellent, friendly staff without being too overbearing. Almost all their wines were fantastic. This place is my gold-medal winner.
We were very impressed with their 1998 Champagne, enough so to part with some hard-earned cash (of which we were in short supply) to purchase a bottle. Frank's wines are winners all around, with Rieslings probably being my favorites. The Pinot Noirs are, as expected, rather light-bodied and thin, though one that we tried was quite above average. I bought a Frank Pinot Noir here in Rochester after visiting the winery and it was really excellent. Prepare for some light-bodiedness though.
The one thing I wish Frank would do is get some simple restauraunt or even cafe going. There are NOT a lot of places to get decent healthy food around his winery, and nearby Penn Yan has the culinary distinction of a strip mall. Frank's place is a little out of the way. If you go, you will want to try lots of things so you won't want to drive right afterwards. Bring food to this place because you won't be able to get any nearby.
- Heron Hill
Again, I haven't visited them, but their 2001 semi-dry Riesling seems pretty good. It's pretty well-balanced and has no strange odors or stuff like that. Seems like they know what they're doing.
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Site launched 5 July 2002 Last modified on 4 July 2004 |