Check it out! I posted a link to an article on newyorkupstate.com: 5 Best Finger Lakes Wineries to Visit on Seneca Lake. On a personal note, I’m behind the bar pouring at the Lamoreaux Landing tasting room a couple of days a week–the view is not to be missed, and the wines are all of a high quality that I enjoy being a part of! Enjoy the read and start planning your next trip to the Finger Lakes 😊
Tag Archives: seneca lake
Rosé Soirée 2015 – The Finger Lakes Through Rosé Colored Glasses
It truly was the perfect night for a Rosé Soirée in Geneva, NY on Saturday evening. A warm summery day gave way to a coral and light pink sunset, and Finger Lakes wine lovers sipped rosé, sampled foods and local culinary temptations (including incredible hotdogs, sausages, and goodies from Fingerlakes Wienery!!), and socialized under strung carnival lights. The atmosphere was light, jovial, and oh so pink!
Over twenty local vineyards and winemakers were on hand to pour their dry rosé wines and talk shop. The event was a great introduction to several new dry rosé wines that I had not tried yet, and also a nice chance to meet the men and women that are the vino creators themselves! it’s always fun and interesting to be able to talk to individuals that are so proud of their wines.
There were so many different flavors and variations to the wines, it was incredible. Many were made from Cabernet Franc, Pinot Noir, or a blend of the two. Lemberger often made an appearance in the blends, and Dr. Constantine Frank’s Rosé was a blend that included Pinot Noir, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc as well.
I tried to make it to as many tables as I could, and I had a good head start on the Finger Lakes rosé tasting as it is. I’m already a fan of a few: Damiani’s Pinot Noir Rosé is killer, Sheldrake Point has a lush Cabernet Franc Rosé, and Lamoreaux Landing’s Rosé is always my bottle for home (I pour in the tasting room at Lamoreaux a couple of days a week…how could I not want to work in a winery?). Hermann J. Wiemer Vineyard Rosé is always a hit for the table, the blend has a hint of Chardonnay that adds another level of depth. Hosmer didn’t bring my favorite rosé that they made, Rosé of Merlot, but if it’s not sold out yet I’m sure it will be soon!
There were also definitely a bunch of wines that were new to me. I finally got to try Ian Barry’s (of Barry Family Cellars) Cabernet Franc Rosé, which was absolutely dry, with a bright acidity and ripe cherry. I also really liked his Gamay Rosé, a lightly sparkling petillant wine that brought out an earthy fruitiness. The end ferment in bottle, with the unfiltered Gamay, creates a very unique wine. August Deimel, head winemaker for Keuka Springs Vineyards, brought his delicious, bone dry Cabernet Franc and Lemberger Rosé that had the most beautiful, light color and fragrant nose. Also on the list for lightest color and dry, herbal notes was Knapp’s Rosé of (mostly) Cabernet Franc and (a bit of) Pinot Noir. Head winemaker for Knapp Winery (and Glenora), Steve DiFrancesco has created a very food friendly and easy drinking wine. The Italians always score when it comes to wines that are great with foods! When is a rosé ever difficult? Barnstormer Winery’s Rosé was also quite a surprise, mostly Sangiovese with a touch of Cabernet Franc-savory and herbal, with strong notes of mint on the nose.
The evening was intimate, informative and delicious. This is one of the reasons we live here in the Finger Lakes! Keep an eye out for most of these wines on the trails, or in your local wine store. Also a big thank you to Microclimate Wine Bar, for letting us buy the last bottle of Local bubbles from Wiemer 🙂
Happy National Drink Wine Day!
Today is February 18th, which means its National Drink Wine Day 🙂 Spreading the love of wine through social media, share what’s in your glass! Check out the website to follow along on Twitter and Facebook, and enjoy something fun tonight– let me know if you love what’s in your glass, because I absolutely want to try it 😉
A Few Shots From Brunch at Dano’s Heuriger
We hit Dano’s to start off 2015, a beautiful spot on Seneca Lake in the Finger Lakes area of NY. Try the Viennese coffee, it is heaven in a mug and will change your life…I’m not kidding. Click on the links below to see what you’re missing!
Dano’s on Seneca website and Menu
Watch a little slideshow here: BoozyLife at Dano’s
New York Apples and the Hard Cider Revolution (and how BoozyLife was ahead of the curve)
Last week, the New York Times posted an article that really caught my attention. Article link: Sips from a Cider Spree in New York State. The local hard cider scene has been jumping since we moved to the Ithaca area eight years ago-what’s different is that people are more open minded and willing to taste local creations.
Local hard ciders have a special place in my heart. Personal boozy story: On a visit home to the upstate NY area almost ten years ago, my mom wanted to take me to a new winery that had opened relatively close to our neck of the woods. Black Bear Winery is a spot off of the beaten path and ‘wine trails proper’, but they specialize in hard ciders, meads, and fruit wines. After a tasting, I concluded that I liked the ciders, and particularly the Cracklin’ Maple Hard Cider was delicious. Hard apple cider, blended with house made maple syrup. Tart, mellow, slight sweetness, autumn in a glass. I bought a couple of refillable growlers, and have refilled them several times since. Black Bear has grown from a by appointment and event farm rental spot, to open year round and quite successful! At least five years after that first tasting at Black Bear, I married my husband at the end of September, here in Ithaca. We served Black Bear’s Cracklin’ Maple Hard Cider for the toast at our wedding, instead of the traditional champagne. The cider had more meaning, and it was so reminiscent of the fall in upstate NY that I wanted our guests from all over the world to experience that flavor; champagne was too formal for our outdoor waterfall ceremony, and the cider was truly a hit!
In the NY Time’s article I mentioned, the author Freda Moon tours the Upstate NY Apple growing areas about five hours from NYC. She hit several local cider stops, and even gave a quick run down of her time spent in Ithaca:
“Ithaca was a decadent couple of days in which cider seemed to appear in every possible form. We had a cider flight with dinner at the too-popular Just a Taste tapas restaurant, where our wait was over an hour. The next day, at Maxie’s Supper Club and Oyster Bar, I ordered a Cider Sidecar of Maker’s Mark, Cointreau, a Finger Lakes Distilling’s Maplejack liqueur and an unspecified local cider before a spectacular three-course cider pairing dinner at Hazelnut Kitchen in Trumansburg.”
The guys at Finger Lakes Distilling are also making some incredible products, and I was glad to see she sampled some of their wares at Maxie’s Supper Club, one of our favorite spots in Ithaca. The Cider Sidecar is a drink that is an anxiously awaited seasonal cocktail, signaling that fall has officially arrived. Sweet and tart, with a mellow maple kick, sitting in Maxie’s listening to live music on the outdoor deck, watching the world go by. I love living here in fall.
October in the Finger Lakes – Grape Harvest 2014
Fall in the Finger Lakes area of Upstate Ny is magic. Leaves change colors against perfect blue skies, fall harvests of grapes, apples, and pumpkins showcase the bounty of the area, and the vintners can be found along with crews in the rows of grapevines.
It was a tough winter, with well below average temperatures, a late and chilly spring, a few freak hail storms in late summer, and now one of the sunniest and warmest September grape ripening seasons ever. Insane but inspiring: The 2014 grape harvest might be light due to damages along the way, but what DID make it through looks to be pretty damn spectacular!
October looks to be busy at BoozyLife, so keep checking in-lots of harvest info, talks with a few vintners, tours of a few press pads, and a trip down to the Hudson Valley for Taste Camp 2014 (NY Cork Report) . THIS is why I love living in the Finger Lakes…
World’s LARGEST Virtual Riesling Tasting is TONIGHT!
Don’t forget –TONIGHT is the worlds largest virtual Riesling Tasting, to celebrate the release of the 2013 Riesling vintage of the Finger Lakes! Finger Lakes Riesling Hour is officially from 7-9pm on social media. Don’t miss out–all the instructions on how to join in below! See you there
FLX Wines invade Brooklyn this Wednesday–Barry Wine Cellars at Vine Wine BKLN
ATTENTION NYC area BoozyLife readers! Have you been hearing all the hype about the upstate NY wine scene? We’re in the NY Times (and every other publication) for having some not to miss out on wines made in our neck of the woods, the glorious Finger Lakes region of New York State. We’re about five hours north of NYC, but it feels like a different world, full of waterfalls, vineyards, and nature. I understand that it’s an undertaking to leave the city and get up here….and sometimes, we come to you!
Vine Wine Brooklyn is having a tasting this Wednesday the 17th from (6-9pm) as a part of their Vine Wine’s Drink Local September Tasting Series. They’re located at 616 Lorimer St, Brooklyn. Ian Barry of Barry Wine Cellars will be pouring three of his wines – the Dry Riesling, Chardonnay, and Pinot Noir. I love the Dry Riesling, as well as the Rosé which is now sold out, which means I was asleep at the wheel and should have grabbed a CASE when I had the opportunity. Don’t miss out, and tell him the BoozyWife sent ya’!
Repost from Democrat&Chronicle – ‘A lesson in Rieslings — and the power of food pairings’
Yet again, our friends at Boundary Breaks were highlighted in the press-this time at the annual Wine Symposium of the Finger Lakes. Writer Thomas Pellechia of Rochester Magazine attended the event, and was happily surprised by the food and wine pairing element of the symposium. He goes on to describe his Boundary Breaks Riesling experience —
“The true highlight of the event was the wine and food-pairing seminar. First was Boundary Breaks 2012 Finger Lakes Riesling (Single Clone #239; $20) paired with poached shrimp with Vietnamese dressing, peanuts and mint. Tasted alone, a fruit sugar sweetness came through from the Riesling, and the slight sweetness of the shrimp was a perfect foil for the light nuttiness and mint freshness. Tasted together, the balance between nuttiness and freshness, finished off with snappy Riesling acidity, relegated any sweetness to a backseat — a complex delight.”
Wine and food are MEANT to be presented together. Riesling is a great wine to serve with ‘difficult to pair’ meals- spicy Thai food, German Brats, even Thanksgiving. Dry and off dry Rieslings usually has a lovely acidity in addition to seafood, and a sweetness that will pair with appetizers and lighter munchies. I have a pretty stocked white wine fridge, holding many bottles of my favorite Rieslings to serve to out of town guests at a moments notice. I can drop names and tell you the legend Boog Star LOVED Finger Lakes Rieslings, especially when served with fresh, local (and husband caught) fish!
FLX Winery (and Wienery) guide in Edible Manhattan
Our hearts go out to all in the Napa area that suffered damage last night. Winemakers have a tight bond with Mother Nature, even at her most cruel.
Edible Manhattan listed Ten Wineries to visit and drink at in the Finger Lakes (and also included our favorite Wienery as well!) what do you think of the places they chose? Who did they miss? And have you tried out FLX Wienery yet?!? If not, get your carnivorous ass OUT THERE! It seriously rocks…and they now have beer & wine to go with their gourmet in house made dogs, brats, and burgers…did I mention poutine? Yeah, they got it like that.