Keuka Lake Vineyards

     With the four walls closing in on us after this frigid, long winter, Jim and I decided to investigate some new-to-us wineries. Last Saturday

we set out to do just that. We stopped by Keuka Lake Vineyards in Hammondsport, NY on the recommendation of Sebastien Leseurre from Domaine LeSeurre Winery.
     Keuka Lake Vineyards is located on the south west shore of Keuka Lake near Dr. Frank, Bully Hill and Heron Hill Vineyards. It is the old Taylor Wine Co. land now owned by Mel Goldman. The tasting room is actually the barn on the old Taylor vineyard land; the original Taylor homestead is right across the street. Mel came in as we were having a tasting with the extremely knowledgeable and personable Leandra Morris, Tasting Room Manager.
     We started the tasting with the 2012 Dry Riesling, Falling Man Vineyard, which earned 91 points in Wine Spectator! This complex Riesling has minerality, citrus and honey/flower characteristics.  Definitely something special to try! The other Rieslings include the 2012 Estate Dry Riesling, the 2013 Evergreen Lek Dry Riesling and the 2013 Semi-Dry Riesling. Both Jim and I agree that our favorite was the Evergreen Lek with it's green apple and peach notes along with the citrus.  It was enjoyable to have the opportunity to compare and discuss them with Leandra and Mel. Next we sampled the Vignoles. The Vignoles grape is a hybrid grape originating in France (comprised of either Pinot Noir or Chardonnay and a hybrid Seibel variety). The 2013 Amber Vignoles is what some refer to as an Orange Wine. This was a really fun, deceptive wine. The nose gave every indication that it would be somewhat sweet, but it hit the palate dry and spirit-like (scotch/whiskey).  It changed and morphed on the palate- quite a shocker! The next tasting was the 2013 Gently Dry Vignoles, a much more traditional Vignoles and great summer-sipper with fruit and pineapple essences. The final Vignoles we tried was the 2011 Vignoles and Friends which is semi-sweet and lighter.  (We bought one for our daughter who likes sweeter wines, as this comes across initially on the sweeter side, but the acidity lingers).
     On to the Reds! We enjoyed the KLV Red and the 2014 Leon Millot Nouveau. This is a first Nouveau for the vineyard. These grapes were harvested in September and spend little time in their stainless tanks before being released in November! Nicely fruit forward and smooth, this pleasant wine  has its own cult following! Next we compared the 2012 and 2013 Cabernet Francs. Because of the difference in the growing seasons, these two vintages are very different, but delicious.  Mel told us that it is about a 50/50 split on which people prefer: the deep color and robust spiciness of the 2012 or the lighter colored, complex 2013. We both actually liked the 2013, feeling that it is a slightly better compliment for different foods. Lastly, we sampled the 2013 Hammondsport, a blend of Pinot Noir and Leon Millot grapes in a delicious port-like wine.
     Mel asked us to do a blind sampling of a white wine to determine which Riesling it most resembled. (I believe there was confusion about which Riesling barrel it was pulled from). We thought it most reminded us of the Falling Man Vineyard Riesling due to the mineral notes. I wonder what it actually was!
     We were impressed by all the wines we sampled and we totally enjoyed the time spent with Leandra and Mel. Keuka Lake Vineyards is definitely on our return-to list so we can sample the chocolate and wine flight they also offer!

Rooster Hill Pig Roast

The month of August is here and we started it with a bang at Rooster Hill's Wine Club Pig Roast. Again, another fabulous day on the east side of Keuka Lake! The view from their patio is stupendous! Their patio also hosts a huge wood fired pizza oven. So while we arrived, distributed our raffle tickets, and enjoyed participating in a blind wine tasting, the pizza oven was cranking out gourmet pizzas! (Seafood, pineapple, pepperoni and plain with huge chunks of tomato in the sauce...yum!) The band played Jimmy Buffet and other favorites while club members tasted wines and socialized. We were able to try all the newly bottled 2009 wines which are not yet released. We especially liked the Pinot Noir (young but complex, so it will only get better), the Gewurztraminer and the Estate Late Harvest Vidal Blanc. Watch for these releases and give them a try! The dinner was fabulous: awesome pork with fresh salads, baked beans, rolls and cookies!

As the sun slowly sank in the sky, we sat on the patio enjoying our last glass of wine with new friends Dave and Barb, and made plans to meet them again at the Holiday Party! Thank- you Amy Hoffman (president and co-founder) and staff for a well-organized and enjoyable afternoon.

Ravines Wine Club Dinner

Wow! Where does the time go, especially in the summer? It has been almost a month since we attended the First Annual Ravenous Wine Club Party on July 10th. It was a hot, steamy afternoon with a gorgeous view of Keuka Lake. Ravine's is located on the east side of Keuka Lake where the lake splits into a "Y". This gives you a panoramic north and south view as well as a nice view of the widest part of the lake. And it was a perfect day for a dinner. We enjoyed scrumptious appetizers while winemaker and owner Morten Hallgren poured his wonderful, dry, European-style wines. Morten's wife, Lisa, is the chef and mastermind behind the food pairings. Her dinner followed with fantastic salads made with local produce: Laurence Francois's Mediterranean Couscous, Cold Green Bean and Lemon Salad and the utterly awesome Lisa's Potato Salad. These were accompanied by Grilled Chicken with Garlic Scape Pesto and followed by desserts of cheesecake and chocolate! (The recipes for the chicken and salads are on Ravines new website http://ravineswine.com/welcome/ ). We truly enjoyed ourselves and had a chance to make some new acquaintances while reconnecting with old. Well done, Ravines!