The Competition Continues aka: Wine, Wine and More Wine

Jim set off early this gorgeous spring morning for Fox Run Vineyards. Apparently there were several bottles of wine that didn't make it to the Finger Lakes International Wine Competition a few weeks back due to shipping/receiving/customs problems. So 8 judges gathered at Fox Run and Jim volunteered to help pour and serve the wines to the judges. While I know he deeply regretted not sitting in his windowless cubical punching numbers all day for the fine folks on probation, he just had to make due with the stunning lake view, blue sky and glasses filled with delicious wines. Tough, I know! He dutifully reported back that about 100 bottles were judged. And he didn't spill a drop carrying the trays of filled glasses down into the barrel room. So rest assured that ALL wines submitted have now been judged. Don't forget the 10th annual Wine Auction and Dinner to benefit Camp Good days and Special Times on May 1 - there are still tickets available (visit www.campgooddays.org). At the dinner, you will be able to sample many of the award winning wines along with a delectable dinner!

Also coming up this weekend are the following events:

Damiani Wine Cellars are having a Pinot Noir Release Party in their tasting room Friday April 16th from 5:30 - 8:30. Additionally, enjoy the artwork of Pamela Drix on exhibit. Sounds like a great way to enjoy the sunset!

Winestock NY 2010 is going to be celebrated at 3 Brothers Winery on Saturday April 17th from noon to 6:00 pm. With Live music all day and food pairings, it sounds like fun. There is a $20/person cover charge.

So drink up, drink responsibly and enjoy!

Finger Lakes International Wine Competition Chpt. 3

The FLIWC finished up yesterday. Jim and I had a great time pouring and serving our table of judges. We came home with some great wines and VERY sore legs. This was the tenth year of the competition, so things were extremely well organized and orchestrated. Here is a sampling of what we had to do at our pouring station... First the "corkers" uncorked and brought us the wines in our flight. We had usually 5 judges (the 5th being a "visiting" judge) with flights of 7-8 wines per flight. Therefore we had 40 Riedel wine glasses to stage. First we had to dry and inspect them for water spots or chips. Next, because this is a blind tasting and the judges only know the type of wine not the winery, we had to place a sticker on each wine glass denoting the number of the wine. We then poured the wines into their designated glasses, checked and double checked our accuracy and waited to be called. When the boss man (Tom King) said "lets roll", all the wine stations (there were 15 of us) VERY CAREFULLY rolled our wine carts with our 40 filled glasses out of our room, down a hallway to the judging room. In the judge's room we collected the old scoring sheets and cleaned the previous flight's glasses from the tables, then arranged the next flight before each judge in left to right sequence matching their scoring sheets. But our work was not done. Now we had to take the used glasses to the glass washers, a wonderful group of very dedicated volunteers who washed thousands of very expensive Riedel glasses all day long. We took our cart back to our station and started over again. There was a total of 27 flights of wine over the 2 days!

We were just a tiny part of this wonderful day. The judges volunteer their time and come from Canada, Europe and across the United States because they believe in Camp Good Days and Special Times. We spoke with several who judge year after year and consider it the highlight of their year. Then there are the hours and hours that go into gathering the 3010 wines, numbering them, separating them for the competition and the dinner (May 1st), hauling them into the Rochester Plaza, coordinating the volunteers, the food, the judge's dinner, the rooms for staging, judging and processing the scores, the set-up and dismantling...the list goes on and on and is mind boggling. This is truly a labor of love for the coordinators and planners: Peter Parts, Scott Osborne, Ed Schramm, Tom King and others such as Joelle Cain. I know I have left out tons of important people involved and I apologize for not knowing who you all are. Suffice it to say, I felt a part of something so inspirational that I know I want to return and keep paying forward all the good that this competition and dinner represent for the children who attend Camp Good Days and Special Times.

The afternoon highlight was when Gary Mervis, the camp's founder spoke softly and eloquently to the judges and volunteers about his daughter, Teddi. Teddi was his reason for founding the camp as a place where children dealing with cancer can go - free of charge- and have fun. Having those "good days" at camp and keeping the memories of those "special times" at camp to help them through other, not so pleasant days, is what the camp is all about. Gary went on to explain his vision of cancer research and hopes for the future. I was humbled to be a part of something so important.

So here is a photo of our awesome "K" team - Tony, Denise, Jim and I, as well as some of the staging and work areas at the competition.

Thank-you Peter Bell for your recommendation and Peter Parts for allowing us to be a part of this important occasion.

Finger Lakes International Wine Competition Chpt 2.

The FLIWC is half way over. 3,010 wines were entered from ALL 50 States in the US and countries around the world. 666 wineries in total! Wow. We attended the judge's dinner tonight at the German House, sat with several judges and spoke with one from California and one from Prince Edward Island, Canada. The food was marvelous and the wine plentiful (all bottles from today's competition). We had a chance to sample some we had heard about but never tried. We are a little nervous about tomorrow. What will our job entail? What do we wear on are feet? (Joelle tonight told us sneakers were OK but no jeans!) Who will be the judges in our group?
Stay tuned...

Finger Lakes International Wine Competition

Next weekend the Finger Lakes International Wine Competition comes to Rochester. This year there are somewhere around 2800 wine entries from around the world as well as our own back yard. Jim and I are really excited about working at it this year and at the dinner and silent auction on May 1st. ALL proceeds for both events go to benefit Camp Good Days and Special Times. I will keep you posted about these events through the blog, but if you want more information go to these websites:

Finger Lakes International Wine Competition: http://www.fliwc.com/

Camp Good Days and Special Times: http://www.campgooddays.org/

Wine Clubs Are the Way to GO!

Many of the Finger Lakes wineries offer wine clubs. Wine clubs offer several benefits:

• They are a great way to get special bottles of wine from your favorite winery throughout the year.


• Frequently Reserve wines and specialty wines are offered. (Sometimes they are only offered to Club members)


• Discounts are given to Club members for tastings, dinners, other special events.


• You may get a newsletter with information non happenings at the winery.


• If you attend the special events you get a discount to, you will meet fantastic people who share your love of a winery.

Wine Clubs usually involve wine shipments 3-4 times a year. The only catch is that someone over age 21 has to be home to sign for the shipments. This hasn't been too big a deal for us as UPS or Fed Ex will try delivering at another time. We haven't missed one yet! We have been members of several different wine Clubs over the years and have enjoyed the benefits of each. I would highly recommend trying one out.

Dignity Matters

We worked this past Columbus Day weekend at Standing Stone Vineyards. Columbus Day weekend is traditionally one of the busiest for the Finger Lakes Wineries as people want to take in the gorgeous Fall Foliage. We knew there would be bus loads of wine tasters and were happy to help out.

Jim was in his element explaining the wines in detail to small groups of 4-6 people. His strategy: to make the experience as personal as possible; chatting about what brought the tasters to the winery and which types of wine they prefer, then educating them on what they were tasting.

Then there was Joyce, in the "bus load" room in the back, pouring wine for 20 people at a time whose main focus was drinking, not learning.

There were several lessons learned through this experience, but possibly the most important was that dignity matters. This point was brought home last weekend when we read in our local newspaper that the owner of a Seneca Lake winery was assaulted by patrons visiting his winery because he refused to serve people who obviously had had too much already. I know, I know they just wanted to have fun and the owner was bringing them down. But let's take a look at the whole picture. First, you have the bus load of people whose stop at this winery at the top of Seneca Lake could have easily been the last stop of a LOOOONG day of wine tasting. The tourism these bus groups represent are what supports our Finger Lakes Wine industry. However, winery owners want to showcase their products, not deal with the irrational, inebriated public.

My advice to those who go on wine tastings just to catch a buzz is: stop watching the reality shows where obnoxious behavior is glorified and take a long hard look at yourself. You are losing a real learning opportunity and you are portraying yourself in a very poor light. Don't you want others to come to this region because it is a beautiful, classy up-and-coming major wine producing area? Or do you want the area to have the reputation of having to deal with obnoxious, belligerent drunks?

My father told me to always put my best foot forward, that people DO judge a book by its cover and to treat others the way you want to be treated. Yes, dignity matters. And yes, our Finger Lakes Wineries should shine with all the possibilities that await them. Hurray for the owner for not serving them.

Fox Run Vineyards Does It Again!

Where could you go to meet great people, learn about wine and food pairings, eat delicious foods, try wines and have a GREAT time? Why a winemaker’s dinner of course! And Ruth Osborn hosted a beautiful evening Saturday night at Fox Run Vineyards on Seneca Lake. If you have never had the chance to experience a winemaker’s dinner, I highly recommend it. The intimate setting where winemaker and chef explain their specialties and why they work so well together is second to none as a truly hands-on learning experience.
We joined about 30 other people at 6:00 sharp in the Lakeview Tasting Room where appetizers where offered with your choice of wine. Jim and I sampled crab brochette which was delicious, but according to the buzz, Executive Chef Heather Tompkins’ baked brie was the big hit! Next we were ushered into the restaurant dining room (it was too cold to eat in the barrel room) where tables in groups of 4-6 were elegantly set with red flower centerpieces on flowered tablecloths. Our dinner companions were winemaker Peter Bell and his wife, Joanna. As we discussed children in and out of college, the first course was served: seafood bouillabaisse (shrimp, scallops, clams and mussels in a saffron-tomato broth). WOW. This was paired with a wine-event exclusive: a delicious dry rose. Only 10 cases of this superb rose were bottled this year, so it is only available to wine club members (see the Fox Run website for details to become a club member). I savored every sip of the rose with the hope that next year more will be bottled. It was the perfect pairing with seafood.
Next we were served house-made crepes filled with Lively Run goat cheese, spinach and leeks topped with wine soaked cherries and hazelnuts. This was paired with the 2008 Riesling. I could have happily eaten this all night long! Heather, a true artist, explains that she starts out with a basic idea, then embellishes the recipe with her own inspirations. The wine soaked cherries were one of her additions on this dish and they just elevated the crepes to truly outstanding.
The main course was Beef Bourguignon (full of beef, root vegetables, mushrooms, and a rich wine gravy) served on a crusty baguette. The 2007 Meritage (rhymes with heritage) was an excellent pairing with the beef’s deep flavors.
And lastly, dessert was an outrageous red velvet cupcake with chocolate ganache and port caramel sauce. Paired perfectly with the Ruby Port, the bittersweet chocolate-frosted cupcake and wine combination was to die for!
Each course and wine pairing was described by Heather, Peter or Kelby Russell, intern extraordinaire to Peter Bell. It was interesting to find out that the wine pairing could be changed at the last minute as each course is taste-tested!
Thank-you Ruth, Peter, Heather, Kelby and all the staff at Fox Run for a fabulous evening and a very special way to celebrate Valentine’s Day!

Step up Danny Wegman!

We have a wonderful grocery store - Wegman's - in our area. Wegman's is a great sponsor of many important initiatives locally and we are glad to have them. One of the areas that they support is the local farmers and local produce. They are an integral part of the New York Wine and Culinary Center located in Canandaigua. OK, so far so good. But I need to call Danny out on his minimal support of the Finger Lakes wineries in the Menu magazine that Wegman's puts out a few times a year. I conducted a little informal research by looking back into the 2009 Menu magazines and this is what I found:
Winter 09 - out of 16 wine and food pairings printed, Wegman's paired 0 (that is the big ZERO) New York State wines with their recipes. Boo.
Summer 09 - out of 18 recipes and wine pairings, Dr. Frank's Salmon Run Riesling is the only Finger Lakes wine suggested. (come on, Salmon Run is Dr. Frank's low-end wine, not his really good stuff, but we'll take whatever we can get).
Fall 09 - of 14 wine and food pairings, only Fox Run's Chardonnay was suggested to represent NY wines. Boo again (NOT to Fox Run, but to Wegman's for such minimal support).
Holiday 09 - again - only Dr. Frank's Salmon Run Riesling suggested out of the 22 wines mentioned.
Finally, Winter 10 - a little better - 2 wines were mentioned: Dr. Frank's Chardonnay and Heron Hill Pinot Noir

Overall, I would say a pretty poor showing for someone as powerful and influential in the Rochester Area as Wegman's. Many of the wines they pair with their recipes are from California. My suggestion is that if Wegman's wants to promote their California wine connections (as I'm sure they are doing), then they should at least suggest 2 wines with each pairing - one from the Finger Lakes and the other from California or elsewhere.
Come on Danny Wegman, Step up and promote the wineries in your backyard!

Upcoming Wine Events at Fox Run and on Seneca Lake!

Something very special is happening at Fox Run Vineyards: Fox Run's Valentine's Dinner with the Winemaker on February 13th! Check out Fox Run's website http://www.foxrunvineyards.com/

because they have a link to my video post of last year's Wine maker's Dinner! I know that will convince you to attend! But seriously, the menu looks great. Heather Tomkins is the new Executive Chef at Fox Run and she is fabulous. It is a very special way to show your Valentine how much they mean to you! Join us - you won't be sorry.

Another Fox Run event coming up is a Winter Tasting on February 26 from 5:30 - 7:30. Heather will create 4 different taste treats to pair with Fox Run's wines. Peter Bell, Fox Run's winemaker, will be there to explain the wines that will be paired with Heather's delicious creations. Jim and I attended a tasting in the fall where Heather created such wonderful treats such as pumpkin hummus (paired with Reserve Chardonnay), roasted dates wrapped in bacon stuffed with Red Buddy (paired with Merlot) and fried cauliflower with green curry sauce (paired with Riesling). For this event (held near Halloween), it was optional to dress in costume. So Jim and I debated - should we dress up? What is no one else does? What can we"dress up" as that might also pass for normal clothes? We came up with Clark Kent and Lois Lane as you can see. Thank goodness because other than someone with a NY Yankees jersey on, no one else appeared to be wearing a costume! None-the-less, we had a great time eating, participating in the blind wine tasting/guessing the wine game and talking to fellow Fox Run wine lovers!

Also February 12-14, the Seneca Lake Wine Trail will be hosting their Chocolates and Wines at numerous wineries around the lake. You can order tickets to that event at this website: senecalakewine.com

All great fun events to warm you up on these long, cold winter days! See you there!

Canadian Wine Tastings

This morning's local fish wrapper had an article about how Canadians are charged an exorbitant amount of taxes/duty when bringing Finger Lakes wines home. It seems to me a shame that the Canadian government penalizes its people for bringing American wines into their country. Yet they want Americans to head north and spend our money in their country. Case in point, Jim and I spent a weekend up at Niagara-On-The-Lake this fall. We went to visit the wineries in the area. The wineries we went to were sleek; very European in look and style. And - get this- to have a TASTING of ONE of their ice wines...$10.00! Hmmmm