Dr. Konstantin Frank Vinifera Wine Cellars

Rory, our 10-year-old (golden), is our poster boy! My good friend, Laura Wilder, is a VERY talented Roycroft Artisan. I have linked to her website, www.laurawilder.com, so you can see her wonderful Arts and Crafts Style prints, as well as her portraits, house paintings and drawings. About a year ago, she began a line of dog breed prints and needed models, so Rory volunteered to be “The Golden Retriever”. I believe he embodies all that a Golden Retriever is: friendly, happy, alert and VERY handsome. My Rory is my shadow, my protector and my bodyguard! He worries if I am out of the house; when I go away on trips, he sleeps by the back door. All is right in Rory’s world when I am home and he is snoozing on the floor beside me.
Unfortunately, I had to leave Rory when Jim and I took a trek on the west side of Keuka Lake to visit Dr. Konstantin Frank Vinifera Wine Cellars. What a great experience we had! I feel terrible that I didn’t write down the name of the man who served us the wine because he was chock full of information. Moreover, I must say that every wine we tasted was delicious. And the atmosphere was VERRY nice - oriental rugs- a beautiful wood bar - classy.
We started out tasting champagnes: the 2000 Blanc de Noirs ($34.99) and the Célèbre ($19.99). The Blanc de Noirs was delicious dry champagne. The Célèbre, made from Riesling grapes, was also dry and very good. Next, we compared the Dry Riesling ($17.99) to the Semi Dry Riesling ($15.99). These two Rieslings were big winners this year in wine competitions. The Dry Riesling won five gold medals at competitions as well as a Platinum “Best of Class” medal at the Los Angeles International Wine Competition. Of the 20 Best of Class awards given out, Dr. Frank’s Dry Riesling was the only New York State wine to earn the top honor. And it is exceptional! Pick up a bottle if you can! By the way, the Semi Dry Riesling was no slouch either, winning six gold medals at various competitions. You can’t go wrong with either one.
Next, we tried the 2006 Rkatsiteli ($24.99) and the 2006 Gewurztraminer ($24.99). The Rkatsiteli is usually gone by June or July, so be warned for the future. We were able to taste it a few weeks ago so there were still bottles available. The Rkatsiteli is an ancient grape. Rkatsiteli grape seeds were discovered on Mt. Ararat dating back to 3000 BC (Noah’s Ark?) Only a handful of wineries on the East Coast – McGregor’s and Dr. Frank in New York State and Horton Wines in Virginia grow Rkatsiteli grapes. This 2006 Rkatsiteli had a green apple flavor (usually it has more of a grapefriuty flavor). The Gewurztraminer was also delicious – a great wine to have with spicy meals or Thanksgiving dinner.
Moving into the “pink”, we sampled the 2006 Dry Rose ($14.99) which is a Pinot- Bordeaux blend. With .2% residual sugar, this wine surprises the “blush wines must be sweet” people. It could be paired nicely with fish or vegetable dishes or stand alone as a nice summer sipping wine.
We tried three red wines. The 2005 Pinot Noir ($24.99) is made from grapes grown on the original vines that are now 50+ years old – the oldest on the East Coast and the 3rd oldest in the US! The roots run 16 feet deep (and would go deeper except they hit shale and are now growing sideways)! The Cabernet Franc ($19.99) is a dry red that would be great with steak. This wine could be aged 10-20 years if stored properly. The last wine we sampled was the 2004 Meritage ($12.99). This is an exceptional value for such a good wine (Meritages generally run in the $20 range).
Let me just point out that at this winery alone, we sampled 10 wines. This is not unusual, so here is my plug for wise alcohol consumption. If you are going to more than one winery, you could be drinking the equivalent of several glasses of wine in a short amount of time. The average amount of wine per tasting is 1 oz. Five ounces equals a standard glass of wine, so we had the equivalent of two glasses of wine at Dr. Franks. While all the wineries are very careful in the amounts they serve and provide crackers, I know that I can’t keep up that pace at each winery- especially if I am visiting more than one winery in a day. So know that the wineries are very obliging when you ask to split a tasting. In fact, all praised us for doing so. In other words, we purchase one tasting and Jim and I share the glass (about 2 sips each). That way, we are only drinking half the amount that we would have if we each ordered a tasting. I know I want to get home in one piece because Rory will be waiting by the door!