The McGregor Vineyard

What can you do these long, hot dog days of summer? Well, Maggie keeps busy fishing the Nylabones out of the bottom of her pool. However, since we don’t enjoy the prospect of sharing a slimy, dog-hair and grass-filled wading pool with Maggie, Jim and I took off to visit McGregor’s Winery.
The winery is located off Route 54 on the east side of Keuka Lake (up Hyatt Rd, with a left turn on Dutch Rd). The McGregor family established the winery in 1980; John McGregor is the current owner. The 36 acres of land that they own support their estate-grown wines. McGregors has a casual, rustic atmosphere that invites you to slow down, sit down and enjoy your samplings of wine. If you are not a clan member, the tasting of five wines of your choice costs $5.00 and you get to keep the glass! You are also provided with a “cheese tray” that includes a nice sampling of cheese, crackers, pesto dip, mints and a scrumptious Concord grape bread. We joined four others at a picnic table with a tartan plaid runner and a small vase of Black-eyed Susans. As we peered at the long rows of Sunflowers outside the window, our server, John (not McGregor) provided us with the Summer Tasting Record that lists 20 wines from which to choose our tastings.
Jim started out with the 2006 unoaked Chardonnay, while I tried the traditional Chardonnay. We remembered to use the 2-sip rule: the first sip clears your mouth of the previous tastes that have lingered there, so the second sip gives a truer taste of the wine’s flavors. The unoaked chardonnay was aged in stainless steel barrels as opposed to oak barrels, which gives it a crisp, citrus-like flavor much like a Sav Blanc. This dry, medium- bodied wine was delicious. Really a nice summer wine.
The Chardonnay, made from a blend of 2003 and 2004 harvests was aged in French Oak. This produced a more traditional chardonnay, but lighter and crisper. We learned from John about the different flavors different types of oak barrels infuse into the wines: French Oak barrels give wines an almond-y flavor, American Oak gives a strong nutty flavor and Spanish Oak (John’s favorite) imparts a soft, cashew-y flavor.
We also sampled the 2006 Dry Riesling, the 2006 Gewürztraminer Reserve, the 2006 Rkatsiteli-Sereksiya, the 2006 Semi-Dry Riesling and two reds – the 2002 Rob Roy Red and the 2004 Rob Roy Red.
OK – a word about the two “difficult to pronounce” wines. Both are white wines that have interesting stories behind them. Gewürztraminer: Gewurtz means “spicy” and Trimine is an Italian village in the Alps. McGregor’s Gerwurtz lived up to the name. It was a delicious, rich wine with a nice, spicy kick at the end. Rkatsiteli grapes have a LONG history. McGregors is one of only two wineries in the Finger Lakes that grow Rkat vines, the other winery being Dr. Konstantin Frank. Stay tuned for more about the history of Rkatsiteli grapes in a later column. McGregor’s is also the only Sereksiya Rose producer in the USA. The 2006 Rkatsiteli-Sereksiya is a limited release for McGregors and is an outstanding semi-sweet white wine that is light and crisp with finishing hints of Clementine. It is meant to be consumed within the next 2 years.
The Rob Roys are “Meritages”. A Meritage is classified as a Bordeaux blend that must contain at least two different Bordeaux grapes in the blend. Both the Rob Roys are blends of Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. We both agreed that the 2002 was smoother and richer than the 2004. However, the 2004 was heartier with a smokier flavor.
We “retrieved” the Semi Dry Riesling for our pack to sample and rate, so we won’t tell about it now!
McGregor’s has a wine club they call their "Clan". By joining the clan, you are sent wines on a regular basis as well as attending special events. Jim and I were fortunate enough to join one of the special events in March a few years back, even though we were not clan members. We were taken, with the clan members into the large barn. Inside we saw a long table illuminated with large, lit candlesticks and set with many wine glasses. It looked like something out of a medieval, Scottish castle! We sat around the table with John McGregor hosting and sampled many of the winery’s reserve wines. John spoke of the history of the winery and the specific wines we tasted. What really stuck out in my mind was the sampling of some Rieslings that were aged so that we could see the effects of aging on the wine. One bottle was 25 years old! It had a distinct taste of petroleum! From the wine tasting barn, we went into the winery where a delicious buffet was set up for our enjoyment. We mingled with the other “clansmen” and John McGregor. This experience was truly memorable and speaks to the down-to-earth atmosphere of the winery and its owner. You will enjoy a visit to the McGregor Winery.