Finger Lakes Women for WineSense

Monday evening August 17th was the first meeting of the newly established Finger Lakes Chapter of Women for WineSense and the New York Wine and Culinary Center was the perfect spot to host this inaugural event. The excitement was contagious in a room full of Who's Who of women in the Finger Lakes wine industry. NYWCC Wine Educators Tricia Renshaw and Cheryl Pitti kept the enthusiasm going as they shared their knowledge.
Tricia Renshaw began with an in-depth look at wine  - the chemical make-up, components and descriptors. Cheryl Pitti reviewed the six S's of wine tasting: sight, swirl, smell, sip, swallow/spit and savor.  Who knew that our nostrils switch every 20 minutes or so, so we always have one that can smell better than the other? Or that womens' sense of smell is better than mens and that it is associated with our better memory? Next we practiced those skills on our first two wines: Chateau Frank Brut 2008 and Boundary Breaks 198 Riesling 2011. As we were swirling, smelling and savoring, Executive Chef Andrew from the NYWCC sent out the first food pairing, Green Beans with Pork Belly Lardons.  We tried each wine with the pairing and took notes.  I preferred the Chateau Frank Brut as I felt it brought out the brininess of the pork, but everyone has their own tastes (due to their unique tastebuds and memory as Tricia told us), so others preferred Boundary Breaks 198.  There is no right answer- just personal preference!

Parallele 45, Cote de Rhone 2014 from Southern France and Dr. Frank's Gruner Veltliner 2014 were paired with Basil Spaetzle with White Wine Butter Sauce (which was out of this world)! The Parallele 45 pairing magnified basil, cheese and nutmeg characteristics while the Gruner Veltliner emphasized basil/grassy characteristics much like a Sauvignon Blanc.

Squash and Zucchini Pizza (made with Water Buffalo mozzarella) was paired with Billsboro Sauvignon Blanc 2014 and Castello Monaci Acante Fiano 2014 from Salentino Italy. The Sauvignon Blanc was really smooth and savory with the basil and cheese on the pizza, while the Acante Fiano illuminated the vegetable characteristics.  The Acante Fiano was very different - kind of funky, but we were told it pairs wonderfully with seafood in southern Italy.

Lastly, McGregor's Dry Rose of Pinot Noir 2013 and Damiani's Chardonnay 2013 were paired with Salmon with Berry Chutney.  Cherry characteristics were exemplified by the Rose, while the chardonnay, which spent three months in French oak barrels, gave a delightful mouth feel.

What a great evening and learning experience!


I went online today and became a member of the Finger Lakes Women for WineSense (www.womenforwinesense.org). The Finger Lakes Chapter will be meeting every third Monday of the month.  Next month I believe will be at Finger Lakes Community College's new Viticulture Center in Geneva.(read about the new center at http://www.mpnnow.com/article/20150128/News/150129723/?Start=1). I hope you will join me there!

Golden toasting by a cracklin' fire!

Here are the promised photos of the new room. Rory especially loves the warmth of the fire. This is pure dog contentment!

It was an exceptionally busy holiday season this year. Between births, birthdays, a graduation and Christmas, it has been quite a December!

Our family seems to have a tradition of having birthdays as close to Christmas as possible! On December 23rd my nephew George turned 8 this year. December 24th another nephew, Adam, turned 26. On January 3rd, Adam's daughter Noel will be 7. And we have a new Christmas blessing -Adam's newest daughter, Mia Rose, was born on December 18th! What a tiny, sweet delight she is. She slept peacefully through the presents, the food and all the hoopla! Her parents report that she sleeps pretty well through the night also. How lucky is that?

We have so much to celebrate this New Year. A friend who has just completed radiation treatments for cancer, a child whose college applications are all mailed, a new room for wine tastings in the new year, many dear friends with whom to celebrate throughout the year, and lots of great wines from the 2007 growing season to taste! Our New Year's resolutions will center around New York State wines. Jim and I hope to take a course in February offered at the New York Wine and Culinary Center in Canandaigua that will give us an internationally recognized certification from the Wine and Education Trust of London, England. We will also keep up our tradition of wine tasting parties throughout the year as well as excursions to the wineries to bring the best wines back to you.

In the mean time, we'll sit back with a glass of Standing Stone's Cab Franc and enjoy the room, the warmth of the fire and the company of our goldens.

So, raise your glass for a toast to 2008. May it be a fabulous, memorable year!

New York Wine and Culinary Center

Picture this: Family is in the car driving to see a college. Daughter is plugged into her i-pod in the back seat with husband and wife up front. Husband is deep in thought, musing (grumbling) over something, so the good wife asks, “What are you thinking about, dear?” Husband responds with his deepest of thoughts, “I could easily be House” (Referring to the TV show and House’s cranky, dry wit). Daughter: “You’re already Mr. Monk.” (Referring to the TV show and Monk’s obsessive cleanliness). Wife “You could be a combination of both – how about Mouse? Or better yet (laughing hysterically) you could be Hunk!” Husband ponders some more, then says, “You’re really killing INDEPENDENT JIM”
Independent Jim and I decided we needed a little libation to smooth over the roughness of the day. Since we were in Canandaigua, we decided to stop at the New York Wine and Culinary Center, right on the tip of the lake. If you have never been there, GO. It is awesome - from the post and beam construction to all the educational resources about NY State agriculture. At the Center you can eat in the restaurant on the second floor (with outside decks), take a wine and food pairing class in the Educational Theatre, take a cooking lesson in the Hands-On Kitchen or have a private party in the gorgeous Private Dining Room. There is a great range of activities available for the public as well as many special events and a gift shop. Click on the link on the right and explore all the Culinary Center has to offer. I haven’t mentioned one wonderful feature of the Center and that is their wine tasting room. The pictures don’t do justice to the huge 2-story room with its fireplace, wood tones and windows galore. It is breathtaking. The wine tasting room offers “flights’ of wine that you can sample and compare. The wines are from three major areas in New York State: the Finger Lakes, the Niagara Escarpment (near Lake Ontario- Lockport area) and Long Island. It provides us the wonderful option of trying and buying wines that we can’t get here from the Long Island and Buffalo areas.
I had the Riesling Flight that offered three Rieslings to try for $5.00. Jim had the Dry White Flight with five whites to taste for $8.00. Other flight choices were Dry Reds, Empire Tasting, Semi-Dry and Semi-Sweet Wines and New York Harvest Juices (for those not wanting alcohol). Both of our flights featured Finger Lakes wineries only. My flight offered: Hosmer Winery Dry Riesling 2006, Anthony Road Wine Co. Semi-Dry Riesling 2006, and Autumn Falls Semi Dry Riesling 2006. I also snuck a sip off Jim’s Flight- the Fox Run Riesling 2006. Jim’s flight offered: Chateau Frank Célèbre Rose Sparkling Wine, Heron Hill Winery Eclipse White 2005, Belhurst Estate Winery Legends Chardonnay 2004, Sonnenberg Gardens Abundance and Fox Run Vineyards Riesling 2006. The Hosmer Riesling was crisp and delicious and a real deal at $11.99 a bottle. Anthony Road’s Riesling was really delicate, light and citrus-y; a great wine for sipping on a hot summer day! The Autumn Falls (2.7% RS) with hints of peach was most comparable to the Fox Run Riesling (2.6% RS) with its hints of apricot. Jim enjoyed the Chateau Frank (Dr. Konstantin Frank) Rose Sparkling Wine (a dry French Rose style wine) made from estate grown Pinot Meunier grapes. The Heron Hill Eclipse White is Heron Hill’s signature white made from a blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Gris and Pinot Blanc grapes. Delicious. The Belhurst Chardonnay was very oaky, having gone through a long oak aging, so if you like really oaky Chardonnays, you will love this one. Lastly, the Sonnenberg Gardens Abundance was an off-dry Chardonnay with a touch of Riesling. Both flavors came through nicely.
We spent a great deal of time chatting with Sarah and the other staff. They were full of interesting information. One topic of discussion was the new wineries. The previous day, we noticed a new winery on East Lake Road just north of Deep Run. The staff at the Culinary Center thought it just opened the last week of August. We will make a trek there in the near future to check it out. They also recommended a new winery in Naples – Imagine something. We will check that out, too as we head to Widmer for our favorite Brickstone wines. You will truly enjoy a visit to the New York State Wine and Culinary Center!

Independent Jim (aka Hunk) rides again!