Damiani Wine Cellar's New Tasting Room is Coming...

Damiani Wine Cellars will be opening their new tasting room in about a month's time. It is located 5 miles south of the current tasting room on the east side of Seneca Lake, Route 414. We will definitely have to schedule a trip there when it opens, but in the meantime, we had a great tasting opportunity with Gabriel Damiani last weekend. Their current tasting room is really a beautiful old house, and it was gloriously air-conditioned! We previously had only tasted their reds and their 2009 Riesling, so welcomed the opportunity to try the other whites available. Gabriel said they don't make any bad wines, and he was right. We have loved their reds for awhile, but now we love them all. The wines are all dry wines, but some taste sweeter or fruitier depending on the type of grape. They are a small winery making a limited numbers of cases (from 100- 600). We started with the whites. The Sav Blanc (188 cases made) was exceptional. Lots of grass and tropical fruit flavors. The Riesling (2009) is made with grapes from Argetsinger vineyards. I love this Riesling; it is so crisp and clean. We sampled and liked the Gewurztraminer. The Pinot Grigio was also lovely and Gabriel was glad everyone in the group liked it as he said he planted all the vines for this grape by hand, and that the vineyards are truly a labor of love that he hopes will be there for the family's descendants to enjoy.

Then came the reds. We really, really liked the Cab Franc Barrel Select, The Merlot, the Cab Sav and the Meritage. The Pinot Noir was well done also. Lastly we tried the 2007 Sparking Brut. All I can say is if you have a special occasion or even don't have a special occasion, but like champagne, try this! It was truly a taste experience as it goes through many changes as soon as it hits your mouth! The effervescence changes from sweet to citrus to vanilla. Wow. Needless to say, we purchased a bottle of the Brut to accompany the Barrel Select Cab Franc and Riesling. As we were driving home we realized we didn't grab a Meritage. Guess we'll just have to go back when the new tasting room opens!

P.S. Today "Rover" Jon sent me this photo of the wines he purchased at Damiani this weekend: the Barrel Select Cab Franc, the Barrel Select Pinot Noir, and the Cabernet Sauvignon Barrel Select! As a fellow Damiani lover, he is enjoying his purchases in celebration of the 4th. His review of these Damiani wines: "awesome"!

We waited until the cows came home!

It's not every day you run into a cattle stampede on the east side of Seneca Lake on the way to visit wineries! OK, so they were calves and there were only about 8 of them. They had obviously

"escaped" from home and were giddy with freedom. They had traffic stopped in both directions as they merrily darted back and forth down the road (jumping over the white and yellow lines). You could almost hear them talking to each other:

"Hey, let's head for that big wine barrel down the road."

"OK, we're all with you!"

"Well, no, maybe we should turn around..."

"OK let's turn around."

"Hey look, there's some really sweet looking grass over there!"

"Let's go for it - hey watch that white line - come on!"

"No, I really think we should..."

As we carefull drove around them on our way to Damiani Wine Cellars, we couldn't help but chuckle at their great escape and obvious enjoyment of freedom. They reminded me of school kids let out for the summer - free at last and not sure what to do first. Oh, to live in the moment like that!

Damiani Wine Cellars (http://www.damianiwinecellars.com/) is owned and operated by Phil Davis and Lou Damiani, friends and natives of Seneca Lake. They produce limited quantities of "fine, hand-crafted wine." Their wines are dry or "off dry" and they even offer a few unfiltered wines (like tasting it directly out of the barrel). In the white wines, they are currently offering Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio,and Riesling all 2007 vintage. They also offer a Dolce Bianco NV (blend of Vignoles, Cayuga and Vidal grapes) which won the Bronze Medal at the 2007 Finger Lakes International Wine Competition and a Silver medal from the 2008 Golden Nose Competition. The reds include Vino Rosso NV (Pinot Noir and Rougeon,Vincent and Leon Millet hybrids blend), 2006 Pinot Noir, 2007 Pinot Noir, 2007 Cabernet Franc (double gold medal winner and scored an 87 in Wine Spectator), 2006 Merlot, 2007 Merlot (double gold and gold medal winner and Wine Spectator score of 86), 2006 Meritage and a 2007 Barrel Select Merlot Reserve wine. We had a great time doing vertical tastings of the Pinot Noir and Merlot as well as pairing wines with artisan chocolates available at the winery. Damiani's wines were delicious - smooth and flavorful. While we know the reds in the Finger Lakes keep getting better, Damiani's really excel. And what a thrill to see their wines (and the Finger Lakes Region) represented in Wine Spectator! Hard choices, but we ended up purchasing the Cab Sauv (unfiltered) and the 2007 Merlot. Then we found 2 bottles of the Cab Franc at a local liquor store (the winery is sold out), so will try one of them soon and let you know our impression. My friend, Jon, who was at Damiani Cellars earlier in the day, purchased the Barrel Select Merlot (it is a double gold, gold and silver medal winner with a rating of 87 in Wine Spectator). Jon is planning a return trip in October when the 2008's are released! We're with you Jon, we will definately make a return trip to Damiani Wine Cellars! (Hopefully the cows will stay home!)

Chateau Lafayette Reneau

The snow is falling as we sit by a warm fire enjoying a glass of Seyval Chardonnay from Chateau Lafayette Reneau. Yes, the "Porch Room" is done and the fireplace installed. What better way to enjoy the winter than to look out from a toasty-warm room with a glass of wine! I'll post photos soon, I promise. (It could be a good wine-tasting room.....)

Chateau Lafayette Reneau (established in 1985) is located on the East shore of Seneca Lake in Hector, NY and produces a wide variety of premium wines. This delightful Seyval (51%) Chardonnay (49%) blend is light, fruity, yet has a subtle oak/chardonnay flavor, too. A unique twist on a chardonnay that goes down easy and is easy on the wallet ($9.49 at the winery)!

When we were at Chateau Lafayette Reneau this summer we sampled 15 wines for $4.00 and met Jenny the winery cat! We enjoyed the 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon ($17.99) which had a smooth cherry and smokey flavor that should age well. We also liked the 2006 Dry Riesling (surprise!), the Seyval Chardonnay and the Pinot Noir Blanc (referred to as "a giant step above White Zinfandel" and a real deal at $9.49).

The setting was gorgeous (especially so now with snow on the ground) and the staff was fun. I don't know how the wine server remembered all the details about each of the wines while serving them all to various small groups in random order around the bar. She was amazing.

Chateau Lafayette Reneau will be among the wineries on Seneca Lake celebrating the Bargain Bash - Saturday through Sunday, January 13th - 21st, 2007, 10:00am-6:00 pm. This Seneca Lake Wine Trail Event is open to the public and a good way to stock up on the wines you like to help you through the rest of the snowy, cold winter!