Browsing CategoryFinger Lakes

Rooster Hill Vineyards 2009 Estate Cabernet Franc

By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor Honestly, I drink them all year, but with the weather we've been experiencing, we are decidedly in the midst of cabernet franc season at my house. A combination of the weather cooling and the changing local, seasonal vegetables available have meant more root vegetables, more stews, and more roasts on our dinner table. As a franc fanatic, I often reach for cabernet franc with these foods. Rooster Hill Vineyards 2009 Cabernet Franc ($25) is a wine made for rich foods, particularly those with bacon or another smokey element. Red cherries and pomegranate molasses aromas are…

CaryMo Chocolate: Where Decadence, Artistry and Creativity Meet

By Rochelle Bilow, Finger Lakes Food Correspondent I guess I had envisioned that chocolate making would be a quiet, relaxing sort of activity, zen-like and leisurely this past Saturday morning. But there we were, half an hour into it at 9:30, and the noise in the kitchen was so deafening you could’ve convinced me a train was running straight through the vineyard down below. Cary Becraft had agreed to give me a lesson in dark chocolate technique at her production kitchen at Anthony Road Wine Company, where her husband, Peter, is Assistant Winemaker. I’d had an inkling of what goes…

Naked Dove Oktoberfest is Shoe-Slappin’ good

By Mark Tichenor, Rochester Beer Correspondent It’s still a bit confusing to everybody, even the Germans. Oktoberfest is named for October, but takes place in mid-September. And craft breweries usually have their Oktoberfest-style beers ready by the beginning of August. Canandaigua New York’s Naked Dove Brewing Company is blithely tardy, waiting until the end of beer-tent season to release their Oktoberfest. It’s a crafty move for a beer that deserves to be enjoyed apart from the pack. Oktoberfest beers are as subtle as a kick in the Lederhosen: heavy, strong lagers with negligible hop character and a sweet punch that…

Most Demanding Vintage Ever? Sounds Like Hyperbole, but in the Finger Lakes, 2011 Just Might Be

By Evan Dawson, Finger Lakes Editor Photos courtesy Lakewood Vineyards. Above: Vineyard Manager Dave Stamp rides the harvester on a gloomy harvest day. Below: Early October riesling grapes at Lakewood showed clean fruit with occasional affected berries Up and down Seneca Lake, no one was sleeping. No one was going home. After weeks of slowly building rot among the vines, the rains departed and the sun had gloriously returned. It was the 10th day of October, and this was the window, the chance, the opportunity to do the work and pull the 2011 vintage out of the fires of rot…

Horseheads Brewing Company Brings the Heat

By Julia Burke, Beer Editor Little Horseheads Brewing, located an hour from Ithaca in beautiful Horseheads, New York, might be the state's hottest brewery — literally. I made a visit for the first time last week after drooling for months over tales from my festival-going beer friends about an enigmatic “chili pepper beer” that was so balanced, so smooth, and yet so spicy it could please both session drinkers and spice fiends like myself. A sample at the charming brewery showed off Horseheads's brewing prowess, especially since it was just one of several oustanding beers on tap. The brewery’s low-key…

In Geneva, Opus Wine & Espresso Bar Gives Small-Town Dining New Meaning

By Rochelle Bilow, Finger Lakes Food Correspondent Photos by Stu Gallagher Passing through Geneva, one might be inclined to write off Opus Espresso and Wine Bar as just another eatery in a college town already saturated with pizza shops and fast-food spots. Local foodies know better. Nestled between buildings on the long stretch of downtown Geneva, just an espresso bean's throw from Main Moon Chinese Restaurant and a Philly cheesesteak takeout joint, Opus doesn’t seem like the type of place to be serving up fresh, inspired food with good coffee and great wine. It doesn’t seem like the type of…

Bloomer Creek Vineyards 2009 Auten Vineyard First Harvest Riesling

By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor When my colleague Evan Dawson first introduced us to Bloomer Creek, I only knew Bloomer Creek Vineyard as the winery that shared a parking lot with one of my favorite places to eat in the Finger Lakes, Stonecat Cafe. But, after speaking with Evan further about them, I knew that I had to get my hands on some of Kim Engle's wines. Evan and I have similar-but-different palates and tastes when it comes to wine, but I think we agree on Bloomer Creek's rieslings — these are some of the most uniquely expressive, genuine rieslings…

Views from a Southern Finger Lakes Beer Adventure

By Julia Burke, Beer Editor Over the weekend I headed to the southern Finger Lakes area to visit friends; as always, the trip was essentially a beer pilgrimage. Though I came seeking the enigmatic Ithaca Beer Company Brute (it was back on the tasting room shelves for a short time only; stay tuned for a formal review), I also got a chance to visit with brewer Jeff O'Neil and check out the beginnings of Ithaca's expansion to a larger facility. Naturally, I also stocked up on Flower Power, and my friend's sister, a breastfeeding mom, appreciated Ithaca's scrumptious root beer.…