Posts Written OnJuly 28, 2008

By Jason Feulner, Finger Lakes Correspondent After seeing a reference on the Finger Lakes Weekend Wino’s site, I was in a state of disbelief. Could this news be for real? Last week, as I drove south on Route 14 on the west side of Seneca Lake, I kept my eyes peeled, and then I saw it for myself…yes, there is a winery opening on Seneca named Pompous Ass. The sign out front says the winery is opening this summer, although a lot of summer has already passed us by. Is this name funny? Is it appropriate? More importantly, what role…

Before the North Fork became the epicenter of the Long Island wine industry, it was covered in potato fields. Long Island potatoes were famous long before the Hargraves planted grape vines in the early 1970s. Of course, many of those potato fields have been replaced by grape vines, but there are still hundreds (thousands?) of acres of potatoes grown on Long Island. You might think about French fries or mashers when you think potatoes, but Rich Stabile, owner of and head distiller at Long Island Spirits, sees the ultimate raw material for making vodka. "Long Island has a long history…