Posts Written OnJanuary 04, 2011

By Bryan Calandrelli, Niagara Region Editor I’d love to say that deciding Niagara’s Restaurant of the Year was a difficult one, involving dozens of meals and a few days of intense deliberation. In reality it was the opposite. Carmelo’s Restaurant in historic Lewiston wins hands down in Niagara Wine Country, USA – and it would be hard not to declare it restaurant of the year in Western New York in general. The fact is there’s no other restaurant that comes close in matching the effort chef Carmelo Raimondi makes towards sourcing local ingredients and local wines. The result is an…

By Lenn Thompson, Executive Editor Nancy Irelan, co-owner and winemaker at Red Tail Ridge Winery on the western side of Seneca Lake is one of the true champions off sustainability in the New York wine community. For starters, she and her husband, co-owner Mike Schnelle, have built the state's only LEED-certified winery. The building itself features a geothermal heating/cooling system and was built using recycled materials and stone found in the vineyards. In those vinyards, the irrigation and drainage system is designed to minimize run-off. Ireland's belief in sustainability extends to the community beyond her winery as well. That's why…

By Evan Dawson, Managing Editor This is, by any measure, the down season in the Finger Lakes wine industry. Vines are hibernating, tourists are less numerous. But Damiani Wine Cellars on southeast Seneca Lake is hoping a weekend event will enliven the local scene. This Sunday, from 1 to 4 in the afternoon, Damiani will host Wine, Swine, Dine. The free event combines wine tasting, food and local art. "The farmers and artisan food crafters will have their goods available for sale, so the event will have a kind of farmer's market vibe," says Amy Cheatle, tasting room manager of…