Browsing CategoryFinger Lakes

Dano’s Heuriger on Seneca: Unique Austrian Style in Finger Lakes Wine Country

Monday, May 7 was a big night in the national culinary scene — so big, in fact, that many in the business call it the “Academy Awards” of the food world. The James Beard Awards Ceremony is an annual event that honors outstanding restaurants, chefs, culinary professionals as well as food and wine writers. And although Dano Hutnik of Dano’s Heuriger on Seneca wasn’t in attendance, the event held special meaning for him and his wife and business partner, Karen Gilman. “Too much to do around here!” Gilman said last week with a tinkling laugh.” Hutnik was nominated as a semi-finalist for the Best Chef…

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Save the Date: June 15 NYCR “Drink Local” Wine Dinner with Anthony Road Wine Company at Amarelle

We’re still working out the details, but I couldn’t help but tell you about the next New York Cork Report Drink Local Dinner. It will be on June 15 at Amarelle in Wading River, and will feature the wines of Anthony Road Wine Company, located on Seneca Lake in the Finger Lakes. Winemaker Johannes Reinhardt will be pouring a variety of wines (still to be determined) paired with Chef Lia Fallon’s creations. I hope that we’ll be able to share the menu sometime in the next week or so, but in the meantime, save the date!

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Ravines Wine Cellars Acquires White Springs Winery Vineyards, Production Facility in Significant Expansion

Ravines Wine Cellars has closed on a deal to acquire the White Springs production facility, along with 42 acres of vineyards at the Geneva site. The deal includes an additional 19 acres not under vine. Owner Morten Hallgren explained that the deal is an acquisition of selective assets, not a merging of the two brands. White Springs owner Carl Fribolin will keep the White Springs Winery brand, along with the White Springs tasting room located on State Route 14. Ravines will custom-make wine for White Springs, which Hallgren had already been doing. Ravines will construct a tasting room within the existing…

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Fighting Frost in the Finger Lakes

Some photographs tell a deeper story than the first glance reveals. This beautiful shot was taken by Todd Eichas at New Vines Bed & Breakfast on the east side of Seneca Lake, shortly after 6:00am this past Saturday. It shows more than a placid spring morning. New Vines sits on top of a hill overlooking two of the region’s most acclaimed vineyards: Magdalena Vineyard and Josef Vineyard, which are owned and operated by Hermann J. Wiemer. Eichas says his thermometer read 28 degrees on Saturday morning, but he says the vineyards below are always several degrees warmer. I asked Hermann…

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New Winery is a Regional Bellwether: Third Finger Lakes Producer Plans to Make Only Riesling and Pinot

If two times is a coincidence, then perhaps three times is a trend, and in the Finger Lakes, a trend seems to be emerging: A third wine producer has decided to focus on riesling, pinot noir, and nothing else. There is no denying riesling’s regional strength, but the search for a regional stalwart red wine has led winemakers down many paths, not all of them successful. Pinot noir would be the most challenging of paths, a cliffside stroll as opposed to the more leisurely journey to quaffable reds such as cabernet franc or blaufrankisch. That’s not to say that any…

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Keuka Lake Vineyards Worker Killed in Tractor Accident

Daniel Martin, a member of the vineyard crew at Keuka Lake Vineyards, died in an accident on Monday. The 51-year old was pinned underneath a tractor, which he had been operating on the hill of the property. “He will be greatly missed,” KLV owner Mel Goldman said in an email. “It is deeply shocking. I knew him quite well.” Martin had worked for KLV for the past ten years, and was familiar with the vagaries of the property. Keuka Lake Vineyards is perched on some of the steepest vineyard sites in the region; it’s the kind of terrain that is…

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The New York Cork Report Tasting Table — April 17, 2012

I keep trying to retire the “Tasting Table” series, but my recently chaotic day job along with the all-consuming reality of an infant and a 5-year old have once again reminded me that no matter how obsessed I am with local wines, beers etc. and this website — it’s still a hobby. Add to that the fact that we’ll be cutting over to our new site design and platform soon (maybe even next week) and Tasting Table remains a valuable tool. I’d like to start things off at the new site fresh. Tasting Table will not be a part of…

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Standing Stone Vineyards Vertical Gewurztraminer Tasting: As Unique as the Grape

The wine tastings at Standing Stone Vineyards are hardly typical, but then again, owner and winemaker Marti Macinski isn’t your average wine industry professional. A former lawyer with a degree in piano performance and philosophy, Macinski purchased the winery with her husband Tom in 1991; they’ve been making wine since 1993. On April 1, Standing Stone conducted a vertical gewurztraminer tasting, featuring six wines from their library: 1995, 1996, 1997, 2006, 2008 and the recently-released 2009. With 9 of us seated in the main tasting room around a low picnic table outfitted in a white tablecloth, it felt more like…

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A Trip to the West Side (of Keuka Lake)

Well, I’m once again the midst of my annual month-long break from alcohol –– but that doesn’t mean I can’t still enjoy a trip to Finger Lakes wine country. In need of a road trip and eager to take advantage of Wednesday’s lovely weather, I hopped in the car and headed to Keuka Lake for a long overdue visit. (Note: to the tasting room servers’ credit, I didn’t get a single stare or snide comment when I asked for a spit bucket, which I’ve heard can be a problem at many wineries. I thus managed to taste responsibly and maintain my detox.)…

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Villa Bellangelo: A California Family Brings New Ownership, New Winemaker, Lofty Goals and a Sense of History

A small cluster of vines dating to 1866 is, one would assume, the proudly held evidence of some European estate’s history. Given the relatively short history of winemaking in the Finger Lakes, such a cluster of vines might seem out of place on Seneca Lake. That is exactly why Chris Missick loves this little piece of local folklore. Because the vines are real, and so are his family’s dreams of building something new and exciting around them. Chris Missick looks like he was cut out of a piece of granite, and the photo of him holding a rifle while sitting…

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