Posts Tagged“tasting room”

A Real Winery’s Tasting Room is Not a Bar… And Other Advice to Get the Most From a Visit to Wine Country

This isn’t the first time I’ve written about this topic. 99% of you know everything I’m about to write. And agree. And act this way. But I still feel compelled to write about it. Why? Maybe it’s because pumpkin-picking season is upon us on Long Island and wine country roads are clogged with local agritourists. Maybe it’s all of the bar-masquerading-as-a-tasting-room stuff I’ve been reading. Or maybe it’s that I’m becoming more and more like my father every day in that I simply expect people to act the right way in every situation — including visiting wine country. Most of the time,…

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Sheldrake Point at Seneca: What’s New for a Classic Finger Lakes Winery

By Rochelle Bilow, Finger Lakes Food Correspondent Photos courtesy of Sheldrake Point winery Mention Sheldrake Point Winery on Seneca Lake and, chances are, you’ll be corrected. “It’s on Cayuga Lake,” I heard a half-dozen times over the course of the last month from friends and Finger Lakes wine fans. They aren’t wrong, but neither am I. On September 26, 2011, Sheldrake Point opened a second tasting room on Route 414 along the southeast side of Seneca. The tasting room has opened quietly, not for lack of marketing and outreach on their part, but because they were just getting started as…

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Pindar Vineyards Doesn’t Want Your Stroller in Their Tasting Room

Jackson, our one year old son, has been visiting winery tasting rooms with us since he was six weeks old. Since his first visit to Roanoke Vineyards as a wee little lad, we’ve visited several tasting rooms as a family, including Martha Clara Vineyards, Waters Crest Winery, Wolffer Estate, Lieb Family Cellars and Corey Creek Vineyards. He’s always well behaved. We’re always careful to make sure that he’s not disturbing other tasting room patrons. And, most importantly, one of us always spits/dumps our wine. Until yesterday, Long Island wine country was not only tolerant of young families, it was welcoming.…

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What do you look for in a tasting room experience?

I was thinking recently about winery tasting room experiences. You read all the time about a wineries wine, its wines and maybe the architecture/decor, but you don’t often read about the overall tasting experience. Of course, the wines themselves and the surroundings are all a part of the overall experience, but the people pouring is one of the most important parts of the equation. To me, I can have a great tasting experience in an ugly space if the wines and the people pouring them for me are good. What do you look for when you visit a tasting room?…

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“The Persistence of Irritants” by Christopher Watkins

After Chris’s last poem, a reader and fellow tasting room employee left a comment asking for a poem about fruit flies. Chris, ever ready to please his reading public, obliged with the below. By Poet Laureate Christopher Watkins   The Persistence of Irritants We began by just ignoring them, untilcomments became too numerous;we moved to disclaimers, explanations,Yes, they’re everywhere, but they’re harmless—Behind the scenes, we tried everything,even resorting to very expensive dessert wineleft out for them to expire in;In every sweetened dish they capitulated,but they did so too in bottles, in decanters, even glasses!How many times did we discreetly turn…

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Pascal Zugmeyer Joins Shinn Estate Vineyards as Tasting Room Manager

It’s harvest season, but freshly picked grapes aren’t the only thing moving into the winery at Shinn Estate Vineyards. Owners David Page and Barbara Shinn have hired Pascal Zugmeyer, a certified sommelier, to run their tasting room and manage events at the winery. Pascal brings extensive experience at restaurants in New York City and around  the world, and will no doubt bring a unique perspective to the North Fork. He’ll be in the tasting room Wednesday through Sunday.

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Broken Chairs + Smashed Glasses= Saturday in Wine Country?

Every since I wrote a post (and a similar column in Dan’s Papers) a few weeks ago about wineries and the drunken idiots who sometimes visit them, I’ve heard from a lot of people-both directly and through other channels. Some have written to me saying that there isn’t a problem at all. Others have recounted some of their own less-than-fun experiences. A few winery owners have even taken offense to what I wrote. More on that later this week I hope. My original point was this: Sure, this stuff happens. Not that much as the Times would have you believe.…

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Tasting Rooms Gone Wild? I’m Not So Sure.

You may have seen these stories in the New York Times and Syracuse Post-Standard, about tasting room behavior in Long Island and other New York tasting rooms. I don’t have any first-hand experience in Finger Lakes tasting rooms, so I can’t comment much on the latter article, but the one in the Times I definitely can. In fact, I was interviewed for it, even if none of my quotes made it in. As I read the story for a second time, I’m disappointed on several fronts. First, I’m disappointed that people act like that in tasting rooms. But, in some…

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Corey Creek Vineyards Grand Re-Opening: May 26-28

You may have noticed that the tasting room at Corey Creek Vineyards, sister winery to Bedell Cellears was closed for six days in March for some major, but quick renovations. Well, this Memorial Day weekend (May 26-28) it will officially re-open (even though it’s been open since) with a new look, new focus and some new wines. The newly renovated tasting room now features rich earth tones such as milk chocolate, copper, gold and red to coincide with the label colors of the wines.  New built-in displays will offer a new assortment of merchandise featuring local food products, wine products…

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New York Wine & Culinary Center Announces Gold Medal Month

For the month of October, The Tasting Room at the New York Wine & Culinary Center will be pouring wines that won gold, double gold or best-in-class at the New York Wine & Food Classic earlier this year. This is a great opportunity to taste some of New York’s best wines. Tasters will be able to choose among seven different tasting flights (listed below) and beginning Saturday, October 7, a special tasting of the Governor’s Cup winner, Hermann J. Wiemer Dry Riesling 2005 will be available. Flight 1: Empire Tasting ($6) Peconic Bay Merlot 2001, Long Island Mazza Chautauqua Riesling…

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