Tasting on the East Side of Seneca Lake

Ryan William Vineyards

On a beautiful February day (read above freezing temps and clear blue skies,) we ventured to the east side of Seneca Lake (NY Finger Lakes) to do some tasting. Had some great wines (see photos of generous flights) and met friendly and knowledgeable people. Fabulous day trip. Click on the winery name for more information. Here are some highlights….

Chateau Lafayette Reneau

Chateau LaFayette Reneau

Cab Sauv:  smooth, raisin, peppery, licorice, dry finish

Meritage:  warm, comfortable; dark fruit, hint of spice, dark berries, spicy oak, dry finish

ryan William Vineyards

Ryan William Vineyard

Pinot Noir Reserve 2020: nose—cherry; palate---cherry right off, plum, hint of spice

Cab Franc/Merlot 2020:  fruit, dark fruit, black pepper, savory note, hint of leather, dry finish

lakewood vineyard

Lakewood Vineyards

 Port 2022: Baco Noir plus Frontenac; smooth with nice plum and red currant flavors finishing with a little anise. Great for upstate New York fall and winter sipping.

chateau lafayette reneau

Wine Tasting: Ryan William Vineyard

Doing something a little different--a video of our tasting at Finger Lakes winery Ryan William Vineyard. Perched on a southeast hill overlooking Seneca Lake, the atmosphere reminds me of a couple of Paso Robles (California) tasting rooms.

Producing approximately 3,000 cases annually, their 10 varietals are 100 percent estate grown and responsibly farmed: Chardonnay, Gewurztraminer, Sauvignon Blanc, Gruner Veltliner, Pinot Blanc, Riesling, Cabernet Franc, Pinot Noir, Merlot, and Syrah.

**Note: regarding the question in the video about French vs. American oak barrels, I knew that the flavor profiles were different for each, but I wasn’t sure what the flavors were. First, both are made from various species of white oak. In a nutshell, (no pun intended,) French oak contributes a more savory profile—reminiscent of wood, nuts, coffee/cocoa, pepper. American oak is sweeter and more vegetal with more notes of lighter flavors—vanilla, coconut, dill, brown sugar. Other factors also affect the wine: size of the barrel (smaller equals more flavors,) type of white oak and its terrior, and toast, or amount of char on the barrels.

These are the tasting notes for the “Red Flight:”

• 2016 Pinot Noir: smooth, ruby color, medium body, cherries, red berries, some spice to the finish, fruit forward—not as earthy as the classic Burgundy I expected, but nice, off dry.

• 2016 Merlot: sweeter, more fruit—plums, more spice, licorice on the finish, and richer than the Pinot Noir; liked this very much.

• 2018 Cabernet Franc: some initial earthier elements—tobacco or leather?, rich plum to cherry, more layers/complexity for sitting and sipping, finishes with light wood notes. *My fave, bought two bottles.

• NV Barn Red: blend of Cab Franc and Merlot that is a better than average everyday wine, fruity, crowd-pleaser red that would be great with burgers and Italian sausages on the grill.

• Gruner Veltliner: no tasting notes on this. They gave us complimentary tastes of the GV, but I’ve never been a fan of the varietal anyway, and I’d just tasted four reds, so I’m sure my palate wasn’t optimum. I didn’t think I could be fair.

Friendly people, excellent cheddar chive biscuits, and quality crafted wine. Looking forward to returning for a Friday lunch.

The New Old Sparkling Wine: Petillant Naturel

Red Tail Ridge vineyards overlooking Seneca Lake. The winery is sustainably farmed and was New York’s first LEED Gold Certified winery.

This article was published in The Wedge Newspaper, February-March 2019 issue.

There is a genre of “natural” wines. Not only are the farms (vineyards and wineries) usually organic, sustainable, or biodynamic, but the methods in which their wines are produced are traditional with little intervention by the winemaker.

 While this movement is becoming trendy, the “natural wine movement” began in France about 40 years ago as a protest of sorts to modern, mass-produced, industrialized wines with homogenized flavors. Old World winemakers thought that grapes were being manipulated for the popular palate rather than allowing the grape’s true character to develop in the barrel and in the bottle. Of course, the techniques and methods of natural wine weren’t new 40 years ago, either, having been used and finessed over centuries of winemaking prior to that.

If a bottle is labeled “unfiltered,” “unfined,” “natural,” or “minimal intervention,” it is probably considered a natural wine. There is no formal designation or certification as there is with organic or biodynamic products, or as with the farm produce designation “Certified Naturally Grown.” The general criteria followed by wine organizations and producers include: grapes are hand-picked from low-yield vineyards; there are no additives---no sugar, no cultured yeasts, no artificial flavors or colors; minimal or no filtration; no added sulfites (or only a minute amount) as a preservative. 

Because of the hands-off techniques involved, the wines often look different from the other wines on the shelf. They may be cloudy and have sediment resting at the bottom. In tasting, natural wines often have yeasty, earthy or funky flavors because of the natural elements like sediment still present in the bottle.

One type of natural wine is petillant naturel, or “pet nat.” These are interesting sparkling wines produced in the methode ancestrale which pre-dates methode champenoise, the most common technique for making sparkling wine. In methode champenoise additional yeast and sugar are added to wine in the bottle for a second fermentation that produces bubbles (carbon dioxide.) Pet nat wines are bottled before the first fermentation is complete, and no additional yeast or sugar is added. The CO2 by-product remains in the bottle and creates bubbles which also vary in intensity, but are softer on the palate than methode Champenoise bubbles. Pet nats are generally low-alcohol, easy to drink, and can be red, white, or rose.

Pet nats are intriguing because each bottle can develop in its own way, even those bottled at the same time. It is not unusual for flavors, bubbles, and texture to vary with factors like temperature, amount of yeast, and aging. Winemakers generally like the challenge of bringing out grape characteristics with minimal intervention, leaving the primary juice and indigenous yeast to make its own magic.

 We recently visited the Finger Lakes to taste some of these original effervescent wines. 

Red Tail Ridge Winery (www.redtailridgewinery.com) on Seneca Lake has produced seven vintages of Petillant Naturel Riesling. A natural wine making process is a logical option for New York’s first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold Certified winery. Red Tail Ridge farms sustainably, controls pests humanely, and keeps production low to focus on quality.

For winery co-owner and winemaker Nancy Irelan, a self-proclaimed “bubbles fanatic,” pet nat wine is an “approachable sparkling wine with a shorter time in production and a friendly price point” encouraging and allowing people to drink sparkling wine more often than special occasions.

 Their 2017 Peillant Naturel Riesling was on the tasting bar. With a little cloudiness and visible sediment, it’s light and refreshing. It’s citrusy, with grapefruit and lemon flavors, then a strawberry finish. Also available is Red Tail Ridge’s 2018 Pinot Noir Rose Petillant Naturel.

Natural wines are part of Barry Family Cellars’ (www.barryfamilywines.com) philosophy and style. Located in Burdett a few miles from the east shore of Seneca Lake, they purchase grapes locally and produce small batches with “minimal intervention” to “showcase individual vineyards.” Many of their wines are also unfined and unfiltered. Winemaker Ian Barry says the traditional roots of methode ancestrale appeals to him. We tasted four that he has produced.

The first was Fossil & Till Riesling 2017 Petillant Naturel, a limited edition, special project for Barry. Light and refreshing, there was a slight herbal quality with the citrusy flavors. The second wine was their latest pet nat, the 2018 Cayuga “Pet Gnat” Petillant Naturel. This was an opportunity to taste a very young wine that is still fermenting. Cayuga is a white hybrid created at Cornell University, and these grapes in particular were certified organic. At this stage, as expected, it was a bit heavier with yeasty flavors. It will be interesting to see what flavors emerge as this continues aging.

We tried the Pinot Noir Rose “Pet Gnat” 2017 Petillant Naturel after that. This was a bit richer with cranberry flavors, and I tasted a floral note of roses. The last wine was the Leon Millot 2018 “Pet Gnat” Petillant Naturel. The red grape is a French hybrid, and I picked up strawberry flavors, though as it develops, flavors could become more cherry and spice.

Rustic pet nats offer winemakers like Barry the opportunity to hone the most ancient skills using grapes and time and to give modern palates a change from the mainstream, a challenging but satisfying process.

“It was something new and fun to try,” Barry says. “I thought it would be fun to produce a history lesson in a bottle.”  

A Visit to the Lake Ontario Wine Trail

This article was originally published in the August/September 2017 issue of THE WEDGE newspaper

Feel like getting out of the city for a day? The Lake Ontario Wine Trail (lakeontariowinetrail.com) has wineries, cideries, a distillery, shopping, and dining without the traffic in the Finger Lakes. Stops span three counties, but the trail is a close and easy drive through orchard country.

Joined by friends Diane and Bill from Walworth, we headed for a couple of new stops and revisited others along the trail.

Since they live off of Route 441, our first stop was JD Wine Cellars (jdwinecellars.com) at Long Acre Farm in Macedon. Owner Joan Allen told us that the farm began with her husband Doug’s grandfather, a traditional farmer in the 1920s, with dairy cows and standard produce. His son moved away from the dairy farming to focus on cash crops like corn.

Today Long Acre Farm is a popular family-friendly destination with the farm market, ice cream stand, children’s educational and play activities, hosting weddings, live music events, and new food menu. According to Joan, a fourth generation is coming on deck with new wine and food experiences.

Joan and Doug opted to add grape vines to their fruits and vegetables repertoire in 2010. The results have been tasty and award-winning.

We began our tasting with the Dry-Riesling with flavors of citrus, light apple, and lime. Next we tried Traminette with crisp, lime flavors and floral qualities which would be good with herbed chicken.  The Trilogy is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Merlot that is smooth, slightly tart and has a hint of black pepper. Cranberry Riff is a 100 percent cranberry wine that tastes like cranberry juice with a kick and would be an excellent holiday wine for sipping or punches. JD Wine Cellars expects to release three new wines in the coming weeks.

Our second stop was the Old Goat Cidery (see their Facebook page,) which opened in June, at the Apple Shed Farm Market in Newark. Since 1907 Maple Ridge Farm has produced fruits and vegetables. Three generations later, in 1973, Gary Wells and wife Barb put up the landmark Apple Shed and cider mill. Now their son Matt and his wife Jessica are at the helm of the new cidery, and Gary is master cider maker. With 30 varieties of apples grown on the farm, flavor and combination prospects are exciting.

The day we visited, five ciders were on the tasting menu. Old Goat’s Heritage is a dry cider made from heirloom apples with just a hint of sweet flavor that would be good with a fish fry, a pasta salad, or a Waldorf salad. Bearded Old Goat, a gluten-free cider made with New York cascade hops, is off-dry with floral qualities. Macintosh apples blended with New England cranberries give Berry Old Goat its combination of sweet and tart flavors and pink color. Gary blends cider with New York apple blossom honey to make Sweet Mama Goat, his personal favorite. The last offering, Old Goat’s In-Law is a very limited batch cider in which Golden Delicious sweet cider from the Apple Shed ferments in oak bourbon barrels, semi-sweet, a nice sipper with flavors of apple, wood, caramel, and fall swirling in the glass.

Jessica noted that the cider bar itself is a piece of farm history, made from barn planks and old apple cider presses. The stain on the wood is, of course, apple cider.

Joan Allen welcomes visitors to JD Wine Cellars for tastings of their award-winning wines. 

Colloca Estate Winery (colloca.com) in Fair Haven was the relative new-comer on the trail. Dr. Christopher Colloca began purchasing parcels of Lake Ontario acreage in 2008 where he has planted Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Riesling. His Sicilian great-grandfather and grandfather made wine in their basements. Driving back and forth to college in the Finger Lakes and discussions with his older brother sparked Dr. Colloca’s interest in the wine industry. He began pulling pieces together for his own family winery as he traveled throughout the world for his chiropractic business.

Eventually connections in Australia enabled him to source and bottle bolder, warm-weather reds there under the Colloca Estate label and ship them to his New York tasting room. Today his initial 12-acre plot has grown to more than 100 acres, and he is continually expanding the services and attractions. There is a large tasting room, store and an outdoor barbeque area. The winery also hosts estate tours, several festivals, live music, weddings and corporate events.

Tastings on this day included a Dry Riesling with hints of lemon followed by the medium-bodied Riesling, a 2015 Double-Gold winner in a Finger Lakes competition. We tasted an estate Chardonnay that starts with crisp apple flavors and softens on the finish. For reds, we tried a classic Pinot Noir, with light spice and flavors of cherries and the Australian Old Vine Grenache that was smooth with lots of red berries, light spice, and slightly sweeter than expected.

All three stops on the Lake Ontario Wine Trail offered some sort of food menu, whether for lunches, dinners, or special events. We opted for the newly-renovated Mill Street Tavern in Sodus for lunch and,  since we were making a day of it, Dockers in North Rose on Sodus Bay for dinner. Mill Street Tavern serves up tasty burgers and sandwiches and had a full house for lunch. Dockers’ menu was Italian-American with generous portions and a choice of indoor or outdoor seating with views of the marina and bay.

There are other wineries to try, as well as antique shops and farm markets along the trail, so leaving in the morning and returning after dinner offers a lot of options for pacing and spending the day. The Lake Ontario Wine Trail and many of the wineries host special events throughout the year, which are posted on individual websites and Facebook pages.

Article and all photos by Glynis Valenti

Wine Pick of the Week: March 16, 2016

Young Sommer Winery Lemberger NV (New York)

Young Sommer Winery is a working fruit farm in Williamson, NY, along the Lake Ontario Wine Trail. Their Lemberger is a pretty versatile wine that’s good for a cool evening sipper and paired with foods.

Lemberger’s traditional and official name is Blaufrankisch, or “blue Frankish (a variety of German grape.)” The first record of the grape’s use was in the mid-1800s. However, researchers believe it was most likely grown in Germany as early as the Middle Ages and is native to that region. Today it’s grown throughout the world and, in the United States, in Washington, New York and Ohio.  

The nose on this bottle is cherry and some oak, then a wisp of tobacco. Taste is fruit-forward cherry to an almost buttery feel. It transitions to the tobacco and hint of leather, then plum and a dry finish.

Pair this with corned beef, Italian sausage, charcuterie, and, as we did at a wine dinner, with a hearty minestrone.  

Wine Pick of the Week: January 7, 2016

Lakewood Vineyards 2014 Port (NY)

This month I’ll be pairing the weekly wines with comfort foods, but what comes to mind as a “comfort wine?” Imagine a cold night with the wind howling outside. It’s probably snowing, but inside, settled in front of the fireplace, you pour from a bottle on the side table and sip the warm, sweet taste of port.

The Douro region of Portugal is the third oldest Designated Area of Origin in the world (mid-1700s) and is where Port, the wine, originated. Once British sailors discovered it and brought it back to England, its popularity spread because it held up so well on long journeys. And it tasted good.

Port is my go-to winter weather wine. Its high alcohol content gives you warmth through your system without the harshness of harder stuff—it’s a warm and fuzzy wine. There are many different types of Port, depending on how long it’s aged, where it’s aged, or whether it’s fortified (adding brandy or other liquor.)  

Lakewood Vineyards, in New York’s Finger Lakes, has a nice offering. The 2014 Port is a blend of estate grown Baco Noir (77.5%,) Frontenac (17%,) and Vincent (5.5%.) This one is fortified with grape brandy, also made with estate grown grapes.  

The nose is cherries that move to a blackberry/blueberry aroma. Cherries come to the palate first, too, then there’s a little spice—umm, some black pepper—transitioning to plums and raspberries. The finish is just dry enough to be noticeable. It’s warm, of course, with 18% alcohol content and legs on the glass. It coats the mouth, too, to savor.

Pair this with dark chocolate, but not too sweet. Nuts and bleu cheese would be better. Also raspberries with a plain, again, not to sweet cheesecake.  

Wine Pick of the Week: December 10, 2015

Dr. Konstantin Frank Chateau Frank Celebre Riesling Cremant NV  (NY)

If you drink wine and live in New York state, Dr. Konstantin Frank is a fixture, an institution, a standard in the wine industry, especially when it comes to Rieslings. Consistently winning gold medals for the last two decades in competitions throughout the world, Dr. Frank’s wines are what got the international and US aficionados to take a closer look at the Finger Lakes. That said, I saw this on the shelf and had to try it.

The nose is definitely honey with a touch of fruit—apple or a bit of citrus. Pale color with lots of long-lasting bubbles. By the way, this is made in the traditional Methode Champenoise with 100 percent Finger Lakes Riesling grapes.

The tasting begins with fruit—apples, actually—a little tart at first and not really sweet Riesling. Flavors transition to honey with the slightest hint of vanilla. It’s crisp, then silky. The finish is off-dry with just a waft of fall spice possibly.

This is a crowd pleaser for holiday parties, and the $20 price isn’t outrageous for the smooth flavors and unique take on this traditional grape. I will be adding a few more bottles to my frig.