Ithaca Times FLX Libations Summer Fall 2022

Vol. 1 No. 2

Summer-Fall 2022

Enjoy the many trails of the Finger Lakes and all they have to offer in dining and tasting experiences

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FLX Libations Summer-Fall 2022

From the Editor

Contributing Writers

Theme: The thread running through all our stories is the theme we introduced in the inaugural issue: how the beverage industries have come out on the other side of the pandemic crisis, weathered the storm, adapted for required changes, thrived, even expanded. Many benefited from the pause to reassess direction and pivot. We spoke with some new businesses caught off guard just as they were opening, took the break to evolve and possibly even skip certain steps typical for the first few years. Our writers have been out and about, meeting new owners, veteran winery owners, and visitors. All in all, what was consistently expressed was positive: a fresh start, a chance to slow down and enjoy the moment of experience, or even a way to success-

Meredith Collins (Cider Week New York State) Meredith Collins is the blogger behind one of the most long-standing and respected cider blogs: Along Came a Cider (https://alongcameacider.blogspot. com/), where she has been tasting, photographing, and reviewing hard cider for more than nine years. In addition to managing her blog, Meredith judges, writes, presents, consults, and teaches about local food and beverages whenever possible. Her foodie background started with chocolate, coffee, and cider, but has expanded to wider worlds of food, drink, and culture. She is a member of the inaugural group of Certified Cider Professionals.

Peggy Haine (Profile on Black Diamond Cider) Peggy Haine has served as wine and food writer, politician, real estate broker, auctioneer, bandleader, jug player, education administrator, hunter safety instructor, world traveler and Rotarian.

Retirement suits her. (Editorial note: Spoken like the queen she is of “been there, done that!” And we’d like to remind her that we first encountered her as

I

n this edition, we feature the tour operators who, quite literally, “drive” the wine and beer trail businesses, some of whom have developed right along with the earlier winery operations from the late 90s—before signs, maps, or GPS. Others have taken the tour experience to deeper, educational levels. Read about the variety of choice and consistency of quality available to the tourist looking for guidance in visiting wine and beer trails.

Speaking of earlier wineries, we highlight several of the earliest: an inside look at four generations of Finger Lakes wine pioneer family Frank, as Dr. Frank Winery celebrates 60 years; and a profile on the country’s oldest sacramental wine operation right here in the Finger Lakes, O-neh-da Winery, now including Eagle Crest wine.

New this issue, is a teaser page for a future regular focus on Art on the Trails, bringing new audiences to wine and beer tasting rooms. Speaking of tasting rooms, there are new ones cropping up devoted to pairings of various wineries and chef partners, like Once Finger Lakes, and a new brewery devoted to Beer and Food pairings in the Belgian tradition (see Brewery Ardennes). We also bring you an in-depth introduction to the western end of the Finger Lakes beverage businesses; in particular, Canandaigua Lake.

As usual, there’s wine news, cider and brewery profiles. A mushroom grower expands to distilling (See Mushroom Spirits Distilling page 12.) And speaking of wine news, our wine department reports on the established professional side of the industry in the return to in-person events.

Welcome to Finger Lakes Libations if this is your first glimpse. If not, welcome back!

Editor of the FL Wine Gazette).

Cathy Shipos (Brewery Profile: Summerhill Brewing) Cathy Shipos grew up in Tompkins County and saw no reason to leave. She loves the Finger Lakes region and all it has to offer—the natural beauty of the lakes and gorges, the diversity and talent of local musicians and artists, and the bounty of our fields and vineyards. Since retiring from a career in public education in 2019, Cathy has enjoyed sharing her enthusiasm for the area by leading food tours in downtown Ithaca, writing freelance food and beverage columns for local publications, and now, pouring wine in the tasting room at Bet the Farm Winery.

Edgar Brown (Canandaigua Lake – Life and Libations in the western Finger Lakes) Edgar Brown is a life-long resident and ardent devotee of the Finger Lakes.

His mission is to serve the region by illuminating and sharing some of his favorite aspects of it, which includes the vigorous wine and tourism industry. His company, Finger Lakes Designated Drivers, allows him to be a regional ambassador as his clients tour the area. He is a NYS certified art teacher, a primitive technology instructor, an amateur natu-

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In Memorium

Finger Lakes Loses Two of its Wine Veterans

FLX

By KIT KALFS

Bob McGregor

Robert Harry “Bob” McGregor, founder and guiding light of McGregor Vineyard and Winery, passed away on May 30, 2022. Bob was a Navy veteran and a physicist at Kodak in Rochester for over 20 years. In the wine industry, he is known for his pioneering plantings of Georgian and Russian grapes on his site overlooking the Bluff of Keuka Lake. In 1972, Bob and his wife Marge planted the first 28 acres of vinifera grapes, focusing on some cold hardy varieties such as Saperavi, Rkatsiteli, Sereksia Charni, as well as Finger Lakes’ staples Riesling, Cabernet Franc and Gewürztraminer.

By all accounts, Bob was a humble pioneer, crafting wines from his vineyards with a commitment to quality, following the European philosophy of winemaking: the vintage reflects the growing year, the skill of the vineyardist and the care of the winemaker. The winery is now run by their son John McGregor, who is ably carrying on in his father’s footsteps.

Wine, Brews, Spirits & Cider of the Finger Lakes

Elizabeth Prejean

E l i z a b e t h Prejean, who founded Prejean Winery with her late husband Jim, passed away on May 23, 2022. Together they planted their first 13 acres of vines on Seneca Lake in 1979, traveling from their home in Connecticut on the weekends.

They did this for 6 years, moved permanently to the Finger Lakes in 1985 and opened the winery in 1986. Before that time, though, she travelled the world as a stewardess for TWA, visiting five continents, and lived in eleven states.

One of the hallmarks of a visit to Prejean’s tasting room was the Cajun music, spices and snacks that reflected Jim’s Louisiana roots and Elizabeth’s graceful charm. The winery continues to operate under the watchful care of Tom Prejean and his wife Amy.

Publisher & Editor:

Denice Karamardian

(607) 227-3830 Email: denice@twcny.rr.com Wine Editor: Nancy Tisch Email: nancy@btfwines.com

Layout Design: Gerry Lord Advertising: Denice Karamardian Temporary Web: Ithaca.com/FLX

ADVERTISING DEADLINE Deadline for Spring 2023 issue: February 17, 2023 Deadline for Online Harvest Newsletter 2022 November 25, 2022 Submit wine news to Nancy Tisch: nancy@btfwines.com

FLX Libations Summer-Fall 2022

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Dr. Konstantin Frank Winery—Sixty Years And Four Generations

By DENICE KARAMARDIAN

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ike anyone else living or working around the Finger Lakes, I’ve been hearing and reading about Dr. Konstantin Frank for years. I’d met his son, Willy Frank, some twenty years ago.

Peggy Haine and I visited that day, on behalf of the Finger Lake Wine Gazette, and Willy’s enthusiasm for his father’s legacy, and Finger Lakes wines in general, stayed with me. When I updated myself on current information, I noted how many articles and books have highlighted the astonishing way that one man became responsible for the birth of the Finger Lakes Wine industry, now one of the world’s major wine regions. How it began as an experiment by the scientist from Photo courtesy of Dr. Konstantin Frank Winery Odessa, Ukraine, armed with a PhD. in Fred and Meaghan Frank, third and fourth generations at Dr. Konstantin Frank viticulture.

Winery.

The leading expert in his field throughout Eastern Europe, Dr. Konstan- or another. There are so many factors…” as a “firecracker, the loudest person tin Frank weathered WWI, WWII, and the She was almost apologetic in explain- everywhere he went, in every facet of his Russian Revolution before immigrating ing why so few generations make it this life.” He was a businessman, wanted to to New York in 1951 at the age of 52. He’d far in the U.S., not the least of which was turn a profit—sell wines, get the wines on made his first wine at 15, had engaged in the first hurdle for the second generation menus. Both father and son had strong early winemaking experiments, and of Franks. She was quick to point out personalities and clashed constantly. She brought his passion (and family) to the that Willy and Konstantin “did not see said that Konstantin actually wanted his Cornell Geneva Experiment Station in eye to eye” and worked within a tension grandson, Meaghan’s father, Fred, to 1953. His thesis on cold-climate growing that never did resolve. supersede Willy and take over the winery. techniques of vinifera was put to the test The winery was set up as a grand M: “Willy was an ambassador for the on the steep slopes of Keuka Lake when experiment, rather than a business. Finger Lakes and fought for credibility of he fell in love with the land and its poor Konstantin was an educator, focusing on the region with abandon. He approached soil, and ultimately founded Vinifera grafting techniques, the potential for the life with no fear.”

Wine Cellars in 1962. He pioneered many Finger Lakes, and of course, overcoming Fred, on the other hand, was mighty ancient European varieties, several of the challenge of year in and year out uncomfortable in the position he found which are still growing today at the tremendous fluctuation in the European himself. But he made a wise choice that winery. Family was vinifera varieties that she feels saved his relationship with his also planted, and the are not as cold tolerant own father, Willy. After graduating family affair is a as the American variet- Cornell in 1979 in agricultural economstory intertwined ies (like Concord). ics, he left for Germany to study viticulwith wine.

M: “Konstan- ture and enology winemaking at In May of this tin would be working in Geisenheim University. year, I interviewed M: “He gave his father space. Willy the vineyard when a car Meaghan Frank who, would pull up. He’d stop appreciated space. He told Fred: ‘Go. along with her father what he was doing, and Learn to shave on another man’s beard.’

Fred, represents the converse for hours to In the meanwhile, Konstantin’s health third and fourth his new guests, discuss- had been failing for several years. Vinegenerations of ing theories and history, yards were in disarray, tanks turned to owners operating the educating them fully vinegar – all because he would not relinwinery. Meaghan was before ultimately invit- quish control. Many assumed the ‘viniftwo weeks away from ing them to taste.” The era experiment’ would die with delivering the fifth tasting was held back as Konstantin.” generation and about the culmination of his to go on maternity lessons for the day- the Second Generation leave. From her, I Konstantin passed in 1985, without proof of his words and discovered it was far relinquishing control. Willy had to make theories. from smooth sailing Willy was in some tough decisions. According to for the winery or for his twenties when the Meaghan, he cut some sixty varieties the generations operfamily left Ukraine. down to fifteen. “It was the 1980s and ating it.

He’d lived through the people were simply not yet adventurous M: “So many soviet trauma and drinkers.” But he did keep a few esoteric times in the sixty more, but also had been varieties, such as: rkatsiteli, a Georgia years, the winery around the wine indus- grape, planted widely in Ukraine; and could have ceased to try and was conscious saperavi, a red grape (also an ancient Photo by Denice Karamardian of the business of it. Georgian variety). exist, was inches away from not surviv- Meaghan Frank and the Fifth Meaghan describes him M: “Willy opened a tasting room (it ing due to one thing Generation.

is now the office) that we call the ‘dungeon.’ Willy wanted no distraction from the wines; he ignored the gorgeous views outside and poured wine in the wood paneled, underground room. He carried samples of wine wherever he went and began the process of ‘brand building’.”

Willy also started a traditional method sparkling winery in 1979, buying the next door property that includes a stone house. “It had been one of the original wineries in the U.S., the Western New York Wine Company, from 1886. The family Argus was from Germany. They used Concord grapes, and went out of business with Prohibition.” Willy named it Chateau Frank as a compliment to his father’s winery, though exclusive to sparkling wine.

While Willy was changing the nature of the family business and launching Chateau Frank, Fred was managing vineyards on Long Island for Banfi, a wine company of both Tuscany and Long Island, in Old Brookville. Born there, Meaghan spent her first three years in the vineyard cottage. Her mother was an attorney in New York City, where they met, and the couple had three children, each one year apart. Meaghan emphasized how happy they were, living their lives downstate, when Fred got a call from his mother, Margrit (Willy’s wife): “Freddy, your father is sick. He won’t make it through the week. You have to come take over the winery.”

The family literally picked up and moved that week, not an easy task nor a happy transition for her mother, who left a high powered job that she loved. They found a house in Painted Post, 40 minutes away from the winery. It was 1993 and, although Fred took over operations, her grandfather made a miraculous recovery, so they worked side by side for thirteen years.

M: “They had a challenging relationship, as well. Willy would say no, at times, just for sport. For many years, it was hard for my father to put his mark on the winery. But he is soft spoken and reasonable. Eventually he would manage to convince his father.”

Meaghan continued, “One such project is Salmon Run—our value label— which makes up over one half of our production today.” Named for the landlocked salmon of Keuka Lake, it is made from grapes purchased from local growers, produced and bottled at Dr. Frank’s.

“This enables us to elevate the quality of the Dr. Frank line, separately.” She explained that the Dr. Frank line refers to the oldest vine vineyards, dedicated to the highest quality, such as the Riesling, Chardonnay, and Pinot Noir European varieties Konstantin had planted in 1958,

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FLX Libations

Summer-Fall 2022

Editorial

Continued from page 2

fully wind down operations, avoiding any negative impact. Everyone, from driver guides, to visitors, to tasting room managers, enjoy the relaxed setting of the “new normal.” perhaps we can remove the “new” and leave the “normal.” I would describe it as a marvelous “big chill” in the Finger Lakes, but that coin is already taken.

Another theme from last issue, common to every single business owner I have encountered in all FL beverage industries, is the amount of cooperation, collaboration, camaraderie, and advocacy on a united front that all seem to share. Is this unique to our region? I don’t know the answer to that, but I do know that it is certainly felt by residents and visitors alike. Like all regional business owners, I am very proud to promote that quality. To co-opt another phrase, This is us!

Award Winning Estate Grown Wines Spectacular Views of Cayuga Lake 1250 Clearview Road King Ferry, NY 315-364-5323 brightleafvineyard.com • Open Wednesday-Thursday 2-8 pm, Friday-Saturday 12-8 pm, Sunday 12-5 pm • Daily food specials-Authentic Italian pinsa Romano recipe; light & delicious • Wednesday night Concert series: June 1-August 31. Live music & food from 5:30-8:30 pm • Special event space available all year long.

Our Status: Thank you to readers who reached out to us in response to the inaugural

edition, both for positive feedback and the various maps corrections and updates.

Please continue to do so. We still have a wish list to put out there: seeking brewingfocused writers, interns for social media and editing experience. We are always open to writers for related topics. Also, we hope for increased participation in submitting news to us. We count on your updates and questions.

Soon to come is our new website: fingerlakeslibations.com. Once up and running (before the next issue), we will be able to add online content, like harvest and event news. Please note, until then, we are still located online at Ithaca.com/FLX. We are currently assessing and deliberating a publication strategy for 2023. The verdict is not fully in. Shall we go to three issues annually? We’d love to hear your thoughts on this, and on anything else. After all, it’s all about support and demand. And did I say support? Thank you in advance.

— Denice Karamardian

Nancy Tisch, Wine Editor

We usually find Nancy in the tasting room of Bet the Farm Winery, which she co-owns with Kit Kalfs. After careers in academia and hospitality, she founded Bet the Farm Winery in 2006, for which she is winemaker. She also worked at GENEX, as a research scientist until retiring last June. (For curious minds, GENEX is a company that makes cryopreserved straws of semen for artificial insemination of dairy and beef cattle). The timing coincided with Nancy’s personal journey from technical to journalistic endeavors and she was excited to brainstorm for the birth of Finger Lakes Libations. Nancy’s participation in the launch process has been pivotal; in turn, providing her an opportunity to continue writing. Wineries, look for Nancy’s call for news and don’t forget to respond so we can include your business on our pages. n

Contributors Continued from page 2

ralist, and an accomplished hedonist. He holds a degree in woodworking and furniture design from RIT, and for many years taught young nature writers at the Gell Creative Center of the Finger Lakes, owned by Writers&Books, Inc. Brown has two grown sons and lives in Naples. Bon vivant, raconteur, man-about-town.

Carol Doolittle (EPR Recycling Legislation) Carol Doolittle is a member of the New York Wine Policy Institute and co-owner/ co-founder of Frontenac Point Vineyard – Estate Winery. Prior to buying land and starting their farm and winery on the west side of Cayuga Lake in 1979, Carol and her husband, Jim Doolittle, worked in Albany at Ag and Markets and the Lt. Governor’s office. Jim worked with Governor Carey’s office developing the Farm Winery Bill that was signed into Law in 1976. In 1975 there were approximately 19 commercial wineries in NY. Today, thanks to the Farm Winery Act and the New York Wine and Grape Foundation, there are more than 480 wineries.

Kit Kalfs (Tradition O-neh-da Winery, B.E.V. New York, Finger lakes Loses Two of its Wine Veterans) Kit moved to the Finger Lakes region after visiting as a wine tourist for many years. In 2001, he started working the tasting room at Sheldrake Point and by year’s end he assumed the Tasting Room Manager role. In 2012, Kit joined his partner Nancy Tisch at Bet the Farm Winery. His role at Bet the Farm includes managing the tasting room, working in the winery, and managing the vineyard. Or as he likes to say “lots of hats!”

Denice Karamardian (Dr. Frank, Touring the Trails, Brewery Ardennes) A native Ithacan, Denice traveled the world and returned in 1999. She has spent the past two decades operating the Coddington Guest House, working with the Finger Lakes Wine Gazette, voice instructor, and doing too much other stuff, from radio work to concert producing. Her longest career was in performing. Retired from all but writing, she spends her time on this publication and novels. n

FLX Libations Summer-Fall 2022

Dr. Frank

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among the esoteric experiments. Younger vines could go to Salmon Run, along with the products from other growers.

Third Generation

Fred made many improvements.

2003, 2004, and 2005 were all devastatingly cold winters. (It is not common to have three in a row; one bad winter per decade is typical, according to Meaghan.) After that, Fred knew he needed some warmer acreage to grow some tender vinifera varieties. He invested in vineyards on the east shore of Seneca Lake, near Hector.

“Known as the banana belt,” Meaghan laughed, in response to my confusion and, perhaps channeling her great-grandfather, proceeded to educate me: M: “Seneca Lake, near Hector, is deep—645 feet—creating a moderating effect; with the afternoon sun, the lake acts as a heat trap. Whereas, over at Keuka, the lake is just 200 feet deep. The steeper slopes also make a difference.”

When her father found the Seneca property, it was the last thing his father was able to discuss—and clear—with Willy, before his father unexpectedly died of a stroke. Fred was faced with the new challenge of taking over operations alone.

“I remember how hard it was on my Dad, working that transition.” Meaghan was sixteen, a junior in high school, and the oldest. She never worked the winery then, never even entertained it. It was her brother, who was groomed to work the winery most of his young life. Naturally, the family business would pass to the third generation male. Before collegeMeaghan never imagined an option.

In 2007, she enrolled in the Ag school at Cornell University. Needing a variety of science classes, she ended up taking viticulture and, to her surprise, enjoyed it. She found herself discussing much of the subject with her grandmother and parents. By her senior year, Cornell was a family affair: her sister was a junior, and her brother entered his freshman year.

The male heir to the family legacy, however, decided immediately that he wanted to switch to business.

M: “Meanwhile, I was getting more and more into winemaking and wine appreciation, now that I was of age and could partake. I knew more than I thought. It was a familiar language. Dad noted my interest and encouraged me, excited about my passion. He told me: ‘Go. Learn to shave on another man’s beard.’”

Fourth Generation

For graduate studies, she chose Adelaide, Australia. The program is like an MBA in wine business, for over thirty years. Since then, she says, Sonoma State in California has started a similar program. And there is Bordeaux and Geisenheim, maybe a handful of others.

M: “I saw the chance to leave the

Photo courtesy of Dr. Konstantin Frank Winery

Sunrise over Keuka Lake from Dr. Frank vineyards. region as one I needed, for more exposure to wine outside the United States. Dad knew letting me go would be an informative process and took a chance. But Mom didn’t speak to him for a month after I left.”

“My God, the risk—you could have fallen in love or something!” I innocently blurted, not expecting what came next.

“And so I did!” she laughed, “I brought him back with me.”

She thoroughly enjoyed the two year program while also working at Adelaide Hills Winery. “I met so many multigenerational ‘next gen’ owners, from all over the world, who I still keep in touch with.”

One such person was from Mexico City and studying for the same degree. He had planned to stay in Australia; had a permanent visa. Now married seven years to Meaghan, Antonio Arias has started his own business, the newly opened Once Finger Lakes tasting room on Seneca Lake. The couple is expecting their first child.

Meaghan unconsciously cupped her hand over her belly, and I couldn’t resist a personal question in my mind, though I worried it could be unwelcomed. “So, are you going to…have you considered if you will put pressure on the next generation?”

She softly chuckled, seemingly not bothered by the question.

M: “I appreciated that my Dad never pressured me. I’d like to think I’d do the same.” She seemed to be musing now, and ready to share her thoughts. “My Dad and I have worked together for nine years. We are the first pair of (consecutive) generations (in the family) to have a synergy, a working relationship where we are more similar than different. We trust whole heartedly that the other has the best interests for the winery, whether or not we agree. He has given me so much autonomy from an early age.”

“I felt the duty. I don’t think I would have pursued this path otherwise. My Dad saw his role as a caretaker of the

business. He felt belonging in his core; he knew he had to be the continuity.” She took a beat, before continuing. “I feel it, too…way bigger than me. About legacy and empowering the people around us.

The longevity of our team is paramount, a beautiful thing. We share the mission.”

I pursued a nagging curiosity and half expected her to deflect such a personal query. “That opportunity that fell in your lap—to break the male tradition. What might happen with the next generation?

Does that keep you up at night?”

Meaghan’s laugh was spontaneous and genuine. “I have so many other things keeping me up at night,” she was rubbing her belly as she thought about it. “No, not yet. Certainly, it will be something that gets thought about, talked about, someday. For now, I have hope, it will stay in family hands.”

And her sister? “She’s an attorney in New York City. The joke is: my Mom got one, my Dad got one.” Her brother? “He’s a tech biz finance guy in San Francisco.”

God bless the child that’s got his own, I thought.

Then I asked Meaghan about any changes she’s made. Here is where her voice took on excitement, gradually building as she talked about projects.

They’ve done a whole catalogue, of older blocks—the plantings done by Konstantin and his son-in-law, Walter. Walter’s son, Eric Volz, has been current vineyard manager for over forty years. They are working with him in understanding their best sites, varieties, clones, and root stocks they are planted on, in order to highlight separate, special bottlings.

Meaghan face lit up, as she began describing what may be her biggest passion.

M: “In 2014, we began the Helm Series: a line of four wines that pays tribute to the women of our business ‘at the helm’. When we talk about Konstantin and Willy, we leave out the women who allowed the continuity of this business.

These are the ones who sacrificed, put

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their own dreams aside, and cared for everyone. They were typically never given acknowledgement or tribute.”

HELM also represents the letter of the first name of each of the women: great grandmother Eugenia (Konstantin’s wife), grandmother Margrit (Willy’s wife), and two great aunts, Hilda and Lena. Highlighting the best sites on the property is to tell their story. The series is ongoing, produced from the best vintages.

The premium luxury range helps build the reputation, and represents the highest scores of the whole portfolio. “It highlights us,” says Meaghan. She also explains how the wines are produced to match the women’s personalities.

The Eugenia block was planted in 1968, one of the oldest Riesling plantings in the U.S. It was fermented separately and made in the style of her nature.

“She was strict and stern. The wine is lean, high acid, electric acidity—our driest,” said Meaghan. Whereas, the Margrit wine comes from the East Seneca grapes, the “warmest, sunniest, dry Riesling. The style invokes someone embracing you in a great, big hug,” Meaghan smiled.

Great aunt Hilda’s husband, Walter, was the original manager and when he retired in 1979, started a vineyard of Chardonnay, a block highlighted by the Helm Series. “We picked six barrels per vintage, honoring her sacrifice. She was the first family member to move up from downstate and help with the vineyard, the first bookkeeper.

Lena was the youngest child of Konstantin. She went back and forth to Ukraine many times in her life, even when it was not safe to do so. She took suitcases full of American dollars and cigarettes, and bribed her way across borders. Because of her regular travels, the family managed to keep in touch with family in Odessa, and still have those connections. In her honor, the Lena wine is a big red blend of six different grape varieties, one hand picked barrel of each, to represent keeping the family together.

“She passed away last year”, said Meaghan. “She and Margrit were the only two women to see their names on bottles.” Her grandmother,Margrit, was a humble woman.

M: “When we showed her, ‘Oma, we have this bottle named for you’ she replied ‘you don’t have to do that’ but a moment later she said, ‘did you spell my name right?’”

Margrit died a few years before the pandemic. All four women immortalized in the Helm series are now gone. The first of them, Eugenia, outlived Konstantin, and lived until she was 97. Meaghan was in high school when she passed.

M: “So I knew her. For me, the winery was so much about her. Knowing her strength and resilience was a huge compliment to this larger than life story about the Frank legacy I grew up with.”

I, for one, can’t wait to see where the story leads next. n

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FLX Libations

Summer-Fall 2022

Wine Trail Events—how have they changed?

By NANCY TISCH Winemaker/Owner Bet the Farm Winery

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n our inaugural edition of FLX Libations, we featured an article that described the changes to winery tasting rooms during the COVID pandemic. In the story that follows, we explore how the pandemic effected Wine Trails, how they operated through the shutdown and how wine trail events may have changed after the pandemic.

While the Finger Lakes region is home to four wine trails: Cayuga, Seneca, Keuka, and Canandaigua, we focused on the two larger wine trails; larger with respect to both geography and winery membership. We interviewed Katherine Chase, Executive Director of the Cayuga Lake Wine Trail and Brittany Gibson, Executive Director of the Seneca Lake Wine Trail to learn more about the importance of wine trail events and the impact of changes to those events during and after COVID shut-downs.

Cayuga Wine Trail

The Cayuga Lake American Viticulture Area includes 21 wineries, 13 of which are members of the Cayuga Wine Trail. Kathy Chase has been with the Cayuga Wine Trail since 2014 when she worked as an assistant to former director Cathy Millspaugh. In 2018, Chase as-

sumed the position of Executive Director.

Details were not available during our interview, but there are plans for an anniversary celebration as the Cayuga Lake Wine Trail, the oldest in the country, reaches 40 years of age this year!

When asked how COVID impacted the wine trail and the events, Chase relayed the following: In March of 2020, they had made plans for one of their annual events: Bacon on the Lakein, in which guests travel to wineries for tastings that include a food sample with bacon as one of the ingredients. Approximately 1800 tickets for the event had been sold, special glasses for the event had been ordered, and partnerships with local hotels and transportation companies had been established and paid for by consumers planning to attend. Ultimately, the shut-down forced the cancellation of this event only days before it was scheduled to take place.

All purchases were refunded, but some of the costs (e.g. glasses) could not be recovered by that time.

In April 2020, the Wine & Herb festival was scheduled for back-to-back weekends. Typically, guests travel to each winery, taste wine and a small bite of food, and receive an herb plant. This event was also cancelled due to the shut-down. Nearly 3600 tickets were refunded. Because the plants are ordered so far in advance (usually October of the previous year), those costs were also unable to be recovered.

As the shutdown continued, Chase’s role as Executive Director shifted focus to providing COVID support to the wineries, including what regulations were required by New York State and county governments, and where the necessary personal protection equipment could be sourced. Additionally, since member wineries were allowed to ship wine during the shutdown, Chase provided support for e-commerce by maintaining lists of which wineries were shipping to which states. In this way, she could direct consumers to member wineries according to where they wanted their wine to be shipped.

During the “reopening phase”, the wine trail served as a bridge between the member wineries and consumers. Each

winery had its own unique hours of operation, rules related to indoor vs outdoor seating, reservation requirements, and group size limits. Having centralized information for the member wineries made it easier for consumers to navigate the wine trail. Chase shared a sense of breaking the news gently to consumers: “things are different now.”

In 2021, Cayuga Wine Trail events resumed, but with a dramatically different format. In the “before time,” tickets sold for $35 per person and were good for the entire weekend. Guests could travel to as many wineries as they liked, to receive a tasting and a food sample, as well as a commemorative wine glass. Often, if guests started at either the southern or northern end of the lake, they could end up arriving in droves at the centrally located wineries at the end of the day.

Under the new format, guests are seated, and events include a more experiential food and wine pairing. Because of the time it takes to seat guests, enjoy the tasting, clear, and sanitize tables, member wineries provided information to Chase on the number of people per hour that could be served comfortably and safely. Ticket sales were limited to include six of the member wineries, using a carefully planned itinerary that included time spent at each winery, as well as travel time between wineries. Additionally, tickets were now bundled for groups of four people at a cost of $240 for Bacon on the Lakein. The traditional Wine & Herb Festival (with a thirty-year run) was creatively changed to Flights & Florals in 2021 (no herb plants were pre-ordered in 2020 so guests received flowers instead).

Tickets for a group of four sold for $275.

The changes to events made staffing at each of the wineries easier; they knew how many people to expect and when to expect them.

Creating and managing itineraries fell on Chase’s shoulders and represents an enormous amount of work and detail for each of the events. Feedback thus far suggests the new format has been well received by member wineries and consumers alike. For the Cayuga Lake Wine Trail, it seems that the COVID-induced changes to trail events may be here to stay. Member wineries reported increased consumer spending for the experiential events, in comparison to the pre-pandemic format.

Seneca Lake Wine Trail

The Seneca Lake Wine Trail just celebrated a 35-year anniversary in 2021.

Executive Director Brittany Gibson, was the recipient of the Phyllis Feder Unity Award. Gibson is assisted by Office Manager Glenda Stermer-Simpson.

Of the more than 50 wineries in operation on Seneca Lake, the Seneca Lake Wine Trail has 27 member wineries. All wineries may not be eligible for member-

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FLX Libations Summer-Fall 2022

ship since the by-laws are stringent. To be eligible for membership, wineries must have a tasting room, more than 50% of the fruit they use for winemaking must be sourced in the Seneca Lake AVA, and they must have a minimum of 5 acres of vineyard. As Gibson notes – “we want our members to have real skin in the game.”

When asked about the impact of the pandemic on the Seneca Lake Wine Trail, Gibson’s story mirrored the one shared

by Chase for Cayuga Wine Trail. A new event called “Flights and Bites”, spearheaded by some of the smaller wineries on the Trail, was scheduled for March 12, 2020. Naturally, the event was cancelled, due to the shut-down.

...wine trail events are important to the mission of marketing and promotion of wineries...

Gibson emphasized the importance of wine trail events to the mission of Marketing and Promotion of the member wineries. Ticket sales for the events typically generate more than 70% of the organization’s annual revenue. The Seneca Lake Wine Trail had nearly a full year without any trail events.

The role of the Seneca Lake Wine Trail during the shutdown shifted to connecting consumers to the member wineries and their respective offerings.

Examples included virtual tastings, curbside pick-up, local delivery, and different promotions for on-line sale of wines. During 2021, as restrictions were being lifted, the Seneca Lake Wine Trail developed a page on their website called “Before Visiting,” which provided consumers with information for each of the member wineries: hours of operation, indoor vs outdoor seating, tasting formats and fees, and maximum group size.

Earlier this year, the Flights & Bites event was re-scheduled. The seated event included an immersive wine & food pairing, and guests had a six-winery itinerary. Tickets were sold in bundles of 4 to maximize seating at the wineries. The event was well-received by member wineries and consumers. However, it is the only event of this type.

Seneca Lake Wine Trail resumed several “roving events,” this year in which attendees are free to visit any of the participating wineries over a two-and-ahalf-day period. Each event features wine paired with some type of food: Chocolate and Wine, Pasta and Wine, Spring Wine and Cheese, and Smokin’ Summer Kickoff, which features barbecue and wine.

Ticket sales for these events were scaled

back to reduce crowds (although no specific numbers were provided). Gibson describes this type of event as an effective “toe dip”. Participants can get a sense of a lot of different wineries over a short time. The information helps them to pick and choose where to go during their next visit to Seneca Lake Wineries and is a marketing opportunity for future visits to the region.

To summarize, both the Cayuga Lake Wine Trail and Seneca Lake Wine Trail shifted their activities to assistance for member wineries during the shutdown, by providing support to member wineries related to state and local government guidelines for COVID. During the early stages of re-opening, both wine trails provided centralized information for consumers visiting the area. For the revenue generating events, Cayuga Lake Wine Trail has adopted a new post-pandemic format for their trail events, while Seneca Lake Wine Trail largely continues with “business as usual” for their events.

For more information on Cayuga Lake Wine Trail events visit their website at America’s First Wine Trail | Cayuga Lake Wine Trail (cayugawinetrail.com) For more information on Seneca Lake Wine Trail events visit their website at https://senecalakewine.com n

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Page 9

What is EPR/Extended Producer Responsibility And Bottle Deposit Expansion? Will They Affect You?

By CAROL DOOLITTLE

I

n 2022, several bills were proposed by New York legislators that affect craft beverage producers and consumers.

Briefly, the two types of legislation are an Extended Producer Responsibility Bill (with Assembly and Senate versions), and two versions of a Bottle Deposit Expansion Bill (also with Assembly and Senate versions). None of the proposed bills passed this year, but it is likely that the same or similar bills will be introduced in the New York State legislature in 2023.

The following is a basic summary of what Extended Producer Responsibility and Bottle Deposit Expansion bills encompass. It does not include every provision of each bill, as some provisions may change in the 2023 proposed legislation.

EPR - Extended Producer Responsibility. This bill takes the work and cost of the current recycling programs off municipalities and puts it on producers of products sold in New York State, who use recyclable packaging; this includes glass, plastic, cardboard, paper, and metal. It’s a strategy aimed at decreasing the total environmental impact from the packaging of products such as wine, cider, distilled spirits, food, games, detergent, shampoo and more, by ensuring that the producers who package their products take responsibility for the entire lifecycle of the packaging, especially in the take-back, recycling, and final disposal of the packaging.

Beer, soda, and other beverage containers already covered under the current NYS Bottle Deposit Law Article 27; Title 10 Environmental Conservation Law, are exempt from EPR. However, cardboard boxes used by those producers could come under the proposed EPR legislation.

In the proposed EPR bills (one for Assembly, one for Senate), New York State will mandate that producers who use recyclable packaging do the following: • Educate consumers on what and how to recycle • provide collection services • recycle or re-use the containers collected The NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) will ensure that those mandates are carried out. If regulations are not met, penalties will be assessed on producers not in compliance.

Producers not willing or able to do this work individually, can work collectively.

Either way, producers will be responsible for consumer education, collection services, and final disposal of the recyclable packaging, including the cost of this work.

The capitol west entrance with Hudson River in the background.

Undoubtedly, EPR will also affect New York consumers. If consumers don’t properly recycle, there will be pressure to comply. Had the 2022 legislation passed, recycling would no longer be paid for through general tax revenue, so consumers would no longer be paying a Recycling Fee within their property tax bills. How else might consumers be impacted by EPR? Ultimately, they may pay more for products in recyclable packages, since producers need to cover their cost to fund EPR. Presently, we don’t know how much individual producers will need to pay to comply with the regulations. Given that the total cost of recycling in New York State was $80 million in 2021 (Citizenscampaign.org), best estimates for an individual producer range anywhere from $1,000 to $12,000 annually.

The manufacturers who make the recyclable glass, metal, plastic, and paper packaging are not included in the financial responsibility of EPR. It is unclear how they will be incentivized to invest in real recycling operations, such as glass washing, sanitizing, and reusing, rather than continue to use virgin materials to make new plastic, glass, metal, and paper packaging.

EPR is written with the intent to reduce the manufacture of new recyclable packaging because producers using the packaging materials will require more recycled, and less virgin packaging; otherwise, they would face higher EPR fees for what they do use. But will a small craft beverage producer have enough buying power to specify, for instance, only recycled glass? Manufacturers will also be required to use more recycled content in their ‘new’ packaging containers.

The Bottle Deposit Expansion Bill and the Bigger Better Bottle Bill adds wine, cider, liquor, and distilled spirit coolers to the beverage containers already covered by the NYS Deposit Law and increases the deposit to 10 cents per

container to encourage more redemptions.

The deposits that wineries, distilleries, cideries and other retailers will collect, as breweries do now, are sent to the State with appropriate forms. The redemption process requires additional paperwork, and increased fees for the Deposit Initiator, in addition to contracting with, and paying, the various Recycling Collection Agencies (statewide) for their work of collection and final disposal of recyclable containers. The money collected by the State will support environmental programs and Redemption Centers.

How does this work elsewhere? EPR and container redemption programs have been ongoing in other states and parts of the world, including Canada, for years.

In Germany/EU, EPR is called the Green Dot Program. France started an EPR program in 1975. France and Sweden took the lead in textile EPR recently.

Oregon and Maine were the first in the United States to make EPR their law in 2021. The Colorado legislature passed an EPR Bill in 2022.

Bottle deposit laws such as CRV in California, and the original 1982 New York Bottle Deposit Bill, are reportedly successful in reducing waste and incentivizing users of recyclable packaging to use less and be more thoughtful about what they do use. The question remains: where do redeemed containers ultimately go? Would EPR be more effective at improving the recycling process, i.e. getting packaging materials recycled into new containers or reused?

What happens next?

The New York Wine Policy Institute is currently asking the State to convene a recycling “Needs Assessment” before writing the 2023 bills. Since the current recycling program has clearly failed, it is important to identify what is truly needed

to make an EPR program successful.

Taking an informed approach is an improvement over simply transferring the cost and work to producers who use re-cyclable packaging for their products.

For industry colleagues and consumers, there are several ways to stay informed: You can sign up for topic alerts from the NYS Senate <www.nysenate. gov> and NYS Assembly <www.nyassembly.gov> There are additional ways craft beverage producers can be informed on issues specific to your product. We, and others, have chosen to join our winery associations; these alert us to specific legislation that affects us. Those associations also represent our views to legislators. The NYS Brewers Association, NY Cider Association, NY Distillers Guild, and New York Wine Policy Institute deal with the specific beverages. Their collective voices are heard by legislators.

For wineries, the New York Wine & Gape Foundation, while they cannot by law lobby, is an excellent source of information on issues affecting the industry.

The NY Farm Bureau reviews proposed legislation and calls attention to bills that affect NY farmers. But they have limited staff and time to educate all legislators about the impacts on all NY farm businesses. Today, compared to the 1980’s, there are more bills introduced by urban legislators, who may not fully understand the realities of food and beverage production. Membership in the NYFB is important and useful to us.

The question remains: Is it time to revamp both Bottle Deposit and Recycling legislation in New York State by placing more responsibility on producers of products who use recyclable packaging? If you wish to add your voice to the input for a Needs Assessment before the State finalizes EPR legislation, contact the New York Wine Policy for more information.

For the sake of completeness, these are the proposed 2022 legislation/Bill numbers and sponsors:

EPR - Extended Producer Responsibility

S1185C - Senator Todd Kaminsky (D-Long Island) A10185 - Assemblyman Steve Englebright (D-Long Island)

Bottle Deposit Expansion Bill

S8651 - Senator Kevin Parker (D-Brooklyn) A8668A - Assemblyman Kevin Cahill (D-Ulster, Dutchess)

Bigger Better Bottle Bill

A10184 - Assemblyman Steve Englebright (D-Long Island) S9164 - Senator Rachel May (D-Onondaga/Oneida)

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Cidery Profile:

Black Diamond Farm: Food-friendly Hard Ciders Made from Heritage Apples

By PEGGY HAINE

quent faculty post at Cornell, they were able to stitch together 42 prime applegrowing acres overlooking the Cayuga Lake Valley. On land formerly dedicated to field crops, they began planting thousands of hardwood trees, re-establishing hedgerows, and rendering the property suitable for healthy life, repopulation of pollinating insects and birds, and profitable fruit farming. Then they planted thousands of fruit trees. Three stocked ponds provide water and entertainment, as well as a perennial smorgasbord for prehistoric-looking great blue and greenbacked herons.

A

visit to Trumansburg’s Black Diamond Farm provides a fascinating introduction to the fine orchard-based ciders of the Finger Lakes. Owners Ian and Jackie Merwin, in partnership with their daughter, Erica, have done a bang-up job of creating an orchardful of some 4,500 British, French, German and American cider apple trees. Some provide fruit that’s delicious for eating out of hand; others, the “spitters,” give traditional hard cider its backbone tannins, acids, and sweetness. Black Diamond currently makes thirteen kinds of hard cider, including: perry, made entirely of the orchard’s pears; and a luscious Porter’s Perfection Pommeau, made exclusively of that varietal, fortified with oak-aged apple eau de vie, a wonderful after-dinner drink or nightcap.

The Merwins’ story began several decades back, and Ian and Jackie have packed in several lifetimes’ worth of careers and travels. Beginning with his undergraduate study of poetry, Ian traveled to Chile to work on translations of

Photo courtesy of Black Diamond Farm and Cider

Cidermakers Chris Negronida (left) and Ian Merwin with their Governor’s Cup award. poet Pablo Neruda’s work. But when that country fell to a coup, unseating popularly elected Salvatore Allende, and replacing him with a military junta headed by General Augusto Pinochet (masterminded by the CIA under the Nixon government), it was time for Ian to

get the heck out of there. He and Jackie connected in San Francisco in the 70s.

Along the way, the Merwins have been union organizers: he’s been a plantsman and heavy equipment operator for the California park system; and, in addition to her adventures in social work, she’s been brave enough to also teach welding to high school students. Jackie has also run a successful business in heritage apple sales at local farmers’ markets. The addition of a small cider shack allows these two charming world travelers, and multi-careered professionals, opportunities to share life experiences and current thoughts on, and philosophy of, cider making to guests, along with the sampling of their fine ciders.

When the couple came to the Finger Lakes for Ian’s graduate work, and subse-

“We’re staying small” “We’re staying small” the pair agree, looking out over their most recently planted orchard of carefully selected trees, surrounded by deer fencing. Evenly distanced, straight trees are trellised so that the sun and breezes circulate around flowers and fruit, promoting pollination and ripening. In neat, signed rows, you’ll find around a hundred and fifty named rare heirloom and European varietals, their origins lost in hundreds of years’ worth of cider-making prehistory. Names like Ashmead’s Kernel, Porter’s Perfection, Calville Blanc, Ellis Bitter, Brown Snout, Herefordshire Redstreak, Bramley’s Seedling, Cox Orange Pippin, and the Jerseys: Somerset, Harry Master’s Jersey, Chisel Jersey (the last three, probably developed on England’s Jersey Islands, according to Ian).

Black Diamond’s production tops out at 4,000 gallons per year, which may

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Photo courtesy of Black Diamond Farm and Cider

Jackie Merwin sells heritage apples at the Ithaca Farmers’ Market.

Photo courtesy of Black Diamond Farm and Cider .Rosie, the sweet farm Golden Doodle,

greets visitors to the farm.

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Black Diamond Continued from previous page

sound like a lot until you realize that titan cider maker, Angry Orchard, sells close to six million cases per annum. But the Merwins have built a new processing facility across the road from their tasting room, which will enable them to expand their production. And they have signed on with international distributor Skurnik Wines, whose company, among its fine wines and spirits, also distributes British ciders based in similarly traditional cidermaking inputs and practices.

Skurnik’s role as distributor leaves the Merwins time to greet guests and to concentrate on making some of the finest orchard-based ciders in the Finger Lakes, using only their own carefully tended fruit. They are aided by co–cider maker Chris Negronida and associate Dominic Costa.

The Merwins embrace traditional cider making, which has been traced back to Roman times. Julius Caesar, in 55 BCE, found Britons fermenting cider from crabapples, and Spaniards are on record making “sidra” before the birth of Christ. According to researchers at Washington State University, shortly after establishing the Massachusetts Bay Colony, colonists planted apple trees, and cider became the most common quaff,

Photo courtesy of Black Diamond Farm and Cider

Erica and Dom prepare apples for the post-harvest crush. even for children. Cider was used to pay tithes, farm rents, and wages. And in some cases, it was safer to drink than the water.

According to Ian, cider was knocked out of its popular position by the Temper-

ance movement and Prohibition, and replaced by beer as people moved to cities, where beer was easier to make, and the ingredients cheaper to transport. But some of the greatest cidermaking regions still flourish in England, Northern France, and Spain. And refreshing cider, which pairs well with food and can be lower in alcohol than beer, is experiencing an enthusiastic resurgence in the United States, where it is one of the fastest-growing segments of the alcoholic beverages industry. France is the largest producer of cider in the world. In the U.S., New York State has the greatest number of cideries, followed by Michigan and California (according to a recent survey). Orchard-based ciders, like Black Diamond’s, reflect not only the history of cidermaking, but also the terroir of this site in the beautiful Finger Lakes region.

A welcoming tasting room, the Black Diamond “Cider Shack,” basks in the light of a couple of cheery and appropriately fruit-themed Tiffany-style lamps. The building, insulated and temperature controlled, invites yearround intimate tastings for up to ten visitors at a time. It’s a good idea to reserve your spot in advance on their website, blackdiamondcider.com. Tastings are available Saturdays and Sundays, noon to six, and Thursdays and Fridays by appointment. n

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Distillery Profile:

Mushroom Spirits Distillery

By NANCY TISCH

also sold mushrooms at the Green Market in Union Square, New York City. (With the demands of the new distillery, and Damian’s recent move to Minnesota, they may have to forego their weekly travel to the Green Market.)

M

ushroom Spirits Distillery is a unique craft beverage producer located in Seneca Falls, NY. Their products include six mushroom infused vodkas, as well as rye and bourbon. They offer tastings (limited to three per person

by New York State law) as well as a line up of classic cocktails.

Owners Joe and Wendy Rizzo moved from Staten Island to the Finger Lakes region in 2008. Prior to moving, Joe taught a course “Nature of Science” to middle school students in which he used botanical models, including mushrooms and hydroponics, to illustrate scientific principles and experimental design. It may have been with his students that Joe learned (or confirmed) that mushrooms require some light to grow successfully; without light, the color and shape of the mushrooms does not develop properly.

Cultivating Mushrooms

While Joe was teaching school, Wendy earned a law degree, but quickly changed careers to work in higher education, in the office of student financial aid.

She remained at Ithaca College until her

Distillery

Labels featuring Christi Sobel’s artwork. retirement in 2021. Upon their arrival in Ithaca, NY, Joe and Wendy established Blue Oyster Cultivation, a company focused on growing several varieties of mushrooms. And while the couple pursued their respective careers, Joe

Open 7 days a week on the west shore of Cayuga Lake

7020 Rte 89, Ovid | hosmerwinery.com

Photo by Nancy Tisch

established mushroom grow rooms on their property. The grow rooms are relatively small (maybe 300 square feet), and are equipped with fluorescent lights to ensure proper color and form for the mushrooms, and lots of fresh air provided by a central ventilation system. Ventilation is important to the growth of fungus, as well as the safety of the growers; mushrooms can produce dangerously high levels of CO2 which are carefully monitored by sensors.

Blue Oyster Cultivation was truly a family business; Joe and Wendy had help from their two children. Their son, Damian (21 years old), helped with the construction and maintenance of the mushroom grow rooms. Daughter Jillian (16 years old) helped her parents with sales. Blue Oyster Cultivation has a booth (#66) at the Ithaca Farmers Market and

As an experimentalist, Joe explored the concept of making spirits through distillation of a mash that included mushrooms. He found that the best flavor extraction is through a tincture method.

To accomplish this, grain neutral spirits, of nearly 200 proof, are infused with mushrooms. After an appropriate infusion period, water is added to “proof down” the spirit. The goal is to end up with a spirit around 80 proof (or 40% alcohol by volume). The spirit is then filtered prior to bottling. At any given time, they may have up to six different mushroom flavored vodkas in their portfolio. To broaden their offerings, they sourced rye and bourbon from another local distillery; these are also proofed and filtered prior to packaging.

The Rizzos began their application for the distillery license prior to the start of the COVID pandemic. Their application was not approved until 2020, at which time they bravely forged ahead with the opening of The Mushroom Distillery. The operation is housed in a small building on NYS 89 in Seneca Falls, NY; residents may recognize the location as a former mini-golf or ice cream stand. Inside, the room is artfully decorated with Joe’s collection of dried mushrooms (see photo). Speaking of art, the label design for The Mushroom Distillery products includes drawings of mushrooms by local artist Christi Sobel. The Rizzos became familiar with Christi’s artwork when she was selling her selection of cards and notebooks at the Ithaca Farmer’s Market.

Taste

Photo by Nancy Tisch

Mushroom Spirits Distillery owners, Wendy and Joe Rizzo.

An interview with the Rizzos would not have been complete without a tasting.

I opted to taste Hen of the Woods Vodka because it had won Double Gold and Best of Class in the recent Denver International Spirits Competition. Hen of the Woods was also awarded “Best of Show”, which means it was second overall, in a competition with more than 400 entries.

The vodka is served in a small tasting glass, designed especially for tasting spirits. In my experience, I could not detect the mushroom aroma until I swallowed the vodka. In wine tasting this is called an aroma burst, created when volatiles pass over the olfactory neurons from the back of the nasal passage. What a pleasant surprise!

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FLX Libations Summer-Fall 2022

Photo by Nancy Tisch

Joe’s dried mushrooms make up an artful display in the Tasting Room Next up on my taste list was the Enoki. Vodka infused with Enoki mushrooms takes on many of the juniper flavors of gin, without the perfume notes.

Not surprisingly, this vodka is used for negronis, lime rickeys, and a sweeter drink called creamsicle.

My final pour was the Shitake, which had distinct mushroom aromas that I could detect while smelling the vodka. Shitake is used for Dirty Martinis and Bloody Marys. All three vodkas that I tasted were incredibly smooth

and distinctive.

Since it was still 30 minutes or more until closing time, I took the opportunity to try a “Mushroom Mule”, a combination of Hen of the Woods with ginger beer, mint, and a piece of star anise.

Refreshing and delicious! Needless to say, I took a bottle home.

Mushroom Spirits Distillery, 4055 Route 89, Seneca Falls is open Monday through Thursday from 11 am to 4 pm. On Friday, Saturday, and Sunday they are open from 10:30 to 5:30 pm. n

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Industry return to “in person” events in 2022 Eastern Winery Exposition

Nancy Tisch, Wine Editor The tenth Eastern Winery Exposition (EWE) returned to in person format at the Oncenter in Syracuse, NY from March 22 -24th. The event included three days of workshops and conference sessions, as well as two days of a grapegrowing and wine production trade show.

The total attendance to the event was estimated at nearly 1,300 attendees.

EWE was co-located with License to Steal; this is the conference where wineries, growers and related entities willingly contribute and collaborate on marketing ideas, relationship building, and revenue generation. The conference is chaired by Donniella Winchell, Executive Director of the Ohio Wine Producers Association.

The excitement at EWE was palpable, as speakers, attendees, and exhibitors were able to reconnect, socialize, and learn from one another at the event.

The Exhibition Hall offers the opportunity for winemakers and growers to visualize a world of possibility for their respective businesses, as well as offering the exhibitors the opportunity to reach prospective customers. It’s a win-win!

Workshops included day-long tracks on Fruit Wine and Mead, Fortified Wine, and Fining and Filtration. The fortified wine workshop included presentations from Peter Bell, Chris Stamp, Carlo DeVito, Tim Benedict, and Scott Kuyon.

Each shared their experience and knowledge in the best approaches to making fortified wines, including recommendations on choice of high- quality neutral spirits for fortification, solera method for making sherry, and presentation of red port wines and white port wines.

The Fining and Filtration workshop included winemakers Steve DeFrancesco and Phil Plummer. Together, they guided discussions on the need for proper filtration to ensure long-term stability of the bottled wines. Maria Peterson from Scott Laboratories advocated for the use of lenticular style filters in the wine cellar, due to their efficiency and relatively low loss of wine during the filtration process.

Enology and Viticulture sessions focused on Riesling, Pinot Noir, and Austrian grapes Grüner Veltliner and Blaufränkisch (aka Lemberger). As sustainability continues to be a concern, there was also a session on newly introduced hybrids that are cold-hardy and disease-resistant.

New vineyard technology demonstrated how using ultra-violet radiation at night can control downy mildew and other vine pests.

The annual Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Finger Lakes Winemaker Steve DiFrancesco, at the Celebration Dinner on March 23rd. Steve recently retired from Glenora Cellars, and is currently working as a freelance consultant. The dinner was immediately followed by the annual ASEV-ES auction.

Maria Peterson and Steve DeFrancesco.

Suppliers donated items to be auctioned and, as usual, all proceeds will be donated to the Eastern Section Scholarship Fund for those considering careers in viticulture and enology via Eastern universities.

Tim Benedict, Winemaker in the Finger Lakes, NY captures the essence of EWE perfectly: “It is essential for us to get out of the cellar from time to time and expand our horizons. EWE is the best and most efficient opportunity I have found to

Riesling Camp

Kyle Anne Pallischeck, Executive Director, Finger Lakes Wine Alliance It was no small feat, but Riesling Camp returned with force to its original in-person format this spring! On Sunday, May 1, twenty-four “Campers”, from across the US, converged at the Harbor Hotel in Watkins Glen for a whirlwind immersion in Finger Lakes Riesling, hosted by no less than 20 Finger Lakes Wine Alliance wineries!

The diverse group of beverage professionals, selected from over 40 applications and representing writers, media personalities, sommeliers, owners, and buyers, jumped at the chance to discover what makes Finger Lakes Riesling so versatile and inviting. Over the course of almost three full days, they participated in vineyard walks and panel tastings, and enjoyed the scenery of the region while visiting wineries on Keuka, Seneca, and Cayuga Lakes.

New this year, the first day featured a fast-paced “Speed Dating” session, when Campers rotated around to meet individual winery representatives. With only 3.5 minutes for each “date”, wineries and attendees made the most of their time getting to know each other quickly and

Riesling blending trial.

Riesling Farewell Dinner.

tasting showcase Rieslings from each winery! As an alternative to a traditional walk-around tasting, this new format was incredibly well received. Campers thought it was a “…very cool and smart way of getting face time with all those wineries!” and one winery commented “…compared to the [past], this was the energy we needed to kick off the event!”

Hands-on experiences were missed

greatly during virtual events over the past two years and were greeted with great enthusiasm this year. Hand-disgorging sparkling wine bottles (to keep!) was second only to the highly competitive blending trial where Campers created their own Finger Lakes Riesling and then blind-judged their peers’ blends to find the best wine. Praise and cheers went up for Louis Chico, Sommelier/Server at

see advances in tools and technology, hear from industry experts on new tips and tricks, taste different wines, network, and socialize, all in one place.”

Editor’s Note: Many thanks to Richard Leahy at EWE for allowing me to attend the event on a 1-day press pass. In addition to getting some photos, I was able to attend the day long session on fortified wines and visit with several exhibitors while Kit Kalfs attended the workshop on fining and filtration. n

STK, in Disney Springs, Orlando, FL, as he was crowned the new Riesling Camp Blending Champion of 2022.

Both Campers and wineries provided resounding feedback on one point—Riesling Camp was a very busy couple of days! Camp attendees were impressed with the organization and content of the experience. One individual observed, “I think camp did a phenomenal job of showcasing the region as a whole and positioning Riesling as a star grape.” As a community, the people and the wineries were the shining stars. Impressed Campers were heard repeatedly commenting on the “…supportive, inclusive, and interactive culture of the FLX…”, and “… never seen such a strong and enthusiastic organization in the wine world…”

With a goal of not only creating new FLX wine ambassadors, but also giving wineries a chance to develop relationships with new trade and media, Riesling Camp has become a keystone event for the Finger Lakes Wine Alliance and the entire region. Many thanks to the hard work put in by the wineries that participated in Riesling Camp 2022, the biggest ever! Showing off the unity and community of the Finger Lakes wine industry has never been so successful! n

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In Person

Continued from previous page

B.E.V. New York

(Business, Enology, Viticulture)

Kit Kalfs, General Manager, Bet the Farm Winery The exception to the “return to in person” was B.E.V. New York, an annual wine and grape conference cohosted by Cornell’s Finger Lakes Grape Program, the Enology Extension Lab, and the Dyson School of Applied Economics, which was held virtually for a second year. The Keynote speaker this year was Stuart Pigott, the English wine writer, historian, and journalist who spoke on New York wines’ historical context in the American wine industry and discussed our place in the larger context of, what he calls, “Planet Wine”.

Immediately following the keynote address, The New York Wine & Grape Foundation presented three of the annual Unity Awards (out of the ten awarded to individuals and companies) to the following: the Jim Tresize Lifetime Achievement Award to John Martini, owner of Anthony Road and lifelong advocate for New York wines and grapes; the Phyllis Feder Unity Award to Brittany Gibson, Executive Director of the Seneca Lake Wine Trail for exceptional leadership in building cooperation in the industry; and the Jim Finkle Industry Award to Robert Ketchin, President of Ketchin Marketing for his tireless work in promoting New York wines in Ontario, Canada. Each award recognizes dedication, hard work, service to the industry, and community building that is a hallmark of the New York Wine industry. An important issue our industry is facing is legislation intended to improve consumer recycling rates and reduce the amount of packaging impact from beverage producers in the state. A panel addressed the upcoming Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) and Extended Bottle Deposit Acts, that is working its way through our State Legislature, and what it means for our industry. (Read an in-depth article on EPR in this issue on page 9).

Day Two at the conference featured a Keynote Address by Dr. Gavin Sacks of Cornell, presenting new research on the role of oxygen in wine, and the ways it is present and interacts with other compounds, especially sulfur dioxide, throughout the winemaking process, and in its bottled (storage) phase. The day progressed to presentations on winemaking with hybrid varieties featuring winemakers from the Finger Lakes, Vermont, and Niagara, Canada. The afternoon’s highlight was a set of well-moderated panel discussions on D.E.I. (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion) best practices for our industry and its importance on maintaining the agility of our businesses.

Day Three featured a talk by a panel of viticulture experts about the sometimes-challenging work of growing

Photos by Wendy Houseworth

The crowds at taste of FLX grapes in New York. It was a pleasure to hear Dr. Tim Martinson talk about, and reflect upon, his 25-year plus career assisting grape growers across our state.

Another panel, moderated by Elaine Chukan Brown of JancisRobinson.com, echoed the keynote address in their discussion of the narrative on American wines shifting, from exclusively California/West Coast, to the new dynamic of East Coast winemakers defining their own story. The conference concluded with a panel assessment and reckoning with the challenging 2021 Harvest in the Finger Lakes, its continuing impact on the wines being produced from those grapes, and the markers and metrics that can be used to identify and manage when these conditions arise in the future.

OTHER RECENT CONSUMER EVENTS June 11th – Rosé Soirée returned to Geneva, NY Nine years ago, a group of Rosé enthusiasts including winemakers, wine sellers, and marketers initiated Rosé Soirée as an annual spring event to celebrate the pink wines of the Finger Lakes.

Founders of the event include Belinda Venuti, Kelby Russell, Katie Roisen, Erica Paollicelli, and Stefanie Fenner. Attendees, organizers, and vendors don their best pink attire for an evening of conviviality and community. Festivities include tasting, food, music, and Rosé wines for purchase.

In the past, the event was held on Linden Street in Geneva. Following the two-year hiatus, Rosé fans gather at Pulteney Park, a larger open-air venue.

June 14th – Taste of the Finger Lakes is the new name for the former annual Taste of the Nation event and was held at the Ithaca Farmers Market. The local committee parted ways from the national organization to keep all the funds raised within our own Finger Lakes community. The funds are used to support organizations that assist local

families with food security. Non-profit beneficiaries of the event include Food Bank of the Southern Tier, Healthy Food for All, and the Youth Farm Project. The name change also reflects our local identity with wineries, breweries, and farmto-table dining experiences.

Hilary Davis worked as a volunteer at the former Taste of the Nation events and has now assumed the lead for the local Taste of the Finger Lakes effort.

She is assisted by Emma Hewitt and

together, they have organized and promoted a successful, local version of this elegant wine and food event. In the most recent correspondence from the organizers: “We are still buzzing after a hugely successful Taste of the Finger Lakes 2022. Thanks to your efforts, we can donate over $30,000 to the Food Bank of the Southern Tier, Healthy Food for All, and the Youth Farm Project, directly bolstering food security and food justice in our local community.” n

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ON THE WESTERN FRONT...

Canandaigua Lake—Life and Libations in the Western Finger Lakes

By EDGAR BROWN

L

ooking for local libations as a recreational endeavor in the Finger Lakes is so often confined to the big three— Cayuga, Seneca, and Keuka. But sometimes, the smoldering passion of the “looked over district” continues to burn with an entrepreneurial spirit that flares up with new wineries, breweries, cideries and distilleries. It’s time to take a look at some of the adventures that await west of Keuka Lake.

Canandaigua Wine Trail

Few people know that Canandaigua Lake is home to one of the Finger Lakes oldest wineries, and yet home to one of the youngest wine trails. Although not as prolific in wineries as the three central Finger Lakes, Canandaigua is certainly part of the Finger Lakes American Viticultural Area, or AVA (along with Keuka, Seneca, and Cayuga), and its wineries are nonetheless producing world class vintages every bit as drinkable and enjoyable. The Canandaigua Lake Wine Trail describes itself as “small but mighty”, tallying just six members: Song Hill Winery in Victor, FLX Wine Center at the historic Sonnenberg Gardens in Canandaigua, Arbor Hill Grapery and Winery (see focus piece next page), the Heron Hill Tasting Room in South Bristol, Inspire Moore Winery, and Hazlitt’s Red Cat Cellars in Naples.

Hazlitt’s Naples location is housed in the historic Widmer Wine Cellars, which is one of the only FLX wineries to survive prohibition.

Chairwoman Angela

Photo courtesy of Canandaigua Wine Trail

Song Hill Winery tasting room.

Monaco MacAllister says, “The Canandaigua Lake Wine Trail is one of the smallest wine trails in the Finger Lakes region, but the quality we offer is astounding. We have excellent members focused on quality and customer service, and the proximity to so many varied offerings from a tourism standpoint makes it a no-brainer to promote. I feel we are a gem that many people have yet to discover.”

Earlier this year the CLWT released their new digital passport. The CLWT digital Relaxing on the Canandaigua Wine Trail passport provides for complimentary tastings at each winery, with additional maker Brewing in the same space, which discounts on purchases. The passport is they too out grew, and have since moved instantly available online at www.canan- to the center of town. Frequentum, the newest addition to the collection, is daigualakewinetrail.com. directly around the corner on Main Street, making a walking pub crawl a Canandaigua Breweries Canandaigua is an established tour- tantalizing proposal on one of our stellar ist destination, and host to major cultural Finger Lakes days. With just a little ambievents, including: the Constellation tion, your amble for amber could also Brands-Marvin Sands Performing Arts include Young Lion Brewery and Twisted Center, formerly the Finger Lakes Rail, a little further down Main Street Performing Arts Center, on the campus and both along the lake. The grand-daddy of Finger Lakes Community College; the of local micro brews is Naked Dove, new Fort Hill Performing Arts Center in located just outside of town on Routes the historic junior high school; and 5&20, but you’ll also go past Star Cider, a Lincoln Hill Farms, a community-based family farm-to-glass cidery that is a events venue with a performing arts welcome addition to a diverse offering of local libations. calendar.

As luck would have it, there are plenty of other possibilities for libation Naples Anchoring the southern end of discovery beyond wine. Besides Main Street, packed with venerable eating and Canandaigua Lake is the town of Naples. drinking establishments, Canandaigua A mere thirty-minute scenic drive from boasts a respectable six new breweries. Canandaigua, Naples annually hosts the In the late 1800’s, central New York – and, popular, and always well attended, Naples in particular Ontario County - produced Trout Derby. With steep surrounding the majority of hops used in American hills, it is sometimes lovingly described brewing. Some of those local hops went as the “Switzerland of America.” It’s also to McKechnie Brewing Company, Canan- been called the “Grape Pie Capital of the daigua’s first brewery, which was conve- World”, in honor of the World’s Best niently located next to the railroad Grape Pie Contest, held each year during the annual Naples Grape Festival. Other tracks.

Twisted Rail, one of the first new times, a little more tongue and cheek micro-breweries, started modestly in a description applies: that of a “small small space in the old Canandaigua rail- drinking village with a fishing problem”. road depot on Niagara Street, shared by A town of only about 1000 residents, it is the Bee Hive Brew Pub. Now the brewing nonetheless home to six bars, two wineris done in their largest facility, the old ies, two breweries, and nine restaurants, Jones/Regent movie theater in Geneva, even a fresh kombucha vendor.

Naples Valley Brewing and Engine 14 and is served in four locations: Geneva, on the lakes in Canandaigua and Honeoye, are the newest kids in the neighborhood and in Monroe County at their Macedon here. Naples Valley Brewing is conveniently located right on Main Street. venue.

Twisted Rail was followed by Peace- Engine 14, on West Avenue, developed

Photo courtesy of Canandaigua Wine Trail

some unused Widmer space into a family friendly firehouse-themed brewery, that houses a 1953 Ward LaFrance fire engine.

Hazlitts acquired the Widmer facility to expand production of their best-selling Red Cat wine, but with extra production and warehouse capacity, they also started a secondary business with the winery called East Coast Crush and Co-Pack to help facilitate production for other labels.

Komorebi Kombucha makes a fresh brew, served by the glass or growler, using innovative local ingredients, such as Cascade hops supplied by their neighbor, Naples Valley Brewing.

Most drinking establishments are also wonderful eating establishments and Naples holds its own with, among others, Roots Café, The Old School Café, and the historic, and newly renovated, Naples Hotel, the oldest operating hotel in Ontario County.

Moore’s Inspiration

Family farms in the Finger Lakes often involve generations that work hard to keep alive the original dreams of their ancestors. But the legacy process must start with a dream. Tim Moore’s dream of starting a world class winery began early, when he was just 20 and a winemaking student in Austria. The California native ultimately decided that the Finger Lakes, and Naples in particular, had the right combination of critical factors—natural beauty, history, functionality, lush vineyards and rolling hills, and a liberal sprinkling of art and artists. In the twelve years that he was able to live that dream, Moore went from producing just two wines to more than 12, earning a “best of NYS” for his Blau-

See Canandaigua page 18

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Arbor Hill Grapery & Winery And Brew and Brats at Arbor Hill

By EDGAR BROWN The western Finger Lakes are usually defined as those lakes having the possible feature of a forked branch, like the Crooked Lake, Keuka. Neighboring Canandaigua Lake, has this possibility with South Hill being the Bluff, and Middlesex valley, as the fork.

Like Keuka Lake, Canandaigua Lake is anchored at its southern end with a quaint winery town. Naples has been home to Widmer Wine Cellars, one of the only Finger Lakes wineries able to survive prohibition by selling grape juice.

John Brahm III, fresh from Cornell College with a new pomology degree, became the vineyard manager at Widmers in 1963. With Naples’ long history of German immigrants making wine at home, Brahm fit right in and helped guide Widmers Wine Cellars to become a nationally recognized brand in the 23 years he remained there.

Brahm, however, had an entrepreneurial spirit and, in 1987, opened his own doors just up the road in South Bristol.

Yet, he didn’t sell wine right away. His

Arbor Hill Grapery and Winery

Photo courtesy of Arbor Hill

vision was to create a line of gourmet Winery was born. Today the winery food products, using the wine he boasts 29 award winning wines and a produced, and Arbor Hill Grapery and complete line of gourmet wine jellies,

preserves, dressings, sauces, and mustards. In short, “everything grape and more.”

When John realized craft beer would be the next biggest beverage trend in the Finger Lakes, it was the “beer drinker, who married the wine makers daughter” who had the most sympathetic ear.

Eight months later, Brew & Brats at Arbor Hill was born, opening in an historic carriage barn, previously used for overflow tastings. Along with featuring local, gourmet sausages from Artisan Meats, and signature sides like Winemakers Sauerkraut and German Potato Salad that use Arbor Hill wine products, Brew & Brats offers three house beers: Gully Washer IPA with Magnum, Mount Hood, Crystal, Nugget Hops, an amber Frog Hollow Pale Ale with English crystal malt, and Turtle Crawl Porter, with Finger Lakes Roasters coffee and chocolate malt. There is also a rotational tap to showcase other local breweries, and a craft root beer in a frosty mug. Seasonally, you can enjoy either a wine slushy or a delicious mulled wine. A satisfying beverage

See Arbor Hill page 18

Tradition and Re-invention at O-Neh-Da Vineyard, Eagle Crest

By KIT KALFS Many people may not know this, but the New World’s oldest winery dedicated to producing pure sacramental wine is in the Finger Lakes. O-Neh-Da Vineyard is that winery, located within 6,684 wooded, preserved acres surrounding Hemlock Lake, and also known as Eagle Crest Vineyard. The winery’s history and story are both familiar and new to New York wine aficionados and speak to the trials and tribulations of making wine here.

“O-Neh-Da” is the Seneca word for “Lake of Hemlocks.” The winery was the vision of Bishop Bernard McQuaid of Rochester, a Civil War veteran chaplain and the first president of Seton Hall University, as well as the first Bishop of the Rochester Diocese. He ordered the planting of a vineyard along Hemlock Lake’s shores in 1872, to ensure a source for sacramental wines for his churches, making O-Neh-Da the third oldest winery in America. Bishop McQuaid often travelled by steamboat to inspect the vines and oversee operations throughout the end of the 19th Century.

After Bishop McQuaid’s death in 1909, the vineyard and winery passed through many hands. The most successful transition came through a Dutch

Photo courtesy of O-Neh-Da Winery

“Premise Manager” Lisa Woodhams and O-Neh-Da owner, Will Ouweleen Missionary order that built a seminary and expanded the winery to a four-story, gravity–fed production facility. Like every other winery, Prohibition caused a disruption of production at O-Neh-Da. It recovered after Repeal, under the guidance of a German winemaker, and pros-

pered as a well-recognized brand for decades, until the 1970s. Catholic vocations, and increased costs, then caused the winery’s production to decrease and to pass through still more hands. This leads to the winery’s current vintner, Rochester native Will Ouweleen.

After a successful marketing career on Wall Street, Will Ouweleen came on board when he moved to Hemlock Lake.

He was looking for something different, fulfilling and meaningful. He actually found it next door to his property, at O-Neh-Da. He began as “Chief Wine Appreciator” and, in 2018, moved to apprentice winemaker. On the retirement of 38-year veteran winemaker, Rob Beckmann, Will assumed the role as sole vintner. He adheres to the methods and protocols taught to him by Beckmann, that have been handed down through the decades.

These methods, guided by Canon Law 924 and GIRM (General Instructions of the Roman Missal) 322, are unlike Kosher production protocol, which allows for the admixture of non-grape substances, and must be overseen by attending rabbis. O-Neh-Da wines must be completely natural, using spontaneous ferments only on fruits of the vine (grape) and are not corrupted with an admixture of extraneous substances (yeast, sugar, non-grape spirits, coloring).

He remains totally dedicated to producing a valid and licit sacramental wine,

See O-Neh-Da page 18

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Canandaigua Continued from page 16

frankish. In addition, he looked forward with eager anticipation to having his son, Nate, join him in the business.

Unfortunately, Tim lost his long struggle with cancer in 2019, shortly after Nate graduated from the Viticulture and Enology Program at Finger Lakes Community College.

Inspire Moore Winery remains a family winery and vineyard, with wife and mother Diane running the business and Nate as head winemaker. Other

Arbor Hill

Continued from page 17

menu is supplemented with Hazlitt’s Cider Tree cider and Black Button spirits.

Fast forward a few years. In 2019, a fatal farm accident took the life of Arbor Hill’s founder. The day-to-day operations of the family business fell on the shoulders of the next generation. John’s daughter Sherry, already very involved and active for years, and her husband John French, assumed leadership.

John’s wife Katie, who had helped start Arbor Hill, stayed involved, though less active in the day-to-day.

A small but dedicated and talented staff rose to the challenge to carry on John’s vision and dream for Arbor Hill.

Assistant winemaker, Bill Shepard, who worked with Brahm for decades, became head winemaker. Also, during the pandemic shutdown, Arbor Hill’s staff

O-Neh-Da

Continued from page 17

absolutely pure and 100% “of the grape.”

In 2005, in response to requests for wines for the dinner table, O-Neh-Da introduced the Eagle Crest line of wines, produced in the same manner as the sacramental wines but meant for the dinner table or casual gatherings. Both labels are crafted with great mindfulness, in that they are sourced from 40 sustainable acres, overseen by 4 growers, yielding approximately 200 tons of grapes. But challenges are constant, not least of which has been the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on the industry.

Before the pandemic lockdown in 2020, O-Neh-Da/Eagle Crest produced 15,000 cases annually; the facility has a 50,000-case production capacity. When the Catholic Church suspended in-person services in March 2020, the orders for

siblings have joined to help out in the winery and tasting room. At 21, Nate became one of the youngest head winemakers in the country, combining his father’s love of experimentation and exploration with his mother’s creativity.

The result is a winemaker with a long vision and a fierce passion for advancing the reputation of Finger Lakes wine offerings. With the support and guidance of the entire community of Finger Lakes wine-making professionals and mentors, the Nathaniel J. Moore line of wines has a bright future in the New York wine region.

Helping Hollerhorn

Until May of this year, Naples was also home to one of the Finger Lakes’ newest distilleries. Hollerhorn Distilling was a rising star in the Finger Lakes community as another destination spot, not just for fine drinks and dining, but for local and nationally touring musical acts. Sadly, an early morning fire in May of this year destroyed the restaurant and dining room, including all of the reserved stock and spirits library archived beneath it. The whole community grieved the loss along with the owners.

In the way that most small communities support their own, numerous benefits and fundraisers are continuing. “Yes we are definitely coming back,” said owner Karl Neubauer, according to NYUP.com. “How could we not come back when we’ve seen such generous support from this community since this happened?” After “picking up the pieces”, Neubauer said he hopes to restart production within the year and is looking at alternative spaces for a satellite tasting room to begin “raising spirits in the Finger Lakes” again. n

gave the wine store a complete makeover with new counters from John’s beloved walnut tree, custom cabinets, hardwood floors, and paint on windows, walls, and ceilings.

In Spring of 2022, Brew & Brats at Arbor Hill broke ground on a restaurant expansion that will provide for new rest rooms and upgraded facilities. New restaurant manager at Brew & Brats, Kelly Schmidlin, is creative, energetic, and effervescent. She is working hard to organize some special events that include innovative food and beer pairings with collaborating local chefs and Photos courtesy of Arbor Hill brewers, and by creating a welcoming Arbor Hill Riesling and bottled gourmet products. ambience through a dedicated outdoor space for enjoying food, fun, and favorite grilled outside to satisfaction, and flights are available any time without beverages.

The Arbor Hill Grapery and Winery served from 5pm until 8pm. Steak comes reservations. Motorcoach groups are and Brew & Brats at Arbor Hill are open with a side of local, live music each welcome and can call (585) 531-3355 for seven days a week for gourmet food, week. Reservations for Steak Night can details. Arbor Hill Grapery and Winery wine, beer, and spirits. Fridays and be made by calling 585-531-4113. Wine is a member of the Canandaigua Lake Saturdays are dedicated Steak Night, tastings can be reserved online at www. Wine Trail and is located at 6461 NY-64, with prime cuts of certified Angus beef, thegrapery.com. Beer flights and wine in Naples, New York. (585) 374-2870 n

sacramental wine went from 20 cases per year per parish to none. Even with the reopening of churches, orders are downsized to 4 or fewer cases. Due to this drastic decrease in demand, the winery did not have a harvest in either 2020 or 2021.

Because of slow, deliberate fermentations, Will and his team are nurturing some 2019 wines in barrel. Orders for sacramental wine, which accounted for 97% of production in the “Beforetime,” have started to rebound, but slowly. So, the winery has had to make, in Will’s words, “a hard pivot.”

That hard pivot, unwanted yet necessary, is in response to decreased sales of wine in the sacramental and secular markets, but also inspired by the offerings of area breweries. Premise Manager, Lisa Woodhams, who is affectionately dubbed the “Ambassador of Good Vibrations,” has led the 100% solar powered winery through major renovations. The

most drastic pivot, has been in creating a social destination venue. In winter, the renovated warehouse becomes a dancehall, where it is common to see anywhere from 25-85 cars parked for Sunday dancing. The grounds are surrounded by a Nature Conservancy–controlled woodlands reservation and have become home to FLXGlamping.com. Additional overnight accommodations are available down the street, at the restored St. Michael’s Mission and Convent house, with kayaking, hiking, and winery amenities for guests. For private party events, the winery will serve homemadefrom–scratch pizzas from their woodfired pizza.

Lisa and Will have planned exciting summer events for each week, beginning in July: “Wake-Up Wednesdays”: Classes/lectures/debates/discussions on compelling topics to spark rigorous discourse, 6-9 pm. “Thoughtful Thurs-

days”: Films for Adults (vs. adult films), documentaries and discussions, 6-9 pm.

“Free Mic Fridays”: 15–and 30–minute time slots for spoken word, stand-up, music, jam session, etc., 6-9 pm. “Sensational Saturdays”: Great solo musical acts including emerging musicians, 12-7pm. “Sunday Funday” aka C.H.U.R.C.H. (Chill, Hangout, Unwind, Relax, Converse on Hemlock): start the week dancing! Jam Bands, Grateful Dead, Reggae, and more. 12-6pm Under the thoughtful and careful stewardship of Will’s pleasing and accessible portfolio of wines for both clergy and laity, and Lisa’s creation of the sometimes quiet, sometimes boisterous, and always uplifting destination far from the maddening crowd, the future of O-NehDa and Eagle Crest Vineyards looks bright for many years to come. Venture forth and make a visit. It will be good for your soul. n

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ON THE EASTERN FRONT...

Summerhill Brewing—Worth the Trip and Closer Than You Think

By CATHY SHIPOS

U

ntil recently, the small township of Summerhill, NY was best known as the birthplace of the 13th U.S. President Millard Fillmore or, perhaps less known as the home of the Empire Haven Nudist Park. When people come to town these days, they are more likely to be looking for Summerhill Brewing and a cold pint of their Millard ale.

Perched above Route 90, just 10 minutes from Cortland, Homer, Groton and Moravia, the brewery’s tagline is “worth the trip up the hill.” It could easily be shortened to simply “worth the trip.” The big red building includes a large tasting room, while the inviting lawn offers comfortable outdoor seating with a pretty view. Picnic tables and fire pits on the back porch make a perfect Photo by Cathy Shipos spot to sit and enjoy the unexpectedly Summerhill owner Jeff Ten Eyck and the brewery tanks. good tacos or house-made pizza specials.

Local bands play on weekends, yoga produce only ales, you’ll find more than blonde ale fermented with Anaheim, classes are held on Saturday mornings just the typical IPAs. There’s Naked Serrano and Jalapeno peppers. Although and Wednesday evenings and, oh yeah, Neighbor, a German altbier recipe Summerhill sources most of the their the beer is good too! producing a rich, amber ale. If you prefer hops locally through the Bineyard in Summerhill offers a wide variety of dark beers, try the Iron Plow porter, a Cazenovia or the NY Hops Guild, their brews on their regular menu, plus a few session stout. Or maybe you want to spice Paper Money and Plato’s Haze IPAs benerotating seasonal options. Though they things up with the Arriba Chili Pepper, a fit from the citrus and floral notes found in hops from the Pacific NW. A true family affair, Summerhill Brewing is owned by Jeff and Sallee Ten Eyck, in partnership with their son and daughter-in-law, Kurt and Megan McDonald. Each plays a pivotal role in the operation, roles for which they happen to be uniquely suited.

“Sallee is Head of Brewery Operations. She does the books, all the administrative paperwork, and also runs the tasting room,” Jeff said. “Megan, our head chef, went to Paul Smith for culinary arts and management, while our brewer Kurt is a chemist at Cornell.”

Jeff, the “cellarman,” takes over once the brew moves into the fermenter and monitors it through the carbonation and bottling stage. You’ll also find him mowing the brewery’s sprawling lawn, setting up the big yellow and white striped tent, or pulling a pint behind the bar.

“When Sallee and I were nearing retirement, we considered various business ventures to help the land pay for itself,” Jeff recalled. “Sallee originally thought of an event facility and we toyed with the idea of growing hops. Our son Kurt is the one who first suggested a brewery. He started experimenting with home brewing long before we did.”

Those discussions began in 2014, and got more serious in 2015. Family members took seminars and courses to learn about different aspects of the business. There were field trips to gather ideas from taprooms and brewpubs all over the state.

Eventually, the decision was made to go

ahead with a brewery, and Sallee set about obtaining licenses and permits for their 24’ x 24’ garage. `“We opened in September of 2016 and some people showed up,” Jeff said. “We had no parking lot, hadn’t done any advertising, it was strictly word of mouth. We had an open flag that we put on the telephone pole.”

Originally, Summerhill opened only on alternate weekends. With a small 20-gallon brewing system, Kurt devoted every other weekend to brewing and building up inventory. The brewery developed a loyal following who would eagerly watch for the flag on a Friday or Saturday night and happily give their feedback on the latest batch of ale.

“We chugged along like that through the winter months,” Jeff said. “All of a sudden on St. Patrick’s Day (2017), people showed up, lots of people. That little garage was packed shoulder-to-shoulder.

It was so loud, I couldn’t talk by the end of the evening because I had to shout. We finally had to flick the lights and say ‘last call!’”

People continued to come from that day on, crowding into the small garage and quickly depleting the limited beer on tap. The family soon realized that the business was no longer sustainable in its existing space, and using the existing equipment. The brewery needed to grow or they would have to call it quits. Fortunately, they decided to go bigger.

The new building was completed in May of 2019, although the 7-barrel brewing system, which allowed them to produce ten times more beer per batch, was not fully operational until September of that year. A small kitchen was made part of the expansion, allowing Summerhill to utilize daughter-in-law Megan’s expertise as a trained pastry chef.

See Summerhill page 20

Photo by Cathy Shipos

Brews outside at Summerhill.

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A Family Affair Reclaims History of Benn Conger Inn

T

he new owners of Groton’s historical Benn Conger Inn are the old owners. How’s that, you may wonder? Four siblings (of the boomer generation) named Pete, Christine, Lori, and Joe Clare, grew up in the old homestead, along with their parents and maternal Italian grandparents. The family bought the house in 1953 and lived on the ground floor, with three rented apartments upstairs. Their grandmother cooked for the factory workers, “Spaghetti and meatballs,” says Christine. The siblings enjoyed eighteen acres, complete with horses, and many fond memories in a setting as pictorial as a Norman Rockwell painting. The family sold in 1971; by that time, at least half of the siblings were off to college.

Over the decades, the family continued to vacation in the area, and attend reunions at Pete’s Turkey Trot Acres in Spencer. When it became known that the Inn was up for sale, they conferred with one another. Pete’s son Drew was well established in hospitality, managing hotels in Syracuse, and it made sense for him to manage the operation; his wife, Emily, had established a business near

their home in Moravia, called Sister Silos Flower Farm. Christine and her husband, Edward Brennan, live part-time in Aurora. Intrigued by possibilities, they decided to invest in the new/old family business. Two cousins came on board, too: Rob Newman as banquet/event chef; Russ Newman, and his wife Shelley, are innkeepers and short-order cook.

The house was built in 1921 by Benn Conger, the President of Standard Typewriter Company (which became Smith Corona) and a NY State Senator, who dabbled in other entrepreneurial pursuits. Sadly, he died six months after its completion. The period of history between then and the Clare family occupation is murky. But there are reputed tales of bootlegging by one Dutch Schultz; these stories include allusions to a network of underground tunnels connecting the house basement to train tracks at the bottom of the hill. (A train had come through for, at least, all of Prohibition). By the time the family returned to the scene, the home had been in bankruptcy, and they purchased from the bank.

Two large houses perch just off of

Staff Photo

Formal dining room leading to glass dining room.

Main Street by a couple of yards, and offer typical bed and breakfast hospitality. The Dempsey House was fully operating and required little work when the Brennans took it on. With columned terraces on the back of the property, it looks out over an expanse of lawn that seems out of place, yet refreshing, in the heart of town. There are six rooms (2

Summerhill Continued from page 19

“We always planned to offer food—it would be silly not to make use of Megan’s talents,” Jeff explained. “Besides, if you want people to stay for the evening, you’ve got to offer them something to eat.

Beer and food go together!”

Soon after Summerhill’s Grand Opening in October of 2019, the tasting room began filling up on a regular basis, especially on Friday and Saturday nights when live music was often featured. The family was gearing up for a large event on St. Patrick’s Day 2020, and launch their first full summer season, when Covid shut everything down (on March 15th).

“Community support during the pandemic was outstanding,” Jeff said.

“We did curbside for a couple of months until breweries were deemed essential.

Then we were at 30% capacity, which for us was about 30 people. It sustained us, but definitely not like being open.”

The large tent and lawn area proved to be a definite advantage during the warm weather months, allowing people to spread out and social distance with ease. Porch heaters and fire pits extended that season a bit.

“We know that people were going out of their way to support us, and we really appreciate that,” Jeff said. “We’re pretty much back to normal now.”

suites, 4 rooms), all with private bath, fireplaces, and Jacuzzi tubs. All but one include a balcony/patio.

The main house (where the family grew up) has been under renovation for seven months and just opened to the public on Memorial weekend, 2022. Three family suites and one king suite (four total) have been lovingly created from the original apartments. Most of these comfortably sleep 5, with second bedrooms, sitting areas, closets and pantries tucked into the historic walls and crannies. Art work is prominent, much of it collected over the years by Christine and Edward.

The Inn is available for small events for twenty to sixty guests. Sunday brunches and wine pairings will be added in the near future. They also offer packages with golf courses and Cayuga Lake boat cruises. Larger, catered events in the outdoor areas will be possible, as well.

The family Clare welcomes you to a slice of history. And welcome home, to the family Clare!

Benn Congor Inn is located at 206 W. Cortland Street, Groton, NY www.theben ncongorinn.com 607-898-5817 n

“Normal” means that Summerhill Brewing is busy Thursday through Sunday. In addition to the four family members, there are about 20 part time employees who work in the kitchen or tasting room at various times. Besides running the kitchen, Megan lines up the live music bands for Friday and Saturday nights, and teaches yoga twice a week, on the premises. Kurt still works full time at Cornell and brews beer on weekends.

Jeff sees a lot of room for the brewery to grow further, perhaps moving towards canning their beers or, by increasing the number of offsite restaurants and taprooms that carry Summerhill products. He’s also thought about building a pavilion to replace the tent someday. For now though, he’s content to enjoy Summerhill the way it is.

“There’s a lot of satisfaction in what we’ve built and it’s been fun doing it as a family,” Jeff said. “Sallee and I are looking forward to decreasing our hours and slowly back down, maybe hire people to take on bigger roles in the day-to-day operation.”

Whatever the future holds, a visit to Summerhill Brewing is definitely worth the trip and closer than you think! Check their website (summerhillbrewing.com) for a listing of upcoming events and specials. Located at 14408 NY-90, Summer Hill, NY 13092 607-591-6148 n

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Cider Week New York September 29 - October 9, 2022 Celebrating Apples and Cider Across the State

By MEREDITH COLLINS

F

all in New York means apples and, to many folks, apples mean cider.

There’s something enchanting about wandering through a lush orchard and seeing apple trees of all shapes and sizes dripping with gem-like fruits in red, gold and green. This year, from September 29th through October 9th, cideries, restaurants, bars, and orchards will be celebrating cider.

Photo by Meredith Collins

Cider harvest in New York.

We are all familiar with the cloudy, amber nectar that can be purchased at many a farmstand that time of year, but one particular week is all about hard cider. This adult beverage has more in common with wine or champagne than the sweet golden treat of childhood. Hard cider can be dry or sweet, bubbly or still, refined or funky. The apples that create Finger Lakes cider include modern dessert apples, heirloom apple varieties, cider-specific varietals, and wild or abandoned apples foraged from across the region. Cider is sometimes blended or infused with countless additional ingredients like hops, mulling spices, or other fruit like peaches, pears, or raspberries.

In the Finger Lakes, we have cider producers that run the gamut of styles; there are more than a dozen different cider makers participating and showcasing their ciders. There’s no better time to explore cider than Cider Week New York.

Cider Week events will be happening in many different areas of New York state, including the Hudson Valley, Western New York, NYC, as well as the Finger Lakes. According to the New York Cider

Association: “After over 10 years of successful growth, Cider Weeks in New York are now a production of the New York Cider Association, and continue to cultivate an appreciation for New York’s orchard-based cider by showcasing NY cider’s diversity, food-friendliness, and excellent quality in cider production.”

And New York has a lot to be proud of: NY State is number two in the country for apple orchards, and leading the nation for number of hard cider makers.

Here’s how the New York Cider Association describes the history of Cider Week New York: “Glynwood [Center for Regional Food and Farming] launched the inaugural Cider Week in 2010 as an outcome of a travel exchange between French and American cider producers.

Distinctive products like hard cider evoke a local food culture and sense of place that is closely tied to agriculture, in addition to garnering more profit for farmers.

Recognizing these opportunities, while addressing the still-real obstacles faced by our farming community, Glynwood’s goal was to foster a cider market in the Hudson Valley as the linchpin in a chain of positive social, environmental, economic and community benefits.”

Twelve years in, Cider Week New York brings together growers, producers, and fans for pairing dinners, orchard tours, and tap takeovers in every region of the state. While the event was founded in the Hudson Valley by the agricultural-culinary non-profit Glynwood, Cider Week New York has been part of Autumn in the Finger Lakes for a few years now.

tastings from several FLX cider makers, local bites, and live music! Last year, Blackduck, Black Diamond, Grisamore Farms, Kelloggsville, NY Cider Co., Redbyrd Orchard Cider, & South Hill Cider all joined the party, and this year is poised to be a rousing success!

Local ski-resort and waterpark, Greek Peak, will be hosting Hops & Swaps Brewfest as they return from the pandemic in a massive way, highlighting their newly opening campground on Saturday, October 8th 2022. Greek Peak will open the gates back up to their snowenthusiast customer base to take advantage of the ski equipment swap (and the lowest price on season passes prior to winter) with a rockin’ fall festival, filled with vendors and activities galore, including local hard cider.

During Cider Week New York, visitors can explore cideries that aren’t open to the public year round, on tours led by expert apple growers. Guests can see first hand what makes cider from the Finger Lakes so special. In recent years, Black Diamond Cider, Eve’s Cidery, Redbyrd Orchard Cider and Cornell Orchards have all hosted guests among their apple trees.

For those who are fond of the farmto-table experience, FLX chefs at beloved local restaurants like Maxies’s Supper Club, or Agava, in Ithaca have created cider-inspired menus to pair with cider.

In nearby Trumansburg, Hazelnut Kitchen’s Cider Week dinner is practically legendary. The Finger Lakes is a region defined by its relationship with food,

farms, and hospitality, and our culinary creators are bringing all of their creativity to the table when creating seasonal pairings to showcase fall flavors with cider.

Apple Harvest Festival in Ithaca ties in with Cider Week NY, and brings thousands of visitors to downtown Ithaca where they can sample apples, buy cider donuts, explore regional hard ciders, and browse artisan crafts from near and far.

Food favorites like pumpkin funnel cake and Coltivare’s Apple Mac N’ Cheese are coming back to please the crowds that love them. This Cider Week highlight will be happening September 30th through October 2nd. It’s not to be missed!

Scott Ramsey, the Executive Director of the New York Cider Association, is very excited about Cider Week New York, “With some of the best cideries in the world participating, events will be taking place all across New York State, including Western New York, Finger Lakes, Catskills, Hudson Valley, New York City and more. A visit to your local NY cidery, restaurant, and cider retail shop during Cider Week New York is a perfect way to support small business, taste one of New York’s premium agricultural products, and enjoy all that the fall in New York has to offer.”

Whether you’re a visitor from out-oftown or a local looking to make the most of this incredible region, Cider Week New York will have something for you.

Visit the Cider Week website to find out about events and participating cider ies: https://ciderweeknewyork.com/ n

Cider Week in the Finger Lakes

In Ithaca, South Hill Cider will be hosting their 2nd Annual Cider Week FLX Cider Fest @ South Hill Cider on Thursday Oct 6th, from 4:30-7:30pm.

Enjoy their incredible views, along with

Cider Week events included touring the orchards as well as tastings.

Photo by................

Page 22

FLX Libations

Summer-Fall 2022

FLX Libations Summer-Fall 2022

Casa Larga

To Syracuse

Colloca Estate Giancarelli Bros.

Owera

Song Hill

Vinifera Living Roots

6461 NYS Route 64, Naples, NY 14512 800.554.7553 or 585.374.2870 thegrapery.com

Casa Larga Vineyards

To Rochester

Pheasant Ridge Montezuma

To Buffalo

CJS Vineyards

Ashley Lynn

3772 West Lake Road, Geneseo, NY 14454 585.346.0850 deerrunwinery.com

Izzo’s White Barn

Eagle Crest Vineyard

7107 Vineyard Road, Conesus, NY 14435 585.346.2321 eaglecrestvineyards.com

Anyelas

Deer Run Trestle 31 Lake Street Filling Station

20 Deep

Raymor Estate

Ventosa

Boundary Breaks

Yates Cellars

Stever Hill

Barrington Cellars

Lamoreaux Wagner Shaw H. Wiemer Missick Cellars Tabora Fruit Yard

Point of Bluff Azure Hill Dr. Frank Weis LeSeurre

Heron Hill Keuka Lake Bully Hill Pleasant Valley Chateau Renaissance

McGregor Ravines

Deep Root

Hickory Hollow Starkey’s Glenora Fulkerson Rock Stream Magnus Ridge Toast Barnstormer Lakewood

Castel Grisch Seneca Harbor

0

5

Living Roots Winery

1255 University Ave., Rochester, NY 14607 585.383.1112 livingrootswine.com

Raymor Estate Cellars

Long Point

Cayuga Ridge Thirsty Owl Randolph O’Neill Hosmer

Miles

Rooster Hill

197 North Main Street, Naples, NY 14512 585.374.5970 inspiremoorewinery.com

Buttonwood Grove

Prejean Torrey Ridge

Hazlitt’s Red Cat

5323 Seneca Point Rd., Canandaigua, NY 14424 585.394.0173 heronhill.com

Goose Watch Six Eighty Cellars

Arbor Hill

Vineyard View Hunt Country

Heart & Hands

Knapp

Anthony Road

5

Swedish Hill

Heron Hill Tasting Room at Bristol

Lakeshore

Zugibe

Serenity Seneca Shore Kemmeter

Keuka Spring

Quarry Ridge

Inspire Moore Winery

Red Tail Ridge

Inspire Moore

52 West Ave., Naples, NY 14512 585.374.9700 hazlitt1852.com crushandcopack.com

Union Springs

Three Brothers

Scout Vineyards Once FL Fox Run

Heron Hill at Bristol

Hazlitt’s Red Cat Cellars/ East Coast Crush & CoPack

Apple Station

Ravines Belhurst White Springs Missick Cellars North Lacey Magruder Billsboro

Song Hill Winery Bright Leaf

Sheldrake Shepherdess Cellars

Idol Ridge

3263 Wheeler Station Rd., Bloomfield, NY 14469 585.233.9860 www.raymorcellars.com

Base Map © 2005 Jim Houghton

miles kilometers

521 County Road 9, Victor, NY 14564 773-551-9245 www.songhillwinery.com

Chateau Dusseau

20 Deep Winery

Treleaven

To Cortland Lucas

Silver Thread Caywood Shalestone Frontenac Bagley’s Boland Thomas Standing Stone TaughPenguin Bay Flatt Rock Cellars annock Rasta Ranch Hazlitt Glenhaven Leidenfrost Hector Wine Co. Red Newt Bloomer Creek Bet the Farm Forge Cellars Chateau Lafayette Atwater Ports of NY JR Dill Damiani Silver Springs Catharine Valley RyanWilliam Hillick & Hobbs Osmote

187 Menon Ionia Rd., Honeoye Falls, NY 14472 585-204-7953 20deep.com

KEUKA LAKE Azure Hill Winery

8716 Gallagher Rd.,Hammondsport, NY 607.868.5702 azurehillwinery.com

Bellwether Americana

Barrington Cellars

2690 Gray Road, Penn Yan, NY 14527 315.536.9686 barringtoncellars.com

Bully Hill Vineyards

To Dryden

8843 G.H. Taylor Mem. Dr. Hammondsport, NY 14840 607.868.3610 bullyhill.com

Chateau Renaissance 7494 Fish Hatchery Rd., Hammondsport, NY 14840 866.426.7543 or 607.569.3609 winesparkle.com

Deep Root Vineyard

Cornell University Six Mile Creek

Ithaca College

10 10

2287 Turk Hill Road, Fairport, NY 14450 585.223.4210 casalarga.com

Deer Run Winery

Eagle Crest

0

Finger Lakes Wineries WEST Arbor Hill Winery

Stone Age

Agness Wine Cellars

Danby

10391 Cross St., Hammondsport, NY 14840 315.651.2201 deeprootvineyard.com

To Route 81

Page 23

Domaine LeSeurre Winery

13920 State Rte. 54, Hammondsport, NY 14840 607.292.3920 dlwinery.com

Dr. Frank’s Vinifera Wine Cellars / Chateau Frank

9749 Middle Road, Hammondsport, NY 14840 607.868.4884 drfrankwines.com

Heron Hill Winery

9301 County Rte. 76, Hammondsport, NY 14840 607.868.4241 heronhill.com

Hunt Country Vineyard

Boundary Breaks

Keuka Lake Vineyards

Castel Grisch Estate Winery

Keuka Spring Vineyards

Catharine Valley Winery

McGregor Vineyard Winery

Caywood Vineyards

Pleasant Valley Wine Co.

Chateau Lafayette Reneau

Point of the Bluff Vineyards

Damiani Wine Cellars

10489 County Rd. 76, Pulteney, NY 14840 pointofthebluffvineyards.com

4704 NYS Rte 414 Burdett, NY 14818 607.546.5557 damianiwinecellars.com

Ravines Wine Cellars

Earle Estates Meadery

14630 NYS Rte. 54 Hammondsport, NY 14840 607.292.7007 ravineswine.com

2770 NYS Rte 14 Penn Yan, NY 14527 315.536.6755 meadery.com

Rooster Hill Vineyards

Flatt Rock Wine Cellars

4021 Italy Hill Road, Branchport, NY 14418 315.595.2812 huntcountryvineyards.com 8882 County Rte 76, Hammondsport, NY 14840 607.868.4100 klvineyards.com 243 NYS Route 54, Penn Yan, NY 14527 315.536.3147 keukaspringwinery.com 5503 Dutch Street, Dundee, NY 14837 607.292.3999 mcgregorwinery.com 8260 Pleasant Valley Rd., Hammondsport, NY 14840 607.569.6111 pleasantvalleywine.com

489 NYS Route 54, Penn Yan, NY 14527 315.536.4773 roosterhill.com

Stever Hill Vineyards

3962 Stever Hill Rd., Branchport, NY 14418 315.595.2230 Steverhillvineyards.com

Vineyard View Winery

2971 Williams Hill Rd., Keuka Park, NY 14478 315.694.7262 vineyardviewwinery.com

Weis Vineyards

10014 Day Rd., Hammondsport, NY 14840 607.284.4011 weisvineyards.com

Yates Cellars

3170 Rte 54A, Keuka Park, NY 14478 315.536.6065 yatescellars.com

SENECA LAKE Agness Wine Cellars

265 NY014 Lyons, 14489 315.576.0375 agnesswinecellars.com

1568 Porter Covert Rd., Lodi, NY 14860 917.885.6682 boundarybreaks.com 3380 County Rte. 28, Watkins Glen, NY 14891 607.535.9614 castelgrisch.com 4201 NYS Route 414, Burdett, NY 14818 607.546.5300 catherinevalley.com 9666 NYS Route 414, Caywood, NY 14841 607.582.7230 caywoodvineyards.com 5081 NYS Rt. 414, Hector, NY 14841 607.546.2062 clrwine.com

5835 Spirawk Rd., Hector, NY 14841 716.622.2820 flattrockwinecellars Forge Cellars (by appointment only) 3775 Matthews Rd., Burdett, NY 14818 607.622.8020 forgecellars.com

Fossenvue Winery

9085 NY-414, Lodi, NY 14860 607.582.7444 fossenvuewinery.com

Fox Run Vineyards

670 NYS Route 14, Penn Yan, NY 14527 315.536.4616 foxrunvineyards.com

Fulkerson Winery

5576 NYS Route 14, Dundee, NY 14837 607.243.7883 fulkersonwinery.com

Glenora Wine Cellars

5435 NYS Route 14, Dundee, NY 14837 607.243.5511 glenora.com

Hazlitt 1852 Vineyards

Anthony Road Wine Co.

5712 NYS Route 414, Hector, NY 14841-0207 607.546.WINE hazlitt1852.com

Atwater Estate Vineyards

5610 NYS Rte 414, Hector, NY 14841 607.387.1045 hectorwinecompany.com

Bagley’s Poplar Ridge Vineyards

3962 NYS Route 14, Box 38, Dundee, NY 14837 800.371.7971 or 607.243.7971 wiemer.com

Barnstormer Winery

5289 NYS Route 14, Dundee, NY 14837 607.243.9114 hickoryhollowwine.com

Belhurst Winery

3538 NY-79, Burdett, NY 14818 hillickandhobbs.com

Billsboro Winery

9059 State Route 414, Lodi, NY 14860 607.582.7773 IdolRidge.com

1020 Anthony Road, Penn Yan, NY 14527 315.536.2182 anthonyroadwine.com 5055 NYS Route 414, Hector, NY 14841 607.546.8463 atwatervineyards.com 9782 NYS Route 414, Valois, NY 14888 607.582.6421 bagleyswine.com 4184 State Route 14, Rock Stream, NY 14878 607.243.4008 barnstormerwinery.com 4069 NYS Route 14 South, Geneva, NY 14456 315.781.0201 belhurst.com

Hector Wine Company

Hermann J. Wiemer Vineyard Hickory Hollow Wine Cellars

Hillick & Hobbs Estate Winery Idol Ridge Winery

4760 West Lake Rd., (NYS Rte. 14) Geneva, NY 14456 JR Dill Vineyards 4922 NYS Route 414, Hector, NY 14818 315.789.9538 billsborowinery.com 607.546.5757 jrdillwinery.com Bloomer Creek Vineyards 5315 NYS Route 414, Hector, NY 14841 607.546.5027 bloomercreek.com

Continued on page 25

Page 24

FLX Libations

Summer-Fall 2022

Art on the Trails Meet Maryrose Savino, Art Editor Maryrose is a former wine industry manager and has worked in tourism for many years. She co-owns the Bostwick House and Gardens Vacation Rental, which she previously ran as a bed and breakfast. Maryrose has also worked in estate services and antiques. She knows the world around the Finger Lakes inside and out and fortunately, for its residents, is an artist. She moved around the region for most of her life, observing the beauty it has to offer, and captures that beauty in her paintings.

Maryrose has shown her work at Anthony Road Winery, Leidenfrost Vineyards, and Damiani Wine Cellars, as well as art galleries throughout the region. Her studio is in Trumansburg.

She uses pallet knives and brushes for combination plein air and abstract, and mostly depicts Finger Lakes vistas. With her fingers on the pulse of the Finger Lakes art scene, she advocates for fellow artists and for bringing audiences into the winery setting, which is so perfect for viewing good art and enjoying wine.

Maryrose’s love for the lakes and the wineries, combined with her stature and reputation as an artist, makes her the perfect fit as art reviewer for Finger Lakes Libations. Welcome to Maryrose’s column, Art on the Trails.

Spring Review: Jesse Hill at Damiani Winery

By MARYROSE SAVINO Recently I reviewed the Jesse Hill Art exhibit at Damiani Wine Cellars, Route 414, in Hector New York. It was up through June, and drew a well deserved crowd.

Jesse works in paintings, sculptures, and prints, and investigates a multiplicity of materials, processes, form, and content. Inspired by the natural world, he always comes back to landscapes as the place to practice expressive painting.

Mountains have always called to Jesse, with the allure of huge monuments and epic vistas. As a place, they are challenging and nurturing. As a subject, they are dynamic and dimensional. They are emblems of amazing beauty and indicators of brutal climate change.

Jesse Hill with two nature inspired works.

Jesse records nature’s wilds in various mediums such as watercolor or acrylics over found maps. Jesse encounters all facets of, and shares the beauty of, the natural environment through his artwork. He creates fluid, graphic,

Photos by....

abstract art that is grounded in direct experience. Trails, maps, paintings of a view, and sketches of details together reflect and embody his experience, showcasing the story and identity of a place. n

Up Next: At Anthony Road Wine Co., For month of July Anthony Road Winery presents duo artists Helga Poreda and Sandy Cook. In August, the exhibit on display at will highlight various artists have been asked to paint plein air works within a five mile radius of the winery. The paintings were created throughout July and will show throughout August. Anthony Road Wine Co. 1020 Anthony Rd. Penn Yan 14527. At Damiani Wine Cellars, Nicole Costa will be resident artist for the months of July and August. She is a visual artist and teacher living in the Finger Lakes. Damiani Wine Cellars 4704 NYS Rte 414 Burdett 14818 Wineries and breweries hosting and exhibiting art should contact Maryrose for reviews and column information. Maryrose Savino via email Maryrose@bostwickhouse.com

FLX Libations Summer-Fall 2022

Finger Lakes Wineries Kemmeter Wines (by appt. only)

Scout Vineyards

Lacey Magruder Vineyard & Winery

Seneca Harbor Wine Center

1030 Larzelere Road, Penn Yan, NY 14527 315.521.3897 kemmeterwines.com

462 Armstrong Rd., Geneva, NY 14456 585.260.1850 laceymagrudervineyardandwinery.com

Lake Street Filling Station Winery 41 Lake Street, Geneva, NY 14456 315.325.4089 lakestreetwine.com

Lakewood Vineyards

4024 NYS Route 14, Watkins Glen, NY 14891 607.535.9252 lakewoodvineyards.com

Lamoreaux Landing Wine Cellar

9224 NYS Route 414, Lodi, NY 14860 607.582.6011 lamoreauxwine.com

Leidenfrost Vineyards

NYS Route 414, Hector, NY 14841 607.546.2800 leidenfrostwine.com

Magnus Ridge Winery

6148 NYS Rte 14, Rock Stream, NY 14878 607.243.3611 magnusridge.com

Miles Wine Cellars

168 Randall Crossing Road, Himrod, NY 14842 607.243.7742 mileswinecellars.com

Missick Cellars North

226 Turk Road, Geneva, NY 14456 315.235.4314 bellangelo.com

Missick Cellars

150 Poplar Point Road, Dundee, NY 14837 607.243.8602 bellangelo.com

Once Finger Lakes

655 NY-14, Penn Yan, 14527 315-694-7197 oncefingerlakes.com

Osmote Wines

3879 Marcia Lane, Burdett, NY 14818 607.583.0640 osmotewine.com

Penguin Bay Winery

6075 NYS Route 414, Hector, NY 14841 607.546.5115 penguinbaywinery.com

Prejean Winery

2634 NYS Route 14, Penn Yan, NY 14527 315.536.7524 prejeanwinery.com

Rasta Ranch Vineyards

NYS Route 414, Hector, NY 14841 607.546.2974

Ravines Wine Cellars on Seneca Lake 400 Barracks Rd., Geneva, NY 14456 315.781.7007 ravineswine.com

Red Newt Cellars and Bistro

3675 Tichenor Road, Hector, NY 14841 607.546.4100 rednewt.com

Red Tail Ridge Winery

846 NYS Route 14, Penn Yan, NY 14527 315.536.4580 redtailridgewinery.com

Rock Stream Vineyards

162 Fir Tree Point Rd.,, Rock Stream, NY 14878 607.243.5395 rockstreamvineyards.com

Ryan William Vineyard and Winery 4156 State Rte 414, Burdett, NY 14818 607.882.9098 ryanwilliam.com

Continued from page 23

468 Ny-14, Penn Yan, NY 14527 315-409-6866 www.scoutvineyards.com 2 North Franklin Street, Watkins Glen, NY 14891 607.535.4867 senecaharborwine.com

Seneca Shore Wine Cellars

929 Davy Road, Penn Yan, NY 14527-9644 315.536.0882 senecawine.com

Serenity Vineyards

930 Davy Rd., Penn Yan, NY 14527 315.536.6701 serenityvineyardsofny.com

Shalestone Vineyards

9681 NYS Route 414, Lodi, NY 14860 607.582.6600 shalestonevineyards.com

Shaw Vineyards

3901 NYS Route 14, Himrod, NY 14842-9794 607.243.7000 shawvineyard.com

Silver Springs Winery

4408 NYS Route 414, Burdett, NY 14818 607.351.8019 silverspringswinery.com

Silver Thread Vineyard

1401 Caywood Road, Lodi, NY 14860 607.582.6116 silverthreadwine.com

Standing Stone Vineyards

9934 NYS Route 414, Hector, NY 14841 607.582.6051 standingstonewines.com

Starkey’s Lookout

5428 State Route 14 Dundee, NY 14837 607.678.4043 starkeyslookout.com

Tabora Farm & Winery

4978 Lakemont-Himrod Rd, Dundee, NY 14837 607.678.4342 taborafarmandwinery.com

Three Brothers Wineries

623 Lerch Road, Geneva, NY 14456 315.585.4432 3brotherswinery.com

Trestle 31

436 Exchange St., Geneva 14456 315.719.3220 trestle31.com

Toast Winery

4499 NYS Route 14, Rock Stream, NY 14878 607.535.4277 toastwineryflx.com

Torrey Ridge Winery

2770 NYS Rte 14, Penn Yan, NY 14527 315.536.1210 torreyridgewinery.com

Trestle 31

436 Exchange St., Geneva, NY 14456 315-719-3220 trestle31.com

Ventosa Vineyards

3440 NYS Route 96A, Geneva, NY 14456 315.719.0000 ventosavineyards.com

Wagner Vineyards

9322 NYS Route 414, Lodi, NY 14860 607.582.6450 wagnervineyards.com

White Springs Winery

4200 NYS Route 14 South, Geneva, NY 14456 315.781.9463 whitespringswinery.com

Zugibe Vineyards

4248 East Lake Road, Geneva, NY 14456 315.585.6402 zugibevineyards.com

Page 25

CAYUGA LAKE Americana Vineyards

4367 East Covert Road, Interlaken, NY 14847 607.387.6801 americanavineyards.com

Apple Station Winery

5279 Cross Road, Cayuga, NY 13034 315-889-5184 www.theapplestation.com

Bellwether Cidery/Bellwether Wine Cellars

9070 NYS Route 89, Trumansburg, NY 14886 607.387.9464 cidery.com bellwetherwinecellars.com

Bet the Farm Winery

4204 Krums Corners Rd., Trumansburg, NY 14886 607.387.6548 btfwines.com

Boland Thomas Vineyard

30 Main Street, Trumansburg, NY 14886 607-387-9463 www.btvineyards.com

Bright Leaf Vineyard 1250 Clearview Rd., King Ferry, NY 13081 315.364.5323 brightleafvineyard.com

Buttonwood Grove Winery

5986 NYS Route 89, Romulus, NY 14541 607.869.9760 buttonwoodgrove.com

Cayuga Ridge Estate Winery

6800 NYS Route 89 (Elm Beach Road) Ovid, NY 14521 607.869.5158 cayugaridgewinery.com

Montezuma Winery

2981 Auburn Road, Seneca Falls, NY 13149 315.568.8190 montezumewinery.com

Ports of New York

815 Taber Street, Ithaca, NY 14850 607.220.6317 portsofnewyork.com

Quarry Ridge Winery

4242 State Rte. 90, Union Springs, NY 13160 www.quarryridgewinery.com Randolph O’Neill Vineyard (by appt. only) 6965 Route 89, Ovid, NY 14521 607.351.8890

Sheldrake Point Winery

7448 County Road 153, Ovid, NY 14521 607.532.9401 sheldrakepoint.com

Shepherdess Cellars

8189 NY Rt 89, Interlaken, NY 14847 607.351.4309 shepherdesscellars.com

Six Eighty Cellars

3050 Swick Rd., Ovid, NY 14521 315-530-2663 www.sixeightycellars

Six Mile Creek Vineyard

1551 Slaterville Road (Rt.79), Ithaca, NY 14850 607.272.9463 sixmilecreek.com

Swedish Hill Vineyard

4565 NYS Route 414, Romulus, NY 14541 888.549.9463 or 315.549.8326 swedishhill.com

CJS Vineyards

Thirsty Owl Wine Company

Frontenac Point Vineyard

Treleaven Wines

6900 Fosterville Road Auburn, NY 13021 315.730.4619 cjsvineyards.com 9501 NYS Route 89, Trumansburg, NY 14886 607.387.9619 frontenacpoint.com

6799 NYS Route 89 (Elm Beach Road) Ovid, NY 14521 866.869.5805 thirstyowl.com 658 Lake Road,King Ferry, NY 13081 315-364-5100 www.treleavenwines.com

Glenhaven Farm

6121 Sirrine Road, Trumansburg, NY 14886 607.387.9031 glenhavenfarm.com

Goose Watch Winery

5480 NYS Route 89, Romulus, NY 14541 315.549.2599 goosewatch.com

Heart & Hands Wine Co.

4162 NYS Rt.90 N, Union Springs, NY 13160 315.889.8500 heartandhandswine.com

Hosmer Winery

6999 NYS Route 89, Ovid, NY 14521 607.869.3393 hosmerwinery.com

Izzo’s White Barn Winery

6634 Cayuga Rd., Cayuga, NY 13034 315.283.8095 izzoswhitebarnwinery.com

Knapp Vineyards Winery

2770 County Road 128, Romulus, NY 14541 607.869.9271 knappwine.com

Lakeshore Winery

5132 NYS Route 89, Romulus, NY 14541 315.549.7075 lakeshorewinery.com

Long Point Winery

1485 Lake Road, Aurora, NY 13026 315.364.6990 longpointwinery.com

Lucas Vineyards

3862 County Road 150, Interlaken, NY 14847 607.532.4825 lucasvineyards.com

EAST Anyelas Vineyards

2433 West Lake Road, Skaneateles, NY 13152 315.685.3797 anyelasvineyards.com

Chateau Dusseau

5292 Erron Road, Locke, NY 13092 315.497.9463 chateaudusseau.com

Colloca Estate Winery

14678 West Bay Rd, Sterling, NY 13156 315-947-2069 https://collocawines.com

Giancarelli Bros Winery

10252 Shortcut Road, Weedsport, NY 13166 315.626.2830 giancarelliwinery.com

Owera Vineyards

5276 E Lake Road, Cazenovia, NY 13035 315-815-4311 www.oweravineyards.com Pheasant Ridge Vineyards (by appt. only) 3456 Ransom Road, Jamesville, NY 13078 315.469.4346 pheasantridgevineyards.com Stone Age Winery (by appt. only) 1013 Tulip Street, Liverpool, NY 13088 315.457.6718 stoneagewinery.net

Page 26

FLX Libations

Summer-Fall 2022

Touring the Trails

From organized deep dives to designated drivers, even an app, there’s a style for every taste and need!

By DENICE KARAMARDIAN

Grapevine Tours– a flexible version

“It was one of those moments when there seems no place to turn and an idea starts forming,” said Bonnie Osbourn.

She was not referring to the pandemic of 2020, but to a place we had been twenty years earlier.

Grapevine Tours was born in 2002 when Bonnie’s career as a travel agent plunged along with the industry after 9/11. The brick and mortar agency she had lovingly nurtured in Penn Yan dissolved with the changing world. She embraced the shift and adapted to a new vision. That vision is still going strong, and it’s called Grapevine Tours.

“I wanted a company that based our tours on an experience where people would learn about the wines and how to enjoy them. In addition, I wanted them to know a little about the rich history of the area and exactly how the geology of the region has determined the industry and the wines.”

“I started with one sedan and one driver—me!” There was growth and reputation between then and now, but she still

Photo courtesy of Grapevine Tours

Grapevine Tours owner, Bonnie Osbourn (right) and her daughter–in–law Nicole. keeps the fleet topped out at four vehicles, ranging in size from sedan to small vans and one 11–passenger van, the largest.

“That keeps us closer to our guests without being so big a company that we lose the individual’s perspective. My driver numbers have grown, yet some of them

have been with me since almost the beginning. I like to say that I hire from my family and friends.”

Nicole, Bonnie’s daughter-in-law, joined her four years ago and works the front line, handling drivers and phones, booking and scheduling. Bonnie handles the back office: vehicle maintenance, training drivers, paperwork and accounting. “There’s a lot of New York State filing,” she sighs. But she also needs to stay on top of winery protocols and policies to guide her clients. It helps with reality planning. “I have to stay out there to keep up with the constant changes on the trail”, she says. Both women are active as driver and guides.

The theme of Bonnie’s approach is customization. That’s why there is no booking engine on her website. That is the heartbeat of the business for Bonnie, customizing and creating the day’s plan with the client, being with the customer as it is experienced, sharing background knowledge of grapes (some drivers are knowledgeable about brewing, too).

There are lots of variables. The experience is so personal, it has to be right! A customer may start with a particular winery they have heard of and the day can be built from that inclusion. Or they might have no clue where to begin. She needs to talk with them, get a feel of taste, their group, their goals for the day. She needs to educate them realistically about driving time lengths. It can take an hour’s drive to get to the pick-up location. How much can fit into a 6-hour tour depends on taste: does the party like to linger, taste, and talk or do they prefer to taste, buy, and push on to the next place. She’ll create a suggested itinerary, selecting a few places to reserve, approve and tweak, and fill in the gaps en route. Often she sees how the customer engages in the first winery, and can guide them more

specifically for the best possible experience. Spontaneous choices will depend on the winery table availability; this is where a tour guide can be invaluable in today’s new trends of reservations and smaller capacity.

I asked her how the tasting room changes have affected her business. She replied, “I have a love– hate relationship with the change. The obvious negative is that spontaneity is more challenging with reservations. We may call and not be able to get in. But the atmosphere is so much more relaxed and customers tend to have a better quality experience, appreciating the wine and interaction with staff; so unlike the old days of crowding around a bar, trying to get a glass filled.”

(She remembers the party days when she created itineraries for buses and accompany as guide. There would be 35 people drinking between the winery stops.)

Buses are no longer (generally) allowed.

“We do not allow drinking in our vehicles.”

A typical tour will visit four to six wineries, with an occasional brewery.

Unless established beforehand, a tour will focus on one lake. A lunch stop is included, either sit down or picnic with carry-out options. Many wineries allow picnicking on their grounds.

Bonnie’s priority is ultimate client experience. “Our people are very important to us, and we treat them with respect and friendship. The most often comment we hear at the end of the day is: ‘We learned so much today we didn’t know!’”

Experience! The Finger Lakes– the Cadillac version, for those who want most

I’m the sort of vacationer who, when spending money on an excursion, prefers an educational experience. I want to learn about what I am experiencing. On their wine-professional guided tours, you “learn about the region, wineries, wine, and more importantly, ‘why you like what you like’. Once you learn that, the whole world of wine is open to you,” explains Laura Winter Falk, educator, sommelier, and owner of Experience! The Finger Lakes.

So, just what does ‘premium guided tour’ mean? Just as the company name indicates, its reputation says it all. Experience! The Finger Lakes has been recognized for fourteen years by Trip advisor as one of the best wine tours in the region; for the last two years, it has been recognized by USA Today as one of the best wine tours in the country. Fullservice, immersive, with sommelier and premium tasting options available for most tours: that’s a lot to unpack. The

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website makes it easier to distinguish among the many options of tours available. (Custom tours are also common.)

You can expect to spend an hour minimum at any given winery. The first winery on a tour will be a ninety minute deep dive, such as a sustainable vineyard tour, on top of the tasting. An experiential pairing at each stop teaches how food and wine work together, particularly showcasing Finger Lakes cheese, chocolate, or charcuterie.

It began in 2006, when Laura, a food nutrition researcher at Cornell, her husband, Alan, a software engineer, and children (4 and 8 at the time), filled a three month sabbatical with an extended, national park trip. They rented an RV and hired Tracks and Trails, a Coloradobased company to plan every bit of the trip, from detailed maps and highlighted routes to the vehicle rental details. Halfway through, they noted to one another: “Nobody is doing anything like this in the Finger Lakes—providing a curated experience like this! Why not do tours the way we like them?”

Thinking about how to shape the wine tours, they knew one thing: they had no interest in changing careers to be a transportation–only company. So they created the model of developing a curated experience, in partnership with wineries,

for those visitors who are interested in an elevated experience and opportunity to learn.

Since Covid, Experience! The Finger Lakes’ model of small groups and food pairings has become the norm at many tasting rooms. So they needed to “elevate beyond the ‘elevated’” Laura laughs. She conceptualized a newer vision and shrank their size. They traded in their larger 14-passenger vans, except one (for custom group exceptions), for two small Mercedes minivans. They host mainly 6-7 total guests in both their private and shared tours.

Laura’s husband, Alan, is CEO and focused on the back of the house. Laura is the front house, though she guides the upgraded sommelier tours and substitutes when needed. She also does step-onPhoto courtesy Laura Winter Falk tours for motorcoaches she partners Silver Thread sustainable vineyards with, which requires a broad understand- tour with Experience! The Finger Lakes ing of the region. During Covid, they were down to 1.5 tour guides; this year, they partner with Discover Cayuga Lake they have a full team of seven. “Our team and Schools Out Charters.

During Covid, Laura pivoted to her of tour guides are amazing,” she beams.

Now back to full capacity, seven days a educational expertise. For two years of virtual wine pairing presentations, week, “We are ready!”

Experience! The Finger Lakes is not almost 3,000 bottles of wine were shipped just about showcasing the region’s winer- around the country and she provided ies. The company offers sightseeing and Zoom immersive experiences, both boat tours, as well, and so is a go-to for publicly and privately, with three bottles getting the most out of a longer weekend of wine and three cheeses. She is now or vacation week. To her knowledge, they doing more and more in-person wine are the only company doing regularly events, such as presentations and recepoffered guided sightseeing tours with tions, representing the Finger Lakes certified naturalists. And for boat tours, outside the region. “These are ways to

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help promote this region that we love, by showcasing the food and beverages that create the amazing bounty of the Finger Lakes.”

Laura emphasized the same point I heard from others, that the tour operators in the region all share business and referrals. Like all the Finger Lakes wineries, breweries and other industries, everyone seems to work together on the same mission: to show off the region.

“Finger Lakes has arrived as a destination,” she said, adding that it is natural that the businesses of her industry are cooperative, rather than competitive.

“It’s about fitting the right customer to the right service.”

Main Street Drivers—the designated driver alternative

There is an option for the last minute.

This is especially important for the tourist who arrives in the Finger Lakes assuming an Uber will be available to transport them to and from wineries.

(Spoiler alert: It won’t.) Fear not. A designated driver service can serve anyone’s needs: your car, their driver.

The cost is fixed, and more budget conscious than organized tour companies providing vehicles that need to be maintained and insured. At $42 per hour, plus gratuity, regardless of the car size (two-seater to a 15 passenger van), their driver will guide your day in your rented or owned vehicle. There is a five hour

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minimum. Drivers are fully insured under corporate policy, so relax and enjoy the ride!

James Hirtenstein launched his business on the north fork of Long Island, serving the Hamptons and wealthy clients in a summer based model. He expanded to Willamette Valley, Oregon and Walla Walla, Washington, another small but strong wine region with no taxi or uber service whatsoever.

“I try to go where Uber isn’t,” says James. But he was “wowed” upon discovering the Finger Lakes, and the amazing potential, both for business and quality living. “The community has embraced it.” Main Street is eleven years into it.

Asked about clientele, he had several points to make. “For parties from two to six, we can put together a great day on the trails. For six or more, we attempt to do the same, but it takes more planning.

We make recommendations and ask the client to reserve. 90% of our business consists of six or less, and doesn’t face the same blockades: We can accommodate last minute bookings, and wineries work with us as best they can. (Many refuse busloads now).

“Clients who are saving money may purchase more wine, too, so the wineries benefit by accommodating our parties.

They can be ahead of the curve. Hiring a

designated driver demonstrates a prepared, smart customer, who is prepared to buy wine.” For the more wine-knowledgeable customer, he will assign drivers ahead, with time to reach out and formulate an itinerary with advance research. “Often there are specific wineries they know and love. We get return clients year after year who use us to stock up their libraries and wine cellars.”

James is a wine enthusiast. All the drivers are personally known by him and background checked, even by the insurance company. They are all local and bring personal flair and intricacies, like sharing waterfalls, nooks and crannies off the beaten path.

Main Street does a ton of last minute bookings. “20% of our business comes from the people who arrive to discover there’s no uber service to wineries; panic calls come in Thursdays and Fridays.”

And 75% of all business will combine a bit of everything, including visits to breweries, cideries and distilleries. As for his top tip to a customer, James recommends planning ahead for food. “And try to order ahead of time of arrival”.

He also feels it important to maintain relationships with other companies, referring callers who are looking for a car and driver or luxury limos, for example. “Everybody works together to make the cog run smoothly. Just like for the wineries, the touring business functions

in collaboration: little competitiveness, lots of camaraderie.”

Finger Lakes Designated Drivers—covering the region with a twist

“What sets us apart,” says Edgar Brown, “is that we were born and raised here. We don’t want to just represent an industry. We want to be ambassadors for the Finger Lakes. We hire drivers who are equally enamored by this place and have their own long history with stories to tell. And where else can you find a chauffeur that will prepare and serve you a gourmet meal at the end of the day?”

Edgar hails from Naples. Founder and co-owner, Ernie Brigham, is from Seneca Falls. The business idea was born in 2019, and was about to launch just as Covid hit and shut down the economy.

They ultimately opened for business in April of 2021. As the name implies, Finger Lakes Designated Drivers covers ALL of the Finger Lakes (on the day we spoke, he had picked someone up in Skaneateles).

Both men, raised in the area, are naturally familiar with lakes, history, and mountains of detail that only natives harbor.

There is more to each owner than driving. A chef, Ernie manages the café at Ventosa Vineyards. Interestingly he retired in 2016 after a triple heart by-pass, but since returned. A particular feature of FL Designated Drivers is the optional service the company offers exclusively, to

its clients: private chef services. This is a feature in development—in real time.

“Chef Ernesto” will create a menu, shop for you, buy ingredients, and prepare a meal wherever you are staying, such as Airbnbs or cottages. He says, “Clients tell me what wineries they have chosen and I will create sauces to go with them.”

He has 57 years of experience. “My mom was chef at Karmac Manor, Belhurst. I followed her and helped since I was twelve and cooked at Belhurst all through high school.” He worked Abigails, Wild Duck, Skaneateles Country Club as banquet chef, Thendara on Canandaigua, and fifteen years at Ventosa. Co-owner Edgar Brown works for Arbor Hill Winery and writes about the Finger Lakes.

They use eight regular, and four supplemental, contract drivers. The customer books online – no fuss, no muss—and FLDD will drive the customer car. These local drivers are privy to much off the beaten path and guide their customers to great wine and beers that are not necessarily the most visible. Like Ernie and Edgar, the drivers are “people” persons. “We know our drivers. We choose people who interact with the clients and provide a fun experience for them,” says Edgar. Snagging a private driver from their team of ambassadors offers quite a value to explore anywhere in the region.

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Quality Wine and Beer Tours—the pioneers who invented the wheel

Quality Tours is all over the place!

Based in Victor, they cover the entire region, though, says Jim, “Most of our days are spent on Seneca and Cayuga Lakes. That’s just where the volume and most requests come from.” Still, Quality is the traditional tour service (and quite possibly the first) that has grown with the trails and serves them all. Winery tours are on Cayuga, Seneca, Keuka, and Canandaigua Lakes. And for the craft beer lover, thoroughly developed beer tours are available and include: Seneca Lake Beer Trail, Seneca–Keuka Lake Beer Trail, Rochester–Canandaigua Beer Trail, and Elmira–HammondsportSeneca Beer Trail. (These cover an unusual cluster of breweries that drives limited to the lakes will often miss.)

The business began in 1995. “We were chauffeurs,” said Jim, “doing airport service. A regular VIP customer of Xerox asked me to arrange a wine weekend on his next time back in the area. He had a list. I drove, and he convinced me to market the idea. Within the year (by 1996), we were up and running the tours. The phone rang off the hook.” He began with that customer’s list, took his drivers out to show them the places on it, then sent them out on their own. They returned and told Jim, “They’re asking a lot of questions. Like, ‘How deep is that lake?’” So he started researching deeper, developing driver guides by ‘97, ‘98. (By then, he’d seen stretch limos at wineries, but nobody was advertising tours.) They were already doing Niagara Falls Tours for interna-

Photo courtesy of Quality Wine & Beer Tours

Quality Wine and Beer Tours owner, Jim Havalak.

tional visitors brought in by Xerox and Kodak. For the wine tours, they were booked every Saturday from 1996, and had to start adding vehicles.

“There was no signage back then for wineries, no GPS. Just a physical map from the wine trail. We wrote out maps on pencil,” laughed Jim. “Most wineries were in barns; seasonal, little boutique wineries.” The spring was busiest, then fall, and eventually summer. In the beginning, it was never winter. “Now we are out on the trails right after New Year’s!”

Quality Tours grew right along with the growth of the wine businesses.

He separated the tour service from the transportation service in 2005, and continued to evolve with the market.

“When the craft breweries started popping up in 2009, I changed the name to Quality Wine and Beer Tours.” He didn’t see others doing tours until 2000. Within five years, there were more, growing exponentially with the explosion in wineries. Jim served as personal witness to that growth, how it sprang from a handful to 20, 30, 40 per trail, now available seven days a week.

Has it changed recently? He gave an example. Jim typically has six vehicles out on a Saturday. But twelve years ago, that number was doubled to 12 vehicles, with a higher capacity—10-12 people per vehicle. The change took place well before Covid. “Big groups were not personal enough, and it felt like chauffeuring,” Jim said. He decided to downsize to smaller vehicles and got rid of stretch limos first (they are not designed for the wine trails and establish a party mood).

He wanted to move into a relaxed setting suited to winetasting: no proms, no weddings. A six person maximum feels right. The guides like it better. “We draw the kind of crowd we want to serve.”

Timing was perfect for the new model. Every business in the world has their Covid story, of survival, of dissolution (Jim counted 25 transportation business in western NY that closed), sometimes of change and growth. Quality Tours is no exception. When Covid struck, wineries changed their settings to sit-down tastings, much to Jim’s delight. His model changes already matched the new norm. He loves seeing the driver guides return with smiles on their faces.

25 years in business has evolved rules and policies along the way. Such as the one embraced by every tour operator I interviewed for this piece: NO alcohol in the vehicles! “As we changed our mindset and attracted a better set of customers who want to enjoy wine, I learned that many more just need to be educated as to how to appreciate and enjoy the wine experience; they didn’t have a clue.” Jim almost sold the business two years before Covid (fifteen years ago it was overwhelming), before he made the changes.

He likes it much better now. “Everything has settled, works like a fine-tuned clock!”

Now he feels renewed and re-motivated as a business owner.

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Tours are customized when booked, both to customer preference and for regional taste. Some know where they want to go, or wish to return to one or two places they’ve been before and build from those. Others are questioned about what they like. The tour is then passed on to the driver-guide, who decides on the destinations. A tour might, for example, include three wineries, antique stores and Mennenite shops, or museums.

The guide may pop into cheeseries, breweries, and sights like waterfalls, going the extra mile to expand an experience of the Finger Lakes. People even call for sightseeing advice, with no interest in booking a tour. Jim is happy to provide the free concierge Photo courtesy of Quality Wine and Beer Tours service. “We have to be ambassaQuality Wine and Beer Tours guide dors of our beloved region. Why Michelle. not help any visitor expand their options?”

It’s a common theme among business and highly valued by Quality’s owner. owners in the area. It may be why the “Thank God, my employees all came Finger Lakes seldom disappoints visiting back—the best blessing I could have tourists. I am convinced it is a strong hoped for!” Jim exclaimed, referring to ingredient for success among businesses post Covid operations. Dave has been that flourish and grow. And I’m not at all with him since 1995, Seann since 1998, surprised that Quality Wine and Beer and Michelle since 2004. He speaks all Tours, one of the very first tour operators their names with reverence, including in the region, has thrived with the Julie, Fred, Don, and Joe. “They are my approach. asset, the front end representation of my Quality Wine and Beer Tour guide company. They are the magic that keeps drivers are experienced wine experts the customers coming back.” n

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Brewery Ardennes Taproom and Kitchen: “Europe” in the Finger Lakes

By DENICE KARAMARDIAN

B

eamed ceilings, cobblestone walls, and even the bathroom sinks made me feel as if I’d stepped into a French countryside manor. It is the classiest brewery I’ve ever seen. However, I was actually standing inside a sheep barn! The award winning historic landmark was lovingly restored by Derek and Stacey Edinger and opened May 19, 2021.

Situated among pastures of grazing cows and shade trees, about a mile and a half west of Belhurst on Seneca Lake, Ardennes is actually based on a more specific model than European breweries.

“Stacey and I traveled a lot in Europe,” said Derek. “Throughout most countries, like Germany and the UK, you Brewery Ardennes front by Sheep Shack. find a regional beer wherever you go and rather than long stemmed glasses of wine you sample the fare of each locale. In on the trays, you see stemmed goblets full Belgium, however, there is a diverse beer of varieties of beer.” culture, long menus offering dark beers, The craft beer growth in popularity fruity beers, hoppy, sour, etc.” Belgium over the last twenty years has created a also introduced the couple to beer and diverse beer culture in the U.S., and develfood cuisine pairing. “In Brussels, a oped an expectation of beer selection. bustling metro city, like Paris, you see (Many Europeans are surprised at the waiters sporting black ties and long selection of beers offered here.) “But in aprons to the ground, carrying trays of the U.S., food pairings are still associated mussels, fries, and upscale cuisine. And with wine. In Belgium, it’s all about the

Photo courtesy of Brewery Ardennes

track ships, for example, or economic activity in parking lots. Stacey worked for Cornell and Hyatt Hotels. The bridge from corporate work to building their own company infused the couple with confidence to step into their dream of a brewery.

There were concerns. “Like, it’s too late, we missed our moment,” mused Derek. They had watched as the craft beer industry ballooned around them.

They also realized that as more and more craft breweries opened, maybe that was a good sign. “But we knew we had to do something different, in style, something we were passionate about, an elevated experience.”

A Sheep Farm beer, and Derek described the concept that Brewery Ardennes emulates. “The staff will guide you through a pairing.

For example, you’d want a Dubbel (an amber beer typically made by monks) with a heartier dish, like a stew, or red meat. On the flip side, mussels and fish pair well with a Belgian Wheat (or Whit) – light, tart, effervescent, bubbly.”

They met at Cornell: he, in engineering; she, in hotel administration. For sixteen years in San Francisco, Derek worked in aerospace on exciting projects, and loved his career. Stacey worked in the hotel industry, as an executive for Hyatt.

These careers were seeped in travel, and vacation destinations took on a focus of beer, food, and wine. Derek was a hobby home brewer since shortly after college.

“The first batch of beer he made was on our stove,” laughed Stacey. “I kicked him into the garage.” The couple talked a lot about opening a brewery. It was awhile coming.

In 2015, they decided to take on new adventures and moved to Ithaca, where they had met. Derek started a new satellite tech company, producing advanced software to process satellite images that

I asked, how did they find the location? “Zillow,” laughed Derek “We loved older houses and architecture, both rural and urban, but we mostly like the farm feel. This was an interesting property,” he continued. “The French Norman architecture was unique for the area. A sheep farm, built in 1909, by a wealthy woman from Buffalo, with a stone sheep barn.”

They restored everything: masonry, slate roof, windows, rockwork, and original beamed ceilings.

According to Derek, there were good masons in the area, at the turn of the last century. Dutch artisans had built the Erie Canal and local cobblestone houses with a strong masonry legacy. In the late 1800s, Geneva was a major trade hub, and a little vacation spot for the wealthy. The thousand acre sheep farm included a separate farm manor over the bridge and up a hill, and a Greek revival cobblestone mansion. Farm manager residences were once attached to the barn, which was four times larger, before two fires burnt it (the second fire in 1930). “You can still see charring the rafters,” said Derek.

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Post and Beam Homes Locally crafted in our South Bristol New York shop We do custom homes, wineries, breweries, pavilions, event spaces.

5557 Rt. 64, Canandaigua, NY 14424 585-374-6405 www.timberframesinc.com Building the Finger Lakes since 1977

Historic sheep and barn turned tasting room.

Photo courtesy of Brewery Ardennes

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A Funny Thing about Timing

Derek and Stacey bought the eightacre piece that includes the barn in the spring of 2020 - March 13, to be exact. “We closed on it the day New York State went on pause.” They went ahead with restoration, through the fall and spring, transitioning from jobs and previous business to full time focus on Ardennes. “Opening day was the same day the initial mask mandate was lifted. So our karma came around for us,” Derek marveled.

I asked what it had looked like, felt like, to open a business mid or post Covid.

The planning had been done pre-Covid; the construction commenced when the pandemic hit. “So we were able to make changes in reaction to it, changes that were crucial.” The original plan had a scaled down version of the outdoor area, as well as an event space envisioned in the upstairs loft. While that was put on hold, the outdoor space and kitchen were enlarged. (A requirement during Covid, for all breweries and wineries, was to have food). Things were opening up by the time Ardennes was ready for business. And since then, I asked?

“It’s all new: learning to cope with the ebbs and flows of Covid, plus the challenge to deal with seasonal aspects of the Finger Lakes, like making sure we can maintain the level of quality in business while the crowds are here, and still keep locals happy (looking ahead to off-season).

And, of course, how to be creative in winter.” They distributed some beer in Wegmans, and some restaurants, “for the exposure, to bring folks here over the winter,” he explained.

Pairings and Hops

They also launched the famed beer pairing dinners, the main feature that sets Brewery Ardennes apart. This was always the vision. It took a while, for the same reason—the same hurdle—as for everyone else. Staffing. It was a struggle to build up the kitchen staff, so they couldn’t do a huge culinary experience right off the bat. Now they carry it right through the summer. Friday and Saturday night beer pairing dinners are led by classically trained (at CIA) Chef Jayden White, who has been with them since opening.

Stacey said, “I watch Derek and the chef discuss flavors and think about what goes with what. People who cook well have a sense of how to combine flavors, or feel them in parallel. It’s the interesting part of pairing anything.” There are two schools of thought. One certain character can be accentuated and promoted.

On the other side, you can choose a contrast. “For example, we pair some of our mushroom and cheese dish with a multi to play up the earthiness of mushroom; or, we pair it with a sour, which brings out the cheese.”

Ardennes is one of 20% of breweries in the state with a NY Farm Brewer’s license, which requires an escalating percentage of 60% products used, to come from New York. They use Big Red Cranberry Sour hops from Rick Peterson’s farm, with its new strain of barley, developed by Cornell at the Geneva station, that are resistant to rot and better suited for New York. They also use Cobblestone hops from Ontario, NY, and grow a small amount of hops themselves.

Since beer is “agnostic to where it’s at, and never takes on terroir, it’s inherent to the brewer to make the flavors they are looking for.” Each varietal, of over 100, has a different outcome or flavor intent, such as floral, citrus, or bitter qualities.

“Hops is the most temperamental and ridiculous crop to grow,” Stacey said.

“Fussy, and fast growing – like grapes on steroids!” At Ardennes, they make a small batch of “wet” or “fresh” hop. This can only be done once a year, at harvest.

“Instead of drying, we put the freshly harvested hops directly into the beer, literally into the brew kettle less than twelve hours later.” Super delicate when fresh, this will have an opposite result than the bitterness that some don’t like about an IPA.

Destination

“Geneva is coming into its own as a culinary scene,” Derek stated. It’s always been strong in wineries; now breweries, too, and major hospitality projects, within the last 5 or 6 years. He sees it as a great afternoon or day trip from anywhere in the region. “If you come for a week to the Finger Lakes, think of us for one of those days.”

Derek, like most regional business operators, brought up the subject of collaboration. “We are blown away by how much everyone wants one another to be successful in this business. Being new to the industry, we are grateful to have resources and people to talk to. We did a collaboration beer just this week, with Upstate Brewing in Elmira. Actually,

Photo by Denice Karamardian

Hops invading the beer garden at Brewery Ardennes.

Inside the Brewery Ardennes tasting room. creating beers together is a fun, prominent thing in our biz. Outsiders seem to sense it, too, that genuine, authenticity of local unity.”

“We have a good foundation under us now, but Stacey and I are never satisfied.

We have a long list of things we’d still like to do. We’re in a good place, but far from being bored. We don’t have aspirations to build a factory and distribute widely. Our love is here. It’s about this place and this experience. We prefer to bring the customer here, to enjoy a

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Photo courtesy of Brewery Ardennes

balance of good food and beer.”

There was another small point I couldn’t help but notice. I mentioned to the couple that the wait staff, from those I saw, appear to be older, more mature persons. This, too, reminded me of Europe, where you find restaurant staff that appear steeped in pride and tradition, unlike typical teams of youth in U.S. restaurants and bars. “All I can say is, every single staff person here was a customer, first,” Derek answered. And that says a lot. n

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Trail Food

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FINDING FOOD ON THE TRAILS

Cafes and restaurants, charcuterie and food pairings, deli and sandwiches, pizzas, food trucks

T

he offerings available on the wine and beer trails along the lakes is ever fluid. This is by no means a complete list; it is limited to information submitted directly to us, or recommended by the tour operators featured in this issue. Most importantly, almost all tasting rooms have incorporated some form of tasting accompaniments, such as charcuterie or small bites. Others house deli or simple sandwich coolers for picnicking on their grounds. Some have long established cafes for sit down eating that have fluctuated in business hours, but are now open for the season ahead.

Another trend that appears to have taken hold, are the food trucks at wineries and breweries - some full-time, others for regular music events and special festivals. We will highlight several food trucks in photos. We highly suggest calling ahead for reservations at these restaurants.

EAST OF CAYUGA Luna Food Truck at Hopshire Brewery every Fri

and Sat 5:30 to closing, in Freeville

The Kitchen at Summerhill Brewing Thurs/Fri 3-7; Sat 1-7; Sun brunch 11-3 At Summer Hill

CAYUGA LAKE EAST SIDE (from south to north)

Liquid State Brewing Ithaca - Silo Food Truck

with fried chicken and comfort food, Wed- Thurs 4-9, Fri 4-10, Sat noon-10, Sunday 2-8, downtown Ithaca Revelry Brewery, outside patio offering woodfire pizza, opening July, in downtown Ithaca Salt Point Brewery offers snack boards, salads and wood oven pizzas from 4 to 9pm, except when closed on Sunday and Monday, and Tuesday Taco Night, in Lansing Treleaven Winery restaurant called ‘Simply Cookie,’ featuring comfort food with a twist, is open for lunch Tues-Sunday, and dinner on Friday, Sunday house smoked BBQ (11-4). in King Ferry Bright Leaf Vineyards alternates between two

Food Trucks for Wednesday night concert series: Fritnell BBQ and Dugan’s Country Grill, and the winery daily serves artisan pizzas, in King Ferry Aurora Brewing Co. full menu, in Aurora Amelia’s Deli at Long Point Winery. Open daily til 5pm, in Aurora

CAYUGA LAKE WEST SIDE (north to south) State Bakery and BBQ Friday – Sunday 8 – 3 in Seneca Falls

Buttonwood Grove Winery. The Buttonwood

FOOD TRUCK is open Fri, Sat and Sun until one hour before closing, and for live music on Friday evening and Sat afternoons. in Romulus Thirsty Owl Bistro food service five days a week Thurs-Mon 11:30 – 5 in Ovid Knapp Winery and the Vineyard Restaurant daily 10 – 5, in Romulus O’Malley’s restaurant on the waterfront, Interlaken Finger Lakes Cider House Full menu, Friday 1-9, Sat 11-7, Sun-Thurs 11-6 in Interlaken

Trumansburg Main Street Market 8am

-7pm closed Sunday and Monday in Trumansburg Hazelnut Kitchen, for the adventurous diner 5-8:30, closed Sun and Mon in Trumansburg

SENECA LAKE EAST SIDE (south to

Photo by Denice Karamardian

Buttonwood Grove Winery food truck.

north) Elf in the Oak Restaurant, Burdett Wed-Thur 11-5, FriMon 8am to5pm 607-546-4641 Ryan William Vineyard Restaurant open daily 10-5, in Burdett Damiani Wine Cellars Sabores de Oaxaca Food Truck, authentic Mexican food, check dates and hours on website, in Burdett

Gabo and food truck at Damiani Wine Cellars.

Grist Iron Brewing pizza, Fri/Sat 12-9; Sun 12-8; Mon/Tues/Thurs 2-8; closed Wed, In Burdett Scale House Brewery gourmet pizza, meatballs, panini, quesadillas and salads. Closed Monday and Tuesday, open 3-8pm Wed and Thurs, and 12-8pm Friday through Sunday. In Hector Stonecat Regional Cuisine and Bar Fri/Sat 12-8; Sun 10:30-3:30; Wed/Thur 4-8 In Hector Red Newt Cellars, winery and restaurant open daily 11-5, in Hector Bagleys Poplar Ridge Vineyards various food trucks over the season, snacks Wagner Winery and Brewery - Ginny Lee Café full menu open daily 11-4, in Lodi Boundary Breaks – Sunday brunch, wine and food pairing 11-2, June –October, in Lodi Toscana Café at Ventosa Vineyards Thurs-Sun 11-5; Mon & Tues 11am-9pm (Sunset and Vine); Wed 11-8 with live music, in Geneva Three Brothers Winery brunch Sundays 10-5, Geneva Finger Lakes Table intimate dining by reservation closed Tues, Wed, in Geneva

SENECA LAKE WEST SIDE (north to south) Belhurst Winery has two restaurants: Stone Cutter’s Tavern light fare daily from 11am to 9pm; Edgar’s Restaurant fine dining from 5pm to 8:30 Sun, Mon, and Wed - Sat (closed Tuesday). Call to reserve, in Geneva Brewery Ardennes Taproom and Kitchen 11am – 8pm, closed Mon and Tues, cuisine created to pair with beer, in Geneva Fox Run Vineyard Café open daily 11-5, in Penn Yan Tabora Farm and Winery bakery and deli café daily 11-5, in Dundee Veraisons at the Inn at Glenora Winery open Thur-Sun 12-8, in Dundee Toast Winery five days 10-5, sat and sun 10-6 in

Photo courtesy of Damiani Wine Cellars

Rock Stream

Lakewood Vineyards Food Truck Saturdays 12-5pm, occasional Fri&Sun, in Watkins Glen

KEUKA LAKE Azure Hill Winery features Around the Corner Catering on Thursdays, brunch some Sundays, in Hammondsport Steuben Brewing Company hosts Around the Corner Catering under the tent Wed, Fri, and Saturday, in Hammondsport

CANANDAIGUA LAKE New York Kitchen Canandaigua Mon-Thurs 11-9; Fri/Sat 11-10; Sun 11-8,in Canandaigua

Brew and Brats at Arbor Hill daily gourmet food, wine, beer, spirits; Fri & Sat Steak night 5-8; Thurs 12-5; Fri and Sat 11-9; Sun 11-7, live music weekly, in Naples

Photo courtesy of Bright Leaf Vineyards

Fitnell BBQ Truck at Bright Leaf

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ONCE Finger Lakes

Finger Lakes’ Regional Wine Tasting Room

O

NCE Finger Lakes is a regional wine tasting room that tells the stories of some of the most notable producers of the Finger Lakes.

Once (pronounced OHN-say) is the Spanish word for the number eleven, which is the number of lakes that form the glacieretched Finger Lakes region.

Its reputation was firmly established over the last year for delighting guests with innovative wine flights, food and wine pairings, and welcoming hospitality. Staff at ONCE look forward to the new season with new experiences that will further captivate first-time visitors and Finger Lakes aficionados alike.

Founder Antonio Arias believes that Photo courtesy of Once Finger Lakes the heart and soul of ONCE are the ONCE Finger Lakes expansive tasting room. moments created by the unique ways that guests discover wine and food. “Seeing Finger Lakes, since we share the same learn even more about the region, the guests challenge each other to try to quality-first philosophy and the passion wineries and individual wines, such as guess what the wine that was poured to showcase the world-class products that featured back vintages and exclusive blind in a Mystery Flight could be, to our region is producing,” expressed offerings. “The beauty of our technology then see their reaction when the selec- Buyskes. Each month chef Samantha will is that it’s designed to take the customer’s tions are revealed, is priceless. It’s seeing be creating distinctive bites highlighting experience to the next level through them laugh and get excited that reassures two locally grown seasonal ingredients, customized recommendations that allow me that this is what ONCE is all about,’ such as Tarragon & Cherries in June or people to discover new styles and wines, said Arias.

Oregano & Strawberries in July. based on their personal taste,” said Amy Soon after opening in Spring of 2021, Gourmet social events are another Gross, CEO & Founder of Vinesleuth.

Flights & Bites, Once Finger Lakes’ food way that wine and food lovers will have to and wine pairing tastings, quickly explore a variety of ethnic foods paired became their signature tasting. This year, with local wines and live music. On the Flights & Bites will continue inspiring evening of the first Monday of every foodies through imaginative small bites month, chef Buyskes will be cooking clasperfectly paired with some of the region’s sic foods from different corners of the top-notch wines. These core offerings will globe, which will be paired with wines be enhanced by the addition of seasonal from some of ONCE’s partner wineries. farm-to-table pairings designed by “We created the 11th Hour Happy Hour renowned local chef Samantha Buyskes gourmet social events to offer a multifrom Simply Red Events. sensory experience that reassures how “It’s exciting to partner with ONCE food-friendly Finger Lakes wines are,” suggested Tasting Room Manager Natalie Travis. “Combining live music with the opportunity to meet and greet the families behind some of our greatest wines, make these events one of a kind.”

Guests who like technology can access an interactive online wine menu that ONCE Finger Lakes has created in partnership with Vinesleuth, a leading flavor technology company. One can

Photos courtesy of Once Finger Lakes

LEFTs: ONCE Finger Lakes interior light sculpture. RIGHT: Wine and food pairings.

Photo courtesy of Once Finger Lakes

ONCE Finger Lakes deck.

Proudly featuring wines from Dr. Konstantin Frank, Element, Forge, Heart & Hands, Hermann J. Wiemer, Hosmer, Inspire Moore, Kelby James Russell, Living Roots, Silver Thread, Trestle Thirty One, and Weis.

Located at 655 NY-14, Penn Yan 14527, on the northwest side of Seneca Lake, open 7 days a week from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. oncefingerlakes.com. 315-694-7197

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The Wine Press

By NANCY TISCH Editor’s Note: This column features a few noteworthy press releases shared by Finger Lakes wineries, a section titled “In their own words…” containing news updates submitted to us, and finally a section “Heard it through the grapevine” containing updates that we know of through different avenues other than direct submissions.

Sprinkled throughout the column will be mentions of milestone anniversaries which are a credit to the business owners of the region. Certainly, the past 20 years has had its share of challenging economic times and pandemic restrictions that affected winery operations. Celebration of anniversaries recognizes the business acumen of our industry leaders and their ability to forge ahead through all these challenges.

Additionally, we share accolades to the winemakers in the form of wine competition awards and review scores from major wine publications. Awards and scores reflect the great work being done here in the Finger Lakes – both in the vineyards and in the cellars. Year to year vintage variation is the challenge that vineyard managers and winemakers must cope with and clearly, they are doing it well.

A consistent theme we heard from wineries was the need to keep the bottling lines rolling. From the tasting rooms, a repetitive theme is the change in format for wine tastings to be seated and to include food pairing. The high quality of the wines, the increased visitation, and possibly the widespread change to in-depth tasting experiences have led to relatively rapid depletions of inventory for many of the wineries. It follows that we also see several new plantings being reported.

PRESS RELEASES

Hosmer Winery’s Vineyard Celebrates 50 Years of Growing Hosmer Winery is home to Patrician Verona Vineyard—nearly 70 acres of grapes that provide Hosmer Winery with the fruit to remain a fully functioning estate winery.

In 1972, Cameron & Maren Hosmer planted the first vines in the soils which now make up Patrician Verona Vineyard.

Now, 50 years later, the 70 acres of vines flourish and provide quality grapes for

several wine producers in New York State.

Cameron Hosmer (or “Tunker” as most of us call him) touches base on the history of the farm: “In the spring of 1972, The Hosmer family planted their first wine grape vineyard. The FrenchAmerican red hybrid grape, DeChaunac, also known as Seibel #9549, was planted to supply the Taylor Wine Company of Hammondsport, NY. Five acres of DeChaunac grapes were planted and my father David

Hosmer, wisely hired local vineyardist, Jim Knapp, to manage the new planting.

I was fresh out of high school and eager to learn viticulture. Jim Knapp was an excellent teacher not only in viticulture, but farming in general. I was fortunate to then go to Cornell University and study pomology (fruit production) at my parent’s suggestion.

The original DeChaunac vineyard is still a very productive vineyard even after 50 years. We currently farm 70 acres of vineyard with 12 different varieties in production. We are very lucky to have our son Timothy Hosmer directing Vineyard Operations and continuing the success of Patrician Verona Vineyard” By preserving and building the soil the grapes are grown on, and exploring new ways to reduce environmental impacts, the vines can inhabit a site less altered by modern agricultural inputs.

The wines can portray a truer reflection of the Patrician Verona Vineyard site.

To celebrate this milestone, on May 14th Hosmer Winery hosted an event with live music, food, special wine

releases, and more! The event, “Patrician Verona’s Golden Year Celebration: 50 Years of Growing” offered open admission and everyone was welcomed to help them celebrate the momentous accomplishment.

Winemaker Julia Hoyle continues to show her passion for making awardwinning wines. Recent reviews by James Suckling, with at least ten wines scoring 90 or more points, showcase her talent for making quality, balanced, and driven wines. (James Suckling is an internationally acclaimed wine critic, posting ratings and reviews of wines from all over the world. He is regarded as one of the world’s most influential wine critics and has rated many Finger Lakes wines including Hosmer’s.)

And finally, Hosmer celebrates 37 years as an established winery. They are planning another party on August 6!

Congratulations to the entire Hosmer team!

Peter Bell to Retire from Fox Run Vineyards In May of this year, Fox Run Vineyards announced that Peter Bell, its head winemaker, will be retiring effective September 1, 2022. Bell began his career in the Finger Lakes as the winemaker for Dr. Konstantin Frank Cellars in 1990. He joined Fox Run Vineyards five years later as its head winemaker. There, he found a kindred spirit in Fox Run’s co-owner, Scott Osborn. It’s a special relationship that would last over 27 years.

Osborn recounted why he hired Bell back in 1995. “Peter and I used to judge a lot of wine competitions together. We had plenty of time to talk between flights.

That’s how I got to know him. I knew we were cut from the same cloth.”

Continued on next page

Photos courtesy of Hosmer

LEFT: Hosmer Winery owner Tunker Hosmer. RIGHT: Maren Hosmer circa 1972 trimming vines.

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The Wine Press Continued from previous page Bell added, “Scott is the number one Finger Lakes after his retirement.

About Fox Run Vineyards: Long reason for my success. We are very simpatico. We respect each other. He gives me before the hundreds of travelers, winethe freedom to try new things. This is the tasters, and oenophiles graced the tables perfect job for me as I had no intention of and tasting bars of Fox Run, it was cows that explored the property. Fox Run was a owning my own winery.”

At Fox Run, Bell quickly turned the dairy farm for more than a century. It winery into a model of excellence, wasn’t until 1984 that the first grapes producing a breadth of wines that satis- were planted. Fox Run founders, Larry fied a wide variety of wine drinkers. and Adele Wildrick, transformed the Osborn said, “My philosophy is that Civil War era dairy barn into a winemakevery wine, even the least expensive ing facility in 1990. In 1994, Scott Osborn wine, needs the same amount of atten- and his first business partner, Andy Hale, tion. And Peter has maintained that year purchased the winery from the Wildricks. after year. Our customers became loyal Now with 50 acres of east-facing vinecustomers because they always knew yards on glacial soils, the winery produces a remarkable range of limitedwhat they would get.”

Production of Fox Run wines under production, estate wines using sustainBell has risen from 3,000 cases in 1995 to able farming methods. over 20,000 cases today. Considered by many to be the current dean of winemaking in the Finger Lakes, Bell is universally admired for his selfless willingness to help others. He was named by Vineyard and Winery Management magazine as one of the 20 Most Admired Winemakers in America in 2014. Dave Breeden, the renowned head winemaker at Sheldrake Point Winery, remarked, “I’ve been making wine in the Finger Lakes for over 20 years now, and Peter’s always been my first call when I had a winemaking problem. I have learned so much from him. He has done more to raise the quality bar in Finger Lakes wines than any other person.”

Indeed, Bell’s mentorship has spawned a whole generation of Finger Lakes winemakers, with Julia Hoyle at Photos courtesy of Buttonwood Grove Hosmer Winery and Kelby Russell at Red Newt Winery being two of the notable Kelly Burnett winemakers who have passed through his cellar doors. Bell’s eagerness to exper- Kelly Burnett Joins Buttonwood iment, and perpetual curiosity, also made Team Buttonwood Grove Winery recently him a favorite among researchers. Chris Gerling, the Senior Extension Associate welcomed Kelly Burnett to their team as at Cornell AgriTech, said, “Peter is the the newly appointed Marketing, Wine first call we make when we are looking Club, and Operations Manager. Located for research partners to pilot new tech- on Cayuga Lake, Buttonwood Grove is niques, because we know he will say yes, owned by Melissa and Dave Pittard and is do it right, and also share what he learns well known for its award-winning wines, elevated tasting experiences, and summer with others.”

Osborn summed up Bell’s career this concert series. Kelly’s responsibilities way, “This is the end of an era. Peter has will include social media, marketing, influenced this wine region dramatically. promotions, and Wine Club management.

One of the reasons that the Finger Lakes The Pittards also own nearby Six Eighty got to where it is today is because of Peter Cellars, where Kelly will be filling the Bell’s collaborations, his willingness to same position.

Kelly has been a part of the Finger share knowledge and his appetite for teaching young people about winemak- Lakes Wine industry since 2009 working in several roles before landing her career ing.”

Bell’s passion in winemaking has not in marketing in 2016. She is pursuing her diminished, but enduring back issues WSET level 3 certificate through Bayer finally convinced him to retire from the Beverage in Rochester, NY. Kelly is also daily toil of working in a winery. very active in the wine industry, being a Although his regular presence at Fox member of the American Wine Society Run’s cellars will be missed, Bell is not Rochester Chapter and Women for Winegoing anywhere. He intends to continue sense, where she recently took on a in a wine consulting capacity in the marketing role for the Rochester Chapter

Board. In her spare time, Kelly enjoys spending time with her boyfriend and their two daughters going on camping trips throughout Central New York.

Buttonwood Grove Winery was acquired by The Pittards in May of 2014.

Since that time, they have more than tripled the acreage of vineyards and added a full-scale production facility. In 2020, the Pittards were seeking to purchase additional vineyard acreage when a neighboring property became available. In the spring of 2021, they opened Six Eighty Cellars, where they produce an exciting new style of wines rarely seen in the Finger Lakes region.

Focusing on sustainable vineyard practices, their estate wines are primarily crafted in ancient-style vessels made of clay, stone, and terracotta using minimalintervention winemaking techniques.

They look forward to working closely with Kelly to advance these brands.

IN THEIR OWN WORDS …

Update from Airy Acres: While our tasting room in Interlaken, NY is under construction, we continue our wine production.

Wines that are currently available include: Cabernet

Franc, Riesling, a Dry Rosé, and a sparkling Gewürztraminer that we call Glide.

All our wines are available for purchase at our online store (Store – Airy Acres Vineyard); we ship to many states and offer local delivery. Look for our Tasting Room to open in 2023!

Azure Hill Winery began in the basement of Leslie Knipe and Joe Sheehy’s home that was built in 2005. It started as a part-time adventure and became a full-time career in 2017 when they made it their permanent residence.

The Riesling vineyard was planted in 2006. Subsequently two additional vineyards were planted and included Eastern European varieties Zweigelt and Saperavi. Leslie and Joe offered wine tastings, bottle sales, and craft beers made by a local brewery. The tasting room had a speakeasy-type manner and was located alongside the wine production in the basement of their home for nearly ten years.

Wine production includes Estate white wines, as well as wines produced from locally sourced grapes. Many styles of Riesling are available including dry and sweet still wines as well as a Sparkling Brut made with Riesling grapes.

Continued on page 38

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The Wine Press Continued from page 37 Other varietals and styles include Zweigelt, Saperavi, Chambourcin Rosé, Sweet Chambourcin, Synthesis (red blend), and a Sparkling Apple wine. The 2021 releases will soon be available and include some new and exciting reds, whites, and rosés.

In the spring /summer of 2021, a new building was attached to the existing home to expand the winery. The addition includes a new tasting room with a large

outdoor deck area for customers to enjoy the beautiful views of vineyard hillsides and Keuka Lake, NY. Joe and Leslie invite you to stop by for a truly unique wine tasting experience served by the owners, winemakers, and vineyard managers, at Azure Hill winery!

The Spring of 2022 was a time of completions that connected the dots for Bet the Farm Winery. We fulfilled a

The new tasting room at Azure Hill Winery

Photo courtesy of Azure Hill

long-time need with the construction of another barn (The Little Blue Barn) across the parking lot from the Winery/ Tasting Room (The Big Blue Barn). The Little Blue Barn is fully insulated for storage of case wine and an area set aside for riddling sparkling wine. It will also serve as the home for our vineyard needs – tractor, picking lugs, tools, etc. - and it is a welcome addition.

The other big completion for this year was planting more grapes in the remaining 2-acres of the Jacob Thomas Vineyard. We planted an equal number of Dornfelder, a German Red variety and Saperavi, a Finger Lakes favorite of Georgian origin in 10. 5 rows. We should harvest these grapes for wine in three years’ time, matching the time frame from planting to harvest of our other three grapes – Lemberger, Cabernet Franc, and Gamay.

Photo courtesy of Bet the Farm Winery Speaking of Gamay, the 2021 harvest was the first for our Gamay (planted in Bet the Farm’s new planting of Dorn2019) and our first bottling from that felder vines. harvest is our Dry Rosé of Gamay. The wine was released in early April and our enjoy 5 wines of your choice, poured, and guests are loving it! Look for a barreled described one-at-a-time by one of our Gamay and a Méthode Champenoise seasoned Tasting Room Hosts ($20 pp).

Guided flights also come with a cheese Sparkling Rosé this fall.

Winemaker Nancy Tisch has been and meat pairing option (5 suggested partnering with Cheesemaker Valerie wines with small bites $20 pp). As always, Delong of Lively Run Dairy on a series of guests can enjoy a large selection of curated Wine & Cheese pairings. These locally produced cheeses, meats, and Thursday evening “classes” are meant to other snacks available here at Billsboro.

We are also thrilled to be bringing introduce our guests to the natural affinity of wine and cheese aromas, textures, back a full season of Pizza on the Patio. and tastes, especially from the same Come join us as Toss n Fire Pizza cooks locale.

Please check the respective up some gourmet pizzas served alongside websites and Facebook of Bet the Farm Billsboro wines. Enjoy live music while you spend the evening with friends. and Lively Run for date, time, and topic.

At Billsboro, we are excited to Reservations are required. Check our welcome guests back this summer season. website for dates, bands, and availability.

We offer inside tastings in our restored Cheers!

At Boundary Breaks, new wine 19th century barn, or outdoor tastings under our new timber framed pavilion. releases include the 2021 vintage of CharOptions include self-guided flights, (5 donnay Unoaked and 2021 Rose Bubbly. samples of your choice delivered to your The Chardonnay Unoaked is fermented table, $12pp), or our new guided flight: Continued on next page

Pizza on the Patio at Billsboro.

Photo courtesy of Billsboro

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The Wine Press Continued from previous page and aged in stainless steel with extended “lees contact” to create a smooth, crispy, and fruit-forward flavor in the wine. The Rose Bubbly is made entirely from Cabernet Franc with minimal skin contact, pressed and fermented, and finally forcecarbonated to create a refreshing sparkling wine.

Publication ratings for the wines produced at Buttonwood Grove Winery have been rolling in. The 2020 Riemer Block Riesling was recently awarded 92 points from James Suckling; the 2020 Skaneateles Riesling and Cabernet Franc Pét-Nat were awarded 90-point ratings from Wine and Spirits Magazine.

Photo courtesy of Frontenac Vineyard At Damiani Wine Cellars, the 2014 Kinetic Sound Sculpture on the deck at Frontenac Point Vineyard Brut just earned a 93-point score from Wine Enthusiast, our highest rated sparkling to date and perhaps currently one Doolittle in 1979, Jim’s first commercial Lake White, and Clara’s Red. We are lookof the highest rated Sparkling Wines in release was in 1982. Our second genera- ing forward to getting our Crooked Lake NYS. On the horizon: After ten years in tion, Lawrence, is now taking on the Red, 2021 Gewürztraminers, and more tirage, we recently disgorged our 2012 enterprise! wines in bottle and on the shelf soon.

Blanc de Noir. This represents the second Our vinifera vines sustained winter We had a fantastic tasting room staff Blanc de Noir from Damiani Wine damage but renewals are looking good! training in May, and we are looking Cellars. Look for its release soon!

Meanwhile the Maréchal Foch and Seyval forward to welcoming you to the tasting Dr. Konstantin Frank Winery is Blanc look great with little winter room. We have several new staff members celebrating 60 years and 4 generations of damage. Sensitivity of vinifera to this year. You can read about their backleadership for the winery (see article on extreme cold is yet another reason to ground on the “Our Team” section of our page 3). To celebrate, we are planning an integrate hybrid varieties in a sustain- website. This makes for engaging tasting event on September 24th, 2022. Please able vineyard operation. When we room conversations-we love to exchange visit the website for details as they planted the vineyard in 1979, Seyval was stories while enjoying wine tastings. develop: drfrankwines.com. sometimes called the Chardonnay of the Keuka Lake Wine Trail events and Our wine-making team, led by Mark East. The Foch is a real mainstay for our our Spring Solo Series kicked off this Vermuth, continues to shine. Seventeen production, making a full-bodied, dry red year’s events. We’ve got lots more to of our wines were rated with scores of 90 varietal and very useful in blending. come, including vineyard walks and tastor above by James Suckling.

The photo above is taken from our ings, wine club events, and Music and New this year, we are restructuring winery deck overlooking the vineyard Wine in August and September, along all our tastings to be an intimate and and Cayuga Lake. Our 10-foot kinetic with continued special occasions and personalized sit-down tasting. We believe sound sculpture, Stay Sail, was created online promotions. The events section of that we’ve created one of the nicest by Don Dickson, sculptor in Mississauga, our website is the best place to find out cheese and charcuterie plates, and start- Ontario, Canada. about what’s happening, along with Faceing on Memorial Weekend we are launchThere’s lots new at Keuka Spring book and Instagram. ing an artfully designed seasonal pairing Vineyards! We are happy to have many Two of our 2020 Rieslings, plate. wines back in stock for the season, and Humphreys Vineyard Riesling and ClasFrontenac Point Vineyard—Estate our winemaking team has been busy sic Riesling, brought in 91 and 90 point Winery is celebrating 40 years as Farm bottling. We released a Grüner Veltliner ratings in Wine Enthusiast magazine’s Winery #44. Founded by Jim and Carol this year for the first time. Recently April 2022 issue.

Lacey Magruder Winery, located released 2021 vintages include Chardonnay, Vignoles, Classic Riesling, on the west side of Seneca Lake, is celeHumphreys Vineyard Riesling, Crooked brating its twelth year. The winery is

Photo courtesy of Dr. Frank Winery

Dr. Frank Signature Seating Tasting— Keuka Spring Vineyards staff training.

March 31, 2022

Photo courtesy of Keuka Spring Vineyards

family owned and operated with owners/ winemakers, Jim and Ruth Hundertmark, personally pouring and sharing their intimate knowledge of their wines.

Prioritizing quality and personal touch are the hallmarks of Lacey Magruder Winery’s reputation.

The tasting room is housed in a twocentury old barn, and is warmly decorated with a maritime and Irish theme.

Whimsical flourishes include stained glass windows and boats that hang from the two-story ceiling serving as chandeliers. The tasting bar is inspired by a pub in Dublin, Ireland and is accompanied by an inviting fireplace and library.

Dedicated to handcrafted wines which strike a balance between old world restraint and new world fruit expression, the Hundertmarks’ wines are intuitive and harmonious, expressing a time and place that only the Finger Lakes can offer.

Open May to October Friday through Sunday 10– 5. Check out their website for further information.

Photo courtesy of New Vines Winery

New Vines Winery owners, Todd and Dani Eichas.

Located on the west side of Seneca Lake between Red Tail Ridge and Anthony Road wineries, New Vines Winery is in their 11th year, yet remain relatively unknown. The winery is one of the smallest farm wineries in the Finger Lakes, producing approximately 300 cases of Estate Riesling, Grüner Veltliner, Lemberger, Cab Franc and Marquette Rose’ annually. Owners Dani and Todd Eichas are offering vineyard tours and wine tastings by appointment.

Working on a small scale is by no means easy, but it does allow them to perform vineyard tasks to a level of detail not feasible in large operations. For example, they remove leaves at three different times throughout the growing season, and cluster thin to keep vines balanced for optimum fruit ripeness.

They are firm believers that great wine

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The Wine Press Continued from page 39 starts in the vineyard.

New Vines has also started a small, exclusive Wine Club. “We hope to acquire a dedicated following of people who want to enjoy unique wines from a very small producer,” said Todd. Be sure to check out their website at www.newvines.com.

At Silver Thread Vineyard— Seneca Lake’s hidden gem—we offer unique experiences with an incredible view.

Our Premium Wine Tastings are offered flight style: five samples of wine with a thoughtfully paired local cheese and some light guidance from an educated tasting room server who can answer any questions you might have. Reservations can be made online in advance but are not required.

Our Wine Cellar Library Tasting is a VIP experience available by reservation only. This hour-long guided tasting takes place in our casually elegant wine cellar, with wines that have been carefully curated. Not every wine you try will be available for purchase, but we’ll always have some that are!

The Vineyard Tour + Tasting is also a one-hour, reservation-only experience.

A member of our knowledgeable staff will be your host as you learn more about our regenerative farming practices and the history of Silver Thread, all while touring our lovely vineyard. With plenty of opportunities for scenic photos - and the reward of delicious wine at the end this is a great way to learn more about making wine in the Finger Lakes.

Our Outdoor Lounge area – which is perfect for walk-ins—offers mini-flights and wine by the glass. Mini-flights include three two-ounce pours of wines of your choosing (from a limited menu),

meaning you get to spend a bit more time with your three favorite wines!

All experiences are limited to six people so that we can be at our best for your party! We’re open Thursday through Monday from 11am to 5pm. We accept walk-ins when we are able to, but reservations are preferred.

Newly released at Six Eighty Cellars is a 2020 Pinot Meunier. Made from hand-picked estate-grown berries, this Pinot Meunier is elegant, yet rustic, with notes of wild berries, framed by forest floor and spice.

Six Eighty Cellars welcomes Jessica Deyo to the team as their new Tasting Room Manager. Jessica has a background in the restaurant and hospitality industry, and her friendly, upbeat personality makes her an excellent fit for the Six Eighty team.

The 2020 Sandstone Chardonnay was recently awarded 92 points from James Suckling. Now open daily from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm, stop in to try the Pinot Meunier and Sandstone Chardonnay and say hi to Jessica! Walk-ins are welcome or you can visit www.sixeightycellars.com to make a reservation.

At Thirsty Owl, last year, we tilled 4 acres of a new field across the road (Route 89) from us, in preparation for new plantings of additional red wine varieties. We’ll plant 2.5 acres of Cabernet Franc and 1.5 acres of Merlot. Although it will take a few more years, we are excited to start bottling these two new reds when the vines are ready.

This year marks our 20th anniversary at Thirsty Owl. We plan to celebrate all year and especially during the month of September when we first opened our doors. Our winemaker, Shawn Kime, has

Photo courtesy of Sx Eighty Cellars

Six Eighty Cellars Katie, tasting room associate; Oleg, Wine Educator & Assistant Manager; and Jessica Deyo,Tasting Room Manager.

Photo courtesy of Thirsty Owl

Thirsty Owl tilled 4 acres for new plantings of red wine varaties. been with us ever since the beginning; we are very proud of his tenure here.

The last few months have been hectic in the wine cellar. We have emptied the barrels and bottled our 2020 vintage of red wines: Meritage, Cab/Syrah/Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, and Malbec.

We also bottled our second release of our single vineyard, one-acre block Riesling, Appalachian Bottom Dweller.

After having had so many wines out of stock, we’re excited to have most of our wines back on our shelves.

Wine competitions have been slowly resuming, after the pandemic postponements. Here are some of winemaker Shawn Kime’s achievements: In the 2021 Harvest Challenge, 2020 vintages of Pinot Gris and Dry Riesling earned gold medals, while the 2019 Cab Sauvignon Ice Wine won a Double Gold. In the 2022

Great American International competition, the 2020 Pinot Gris and the 2020 Pinot Noir Rosé won gold medals, while the 2021 Snow Owl won a Platinum medal.

Our most decorated wine is our newly released 2019 Riesling: Gold at the 2021 Dan Berger International, Gold at the 2021 Atlantic Seaboard, Best of Show white wine and Double Gold at the 2021 Harvest Challenge. And finally, our 2021 Pinot Noir Rosé also earned 89 Points from Wine Enthusiast.

Behind the scenes at Toast Winery, we have been busy getting our 2021 vintage into bottles. We released a Dry Rosé of Pinot Noir with a beautiful darker pink color that drinks light and has a crisp refreshing finish, perfect for that summer sipper. Our Rieslings are turning out nicely and include a Dry, Semi Dry and Sweeter style variety; we’re particularly excited about the balance showing in the Semi-Dry version.

To add to the Riesling mix, we tucked away some Dry Riesling into neutral French Oak for a few months and will do a small batch fifty-case bottling later in the summer. We already love the velvety textures and palate weight this is showing.

We completed tirage on our first Blanc de Blanc made from 100% Chardonnay and have now put it down to sleep for the next three years – see you again in 2025! Our Reds are all gently resting in French Oak; timing decision for bottling will be made late summer or early fall.

We are also working hard on establishing what will become our signature White and Red blends. Trials and tastings and more tastings, challenging work but someone’s gotta do it, right?

Oh, one more thing from the cellarwe have a fun, secret wine project in the Photo courtesy of Toast Winery works that we think will be a huge hit! We cannot give it away quite yet but follow us Barrel room at Toast Winery.

Continued on page 42

Page 42

FLX Libations

Summer-Fall 2022

The Wine Press Continued from page 41 on Facebook and Instagram and keep an eye out for the release news. We can’t wait to share it with you!

On the structural side of operations, the building is getting painted! Hopefully, By the time you read this, it will be completed, marking another phase of planned transformations we continue to undertake, a little at a time…

Stop in and see us for Happy Hour on our Music Mondays on the Patio. During July and August we will host local musicians from 5pm – 7pm while serving wine by the glass and bottle, along with a rotating selection of local Finger Lakes beer.

While you’re here, grab a snack before dinner with our “build your own” charcuterie board with over 25 options to choose from. We cannot wait to see you this Summer and Fall! Cheers! From Mike and Jayne Gibbs.

At Ventosa Vineyards we continue to produce award winning wines as evidenced by the medals we earned in the 2021 Finger Lakes International Wine & Spirits Competition. Our 2017 Tocai Friulano won a gold medal, and our 2017 Cabernet Franc won a silver medal. We also earned three bronze medals for our 2016 Vintner’s Reserve Cabernet Sauvi-

gnon, our Saggio XII, and our 2019 OakAged Chardonnay. In the 35th Annual New York Wine Classic, judges awarded the 2016 Vintner’s Reserve Cab Sauvignon and the 2017 Cabernet Franc with gold medals. The Saggio Series XI and 2017 Tocai Friulano earned silver medals.

We also picked up three bronze medals (2019 Oak-Aged Chardonnay, 2017 Pinot Noir, and 2017 Lemberger).

HEARD IT THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE…

By the time you are reading this, the Hillick & Hobbs Winery will have held its grand opening on June 18, 2022 in Burdett, NY. The name Hillick & Hobbs is a tribute to Paul Hobbs’ parents Joan Hillick and Edward Hobbs, who met at Cornell University. Paul grew up with his 10 siblings in Niagara County, where his family owned an orchard. At the age of 16, Paul was instructed by his father to replace some of their fruit trees with vines. Soon after, the family began to sell grapes to local wineries. This was a time in which Paul’s interest in wine started to develop. While Paul was attending school at Notre Dame, his father, Edward, encouraged him to study enology. Subse-

quently, at UC Davis, Paul became enamored with the Riesling grape.

Following an international winemaking career, Paul recognized that the Finger Lakes had the right climate, slate soils, and steep slopes for growing Riesling. He and his younger brother began a several year search for the right piece of property. It was located just south of Hector Falls and was remarkably similar in characteristics to the Mosel. In 2013, the purchase was finalized, and the vineyard was started. Now, nearly a decade later, they are releasing their first wines and opening their doors for tasting.

Welcome back to New York, Paul.

Nearby, Ben Riccardi, founder and winemaker of Osmote Wine, and his wife Brittnie, have opened a section of their family farm to the public for wine tasting. The farm is a 31-acre parcel in Burdett, NY, overlooking the water on the

eastern shore of Seneca Lake. Presently the Riccardis are working with a local dairy farmer, growing oats and hay to help build up the soil prior to vineyard establishment. At the farm, Ben and Brittnie manage a small orchard, several gardens, and pasture-raised pigs.

Prior to starting his own winery, Riccardi worked at Willams Selyem in California, Craggy Range in New Zealand, and City Winery in Manhattan. In addition to his hands-on experiences, Ben earned a technical winemaking degree at Cornell University.

Osmote began in 2014, as a tenant winery in another, larger facility. Six years later, in 2020, Ben moved to his own facility in Ovid, NY. The space was converted from a former trucking garage, to a fully functioning winery. We’ll be watching the winemaking there, and for new vineyards in Burdett, planted by the Riccardis. ■

Note to winery owners: To submit news for the online Harvest newsletter 2022, send to: nancy@btfwines.com no later than November 25, 2022 To submit news for Spring 2023 by February 15, 2023

FLX Libations Summer-Fall 2022

FLX BREWERIES, CIDERIES, DISTILLERIES BREWERIES

Bottomless Brewing

Brew & Brats at Arbor Hill

Brewery Ardennes

Canandaigua Lake and vicinity 6461 BB State Route 64, Naples 585-531-4113 brewandbrats.com

Engine 14 Brewery

52 West Avenue, Naples, 14512 585-531-0014 engine14brewery.com

Naked Dove Brewing Company

4048 Route 5 and 20 Canandaigua 585-396-2537 nakeddovebrewing.com

Frequemtem Brewing Co,

254 S. Main Street Canandaigua, 14424 585-577-8007 frequentembrewing.com

Naples Valley Brewing

104 N. Main Street Naples, 14512 585-531-4166 naplesbrewco.com

Peacemaker Brewing Company

20 Pleasant Street Canandaigua 585-396-0683 peacemakerbrewing.com

The Irish Mafia Brewing Company 2971 Whalen rd. Canandaigua, NY 585-257-5172 irishmafiabrewing.com

Twin Elder Brewing

75 Coville St., Victor, NY 585-902-8166 twinelderbrewing.com

Twisted Rail Brewing Company

169 Lakeshore Dr. Canandaigua, 14424 585-396-0683 twistedrailcrewing.com

Young Lion Brewing Company

24 lakeshore Dr. Canandaigua, 14424 585-412-6065 younglionbrewing.com

3543 E. Lake Rd., Geneva 315-325-4380 bottomlessbrewing.com

570 Snell Rd. Geneva, 14456 315-325-4858 breweryardennes.com

Liquid State Brewing Company

South Hill Cidery

Salt Point Brewing Company

East of Skaneateles Lake

620 W. Green St., Ithaca 607-555-5555 liquidstatebeer.com 6 Louise Bement Dr., Lansing 607-533-0124 saltpointbrewing.com

4473 Cherry Valley Turnpike, Lafayette 315-696-6085 beakandskiff.com

G.C. Starkey Beer Company

100 Genesee St., Auburn 315-271-2739 nextchapterbrewpub.com

DISTILLERIES

(at Starkey’s Lookout) 5428 State Route 14, Dundee 607-678-4043 starkeyslookout.com

Glass Factory Bay Brewing

(at White Springs Winery) 4200 State Route 14, Geneva 315-781-9463 whitespringswinery.com

Next Chapter Brewpub

Prison City Pub & Brewery

28 State St., Auburn 315-604-1277 prisoncitybrewing.com

Shepherd’s Brewing Company 132 Genesee St., Auburn 315-406-6498 shepsbrewing.com

4022 Mill Rd., Skaneateles 315-975-1747 skanbrewery.com

Krooked Tusker Distillery

6085 Beckhorn Rd., Hector 607-546-2036 luckyharebrewing.com

CIDERIES

Urbana Hill Distillery

Scale House Brewery

Conesus Lake Vicinity

16 E. Castle St., Geneva 315-789-1200 lakedrumbrewing.com

Lucky Hare Brewing Company

5930 State Route 414, Hector 607-546-2030 scalehousebrews.com

Seneca Lodge Craft Brewing

3600 State Rte 419, Watkins Glen 607-535-2014 senecalodge.com

Twisted Rail Brewing Company

Skaneateles Brewery

Canandaigua Lake Vicinity Star Cider

Finger Lakes Beer Company Keuka Brewing Company

9322 State Route 414, Lodi 866-924-6378 wagnerbrewing.com

10286 Judson Rd., Hammondsport 14840 607-332-3000 steubenbrewingcompany.com

Corning

Carey’s Brew House

58 Bridge St., Corning 607-377-5651 careysbrewhouse.com

Iron Flamingo Brewery

196 Baker St., Corning 607-936-4766 ironflamingobrewery.com

Liquid Shoes Brewing

26 East Market St., Corning 607-463-9726 liquidshoesbrewing.com

Market Street Brewing Company & Restaurant 63 West Market St, Corning 607-936-2337 936-beer.com

Seneca Lake Vicinity

Big aLICe Brewing Finger Lakes

4180 State Route 14, Geneva 315-325-4749 bigalicebrewing.com

War Horse Brewing

Cider Creek Hard Cider

49 Shethar St., Hammondsport 6459 Cunningham Creek Rd., Canisteo CiderCreekHardCider.com

Seneca Lake Vicinity Worthog Cidery at Torrey Ridge Winery 2770 NY 14, Penn Yan 315-536-1210 ckcellars.com

(at 3 Brothers Winery) 623 Lerch Road Geneva 315-585-4432 warhorsebrewing.com

Cayuga Lake Vicinity

Aurora Brewing Company

Black Diamond Farm and Cider

Cayuga Lake Vicinity

1897 State Rt. 90 N., King Ferry 315-916-2104 brewaurora.com

Brewers Café and Taproom

1384 Dryden Rd., #8735, Ithaca 607-291-4010 facebook

Fleur de Lis Brew Works

3630 State Route 414, Seneca Falls 315-665-2337 fleurdelisbrewworks.com

Garrett’s Brewing Company

1 Main St., Trumansburg 607-209-4011 garrettsbrewing.com

Hopshire Farm and Brewery 1771 Dryden Rd., Freeville 607-279-1243 hopshire.com

Ithaca Beer Company & Taproom 122 Ithaca Beer Dr., Ithaca 607-273-0766 ithacabeer.com

8772 Main St., Campbell 607-377-0746 Facebook

(at Idol Ridge Winery) 9059 State Route 414, Lodi 607-582-7773 Idolridge.com

796 Pre-Emption Rd., Geneva 315-325-4834 webebrewing.com

Wagner Valley Brewing Company

10303 County Rte.76, Hammondsport 607-868-3006 krookedtusker.com

Seneca Lake

5901 Big Tree Rd., Lakeville 585-346-7027 OSBCiderWorks.com

Brewery of Broken Dreams

WeBe Brewing Company

Barrington Distillers

OSB Ciderworks

Keuka Lake Vicinity

Steuben Brewing Company

Barrelhouse 6 Distillery

Skaneateles Lake Vicinity

Lake Drum Brewing

14408 Rt. 90, Locke 607-591-6148 summerhillbrewing.com

Two Goats Brewing

8572 Briglin Rd., Hammondsport 607-868-4648 keukabrewingcompany.com

3133 Antler Run Rd., Keuka Park 315-694-7958 AntlerRunDistilling.com

5040 Bill Baily Rd., Dundee 607-243-9734 barrington-distillers.com

4880 State Route 414, Burdett 607-882-2739 gristironbrewing.com

5027 State Route 414, Hector 607-546-2337 twogoatsbrewing.com

8462 State Route 54, Hammondsport 607-569-3311 fingerlakesbeercompany.com

Antler Run Distillery

9558 Middle Rd., Hammondsport 607-868-3310 barrelhouse6.com

Grist Iron Brewing Company

Abandon Brewing Company

8319 Pleasant Valley Rd. Hammondsport 607-224-4050 thebreweryofbrokendreams.com

Keuka Lake Vicinity

Summerhill Brewing

3365 State Rd. 364, Canandaigua 585-412-8785 FB

2994 Merritt Hill Rd., Penn Yan 585-208-9088 abandonbrewing.com

Beak & Skiff/1911 Tasting Room

Owasco Lake Vacinity

495 Exchange St., Geneva 315-325-6995 twistedrailbrewing.com

Keuka Lake and vicinity

550Sandbank Rd. Ithaca 607-272-9862 southillcidery.com

Climbing Bines Craft Ale Co.

511 Hansen Point Rd., Penn Yan 585-484-1397 climbingbineshopfarm.com

Page 43

Bellweather Cider

4070 Route 89, Trumansburg 607-387 9464 cidery.com 4675E. Seneca Rd., Trumansburg 607-279-5712 blackdiamondcider.com

Black Duck Cidery

3046 Cty Rd. 138, Ovid blackduckcidery.com

Eve’s Cidery

308Beckhorn Hollow Rd. Van Etten 607-229-0230 evescidery.com

Finger Lakes Cider House

4017 Hickok Rd., Interlaken 607-351-3313 Fingerlakesciderhouse.com

Grisamore Cider Works

Goose Street, Locke 315-497-1347 GrisamoreFarms.com

Redbyrd Orchard Cider

4491Reynold Rd., Trumansburg 607-793-1428 redbyrdorchardcider.com

Alder Creek Distillery

Bellangelo Wine & Spirits

150 Poplar Pt. Rd., Dundee 607-243-8602 bellangelo.com

Finger Lakes Distilling

State Route 414, Burdett 607-546-5510 FingerLakesDistilling.com

O’Begley Distillers

5700 State Rd. 14, Dundee 585-750-8560 Obegley.com

Rock Stream Distillery

162 Fir Tree Rd. #9700 Rock Stream 607-243-5395 rockstreamvineyards.com

Cayuga Lake Vicinity Hidden Marsh Distillery

(at Montezuma Winery) 2981 Auburn Rd. (Route 20) Seneca Falls 315-568-8190 montezumawinery.com

Mushroom Spirits Distillery

4055 NY-89 Seneca Falls, 13148 315-549-8280 mushroomspiritsdistillery.com

Myer Farm Distillery

7350 Route 89, Ovid 607-532-4800 myerfarmdistillers.com

Six Mile Winery & Distillery

1551 Slaterville Rd., Ithaca 607-272-9463 SixMileCreek.com

Skaneateles Lake Vicinity Last Shot Distillery

4022 Mill Rd., Skaneateles 315-554-8241 Lastshotdistillery.com

Page 44

FLX Libations

Summer-Fall 2022

Finger Lakes Brews, Ciders, & Spirits

See FLX Wineries Map and Directory on pages 22-23

To Syracuse Twisted Rail Brewing

Hidden Marsh Distillery at Montezuma Winery

Beak & Skiff 1911 Tasting Room

Last Shot Distillery

To Rochester To Buffalo

Skaneateles Brewery

Prison City Pub & Brewery Twin Elder Brewing

Frequemtem Brewing Co.

Irish Mafia Brewing

Shepherd’s Brewing

Twisted Rail Brewing

Peacemaker Brewing

OSB Ciderworks

Next Chapter Brew & Pub

Lake Drum Brewing Mushroom Spirits Distillery

WeBe Brewing Co. Twisted Rail Brewing Naked Dove Brewing

Young Lion Brewing Co.

Bottomless Brewing

Big aLICe Brewing FL Brewery Ardennes

Star Cider

Union Springs

War Horse Brewing

Glass Factory Bay Brewing

Fleur de Lis Brew Works

Aurora Brewing Black Duck Cidery

Brews & Brats

Naples Valley Brewing

Climbing Bines Craft Ale

Abandon Brewing Antler Run Distillery

Engine 14 Brewery

Worthog Cidery at Torrey Ridge Winery Bellangelo Spirits O’Begley Distillers

Krooked Tusker Distillery

Barrington Distillers Rock Stream Distillery

Steuben Brewery

G.C. Starkey Beer Company Barrelhouse 6 Distillery

Myer Farm Distillery

Bellweather Cider Black Diamond Farm & Cider Garrett’s Brewing Wagner Brewing Lucky Hare Brewing Scale House Brewery Two Goat Brewing Grist Iron Brewing

Keuka Brewing

To Dryden Taughannock Redbyrd Orchard Cider

Salt Point Brewing Co. Brewer’s Café & Taproom

Liquid State Brewing Hopshire Farm & Brewery

Ithaca Beer Company South Hill Cidery

Brewery of Broken Dreams

To Cortland

Grisamore Cider Works

Alder Creek Distillery FL Cider House

Finger Lakes Distilling

LeSeurre

Summerhill Brewing

Cornell University Six Mile Winery & Distillery

Ithaca College

FL Beer Co.

Cider Creek Hard Cider

Danby

Seneca Lodge Craft Brewing

Cideries

To Route 81

Beweries Urbana Hill Distillery

Distilleries 0 0

5 5

Carey’s Brew House Iron Flamingo Brewery

10 10

Base Map © 2005 Jim Houghton

miles kilometers

Market Street Brewing Co. & Restaurant

See FLX Wineries Map & Directory on pages 22-23

Eve’s Cidery

Liquid Shoes Brewing

To Elmira & Binghamton

Please see previous page for directory to brewery, cidery, and distillery addresses, phone numbers, and web sites.