overnight adventure. And although I’m a bit partial to beer drinking (as if you didn’t know), I thought a chance to learn about wine on the wine tour could be educational. So after dropping off poor Carlos at the vet, we got on the road.- Swedish Hill (http://www.swedishhill.com/): We each paid $2 to sample up to 8 different wines. The Rieslings were great (as at most of the wineries in the Finger Lakes), and I really enjoyed the Glogg, a spiced wine that can be served either hot or cold, and would be perfect for Christmas. The other wine of note was their Jack Ass red, a great table wine or one that would be perfect for Sangria. The wine is named after their donkey Doobie, who is available for pictures in the back.
- Wagner Valley (http://www.wagnervineyards.com/): We stopped at the Ginny Lee restaurant and sat out on the deck. What a view of Seneca Lake (a bit of foreshadowing of the trip)! I got a tuna wrap and a sampler. The Sled Dog Dopplebock was excellent, and complemented the food nicely. Jenn got a chicken and blue cheese wrap. The cheese in the area was worth seeking out on its own (there is even a NY cheese trail that you can take). For wines, we liked the Sunset Red, a little on the sweet side and a real cool label. This was probably Jenn’s favorite stop, and we can’t wait to go back.
- Penguin Bay (http://www.penguinbaywinery.com/): A sister winery to Swedish Hill. Their Riesling was very good, as was their Rose of Chambourcin (a dry Rose that had won several awards). I really enjoyed their Gewurztraminer, a white wine that apparently goes great with turkey (Thanksgiving, anyone?).- Roosterfish Brewing (http://www.roosterfishbrewing.com/): I’ve always had wanted to stop, and I’m glad that we did. Based out of the Crooked Rooster Pub in Watkins Glen (home to American Road Racing).
I got a sampler (what else), and really enjoyed their Belgian Golden and their Imperial Coffee Stout. The coffee in the stout gave the drink a perfect espresso flavor that masked the alcohol completely, even though it was ~8% ABV. A dangerous combination if you weren’t careful.- Keuka Springs (http://www.keukaspringwinery.com/): My buddy Ted recommended this winery, and I’m glad he did. Keuka Springs had a great view of Keuka lake, with the tasting room facing outwards to the valley. Jenn really liked their Pinot Gris and we got a bottle for ourselves. I found a unique cheese, Bergenost, a triple cream Norwegian style cheese made by Yancey Farms. I can’t wait to try it.
- Keuka Brewing (http://www.keukabrewingcompany.com/):
A microbrewery on the Western side of Keuka lake, it seemed like the car would need to climb and climb to get there. Keuka brewing had a tasting room, and the head brewer was there to talk about his offerings. They allowed the customers to pay for tastings, just like at the wineries. I liked their Hammond’s Porter, dark and roasty, with a hint of chocolate. They didn’t have any bottled versions of their beer, although they did offer growlers, so we sampled our brews and headed off to dinner.
- Esperanza Rose (http://www.esperanzaboat.com/): We took part in the dinner cruise on the lake since Jenn has been dying to get back to the water. The views wee spectacular, even if the food was just average. I tried the Dr. Frank’s Merlot to go with my prime rib, and that seemed to end the day just nicely. We stopped by Seneca Farms ice cream shop on the way back to the hotel. My fresh peach sundae was a great way to end the day, even if they went a bit overboard with the peanuts.Day 2 had us starting our tastings at 9AM (very similar to our recent firkin Friday experience), and for sampling we hit three gorgeous wineries in the Hammondsport area. Dr. Frank’s, Heron Hill, and
Bully Hill wineries are only about 1 mile from each other, and they all provided excellent views of the lake to go along with their samples. To start us off, Bill provided us with a very in-depth history of the region at Dr. Frank’s (http://www.drfrankwines.com/), teaching us to sample each wine twice to allow us to cleanse our palates. Heron Hill (http://www.heronhill.com/heronhill/index.jsp) boasted one of the 10 best tasting rooms in the world (a wine magazine had said so), and we weren’t the ones to argue. And Bully Hill (http://www.bullyhill.com/) was the winery that first caught our attention with cool labels 
(I actually found a print of their Nubble Light label that they had done), and we were excited to be there.For lunch we headed over to the Village Tavern Inn (http://www.villagetaverninn.com/) where I was able to take a break from the wine. I was able to try a Dogfish Head Indian Brown Ale to go along with my fish tacos. Jenn stayed with the ice tea, even though their homemade Sangria looked awfully tempting. Afterwards we headed over to McGregor’s Winery (http://www.mcgregorwinery.com/) who offered a wine tasting that was unique for us. Instead of standing at a counter, we got to sit at a table and have a
Rob Roy look alike come over and share his knowledge with us. They even offered us a little sample platter of food to go along with it, and allowed us to keep the glasses. I liked the Black Russian and Rob Roy red wines, but choked on the prices (over $40 a bottle).Our last stop was the Three Brothers winery (http://www.3brotherswinery.com/) , which also housed the War Horse brewpub, over on the Seneca Lake. We were both tired of wine by this point, but we both found alternatives. I tied a Riesling Ale which I’d have to say was unique. Jenn got a raspberry Riesling slushy, and she claims she has a new favorite concoction for the beach. We saw the limos of wine drinkers (obviously not the experts that Jenn and I are judging from their behavior) and decided it would be safer to
go home. We stop by our friends in Syracuse (as well as getting some pineapple rum wings at the local Quaker Steak and Lube), and after three very large glasses of ice tea, we made our way back home.We were thankful for this opportunity to explore together and have fun as a couple. We missed our kids and were very glad to see them the next day. We’ll need to go back, and maybe convince some of our friends to go with us. – 5587/9963
"In wine there is wisdom, in beer there is freedom, and in water there is bacterium." – Benjamin Franklin
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"What I like about beer is you basically drink it and order more. You don’t sniff at it, or hold it up to the light and slosh it around, or drone on and on about it, the way people do with wine." – Dave Barry
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