Trip to the Finger Lakes part VII - Hector Wine Company and Ryan William Vineyard

After lunch, we headed over to Hector Wine Company where we tasted five wines and I don't appear to have taken any photos at all!

The Pinot Blanc 2016 had a floral bouquet and was quite exotic. It had a nice weight and was bigger on the palate than I'd expected from the nose. "Ripe fruit, excellent minerality" said G. I think we all liked it. The Dry Riesling 2015 was pleasant enough but I felt we'd had better elsewhere, while the Gewurztraminer 2015 was a nice pale gold colour and had the classic gewurztraminer perfume.

The Cabernet Franc 2015 was paler than some and almost farmyardy on the nose. I wasn't altogether sure about it but D pointed out that it was very young, so maybe it needs time. The Forge Pinot Noir Classique 2015 meanwhile was a shade darker than some of the pinots we'd seen with nice legs. It delivered a massive amount of chewy tannin and was quite hard going at this stage. I felt it needed at least 5 years while G described it as "classically styled".

Our last visit of the day was to Ryan William Vineyard where we tasted six wines. Possibly I was feeling slightly jaded by this stage, as the Gruner Veltliner 2015 didn't do much for me, although it was appley and had good acidity. Perhaps it needed food. The Dry Riesling 2014 was more my thing, made in an Alsatian style and aromatic. G described it as "very successful." The Gewurztraminer 2014 was also Alsatian in style and had that classic lychee thing, but I found myself wondering how much I actually like gewurztraminer. The Chardonnay 2014 was made 50% in French oak barrels and 50% in stainless steel and was elegant, with a creaminess to it and notes of lemon curd.

Moving on to the reds, the Pinot Noir 2012 came in at 12.4% alcohol (very precise!) and had a delicious fruity nose. Black cherry was mentioned. Again there was a lot of tannin but I felt it had potential. Finally, the Cabernet Franc 2012 was appealing and one couldn't accuse it of being stemmy. They referred to cassis, black plum and cocoa which seemed accurate. "A lot of red for 20 bucks," said G.

I wandered off to make another new friend, this half sized cat which was friendly and let me pick it up... Feline fix acquired, it was time to drive home.

Trip to the Finger Lakes part VI - Knapp Winery

Our next stop was Knapp Winery, also on Cayuga Lake. Here we started with a 2016 Dry Riesling which G described as "pure gas tank" - we were getting the hang of American terms by this stage! I got a whole load of lime marmalade, and we thought it was pretty decent, at $16. Then we tried the Finger Lakes Chardonnay 2016 which is made in a concrete egg thing which gives it more minerality. It reminded me of a Chablis and was only $14. It's made from 93% chardonnay and 7% riesling, and we wondered what it would have been like if it had been 100% chardonnay.

The 2015 Pinot Gris ($15) didn't do much for us and then we tried a 2016 Seyval Blanc ($13) which was lightly oaked. This had interesting tropical fruit on the nose, possibly lychee, but G found it a bit odd, and it had a slightly sweet finish.

Moving on to the reds, the 2016 Unoaked Cabernet Franc ($17) was very purple and had a fresh, fruity nose but turned out to be somewhat green and stemmy on the palate, reminding me of those Loire reds that I don't like very much. I preferred the 2015 Pinot Noir ($18) which had sweet, slightly jammy fruit. It had some similarities to the Norman Hardie pinot which I like, but G was not convinced.

The Meritage 2014 ($25) was a blend of 1/3 Cabernet Sauvignon, 1/3 Cabernet Franc and 1/3 Merlot. This was a much darker colour and quite heavy compared to the previous two wines. We thought it was a serious wine and was already drinking, in contrast to the similar blend we'd tried at Ravines the day before.

Finally, we tried a Trestle Creek Hard Cider which was 5.5% alcohol. This was fizzy and semi-sweet and perfectly pleasant. I didn't bother spitting it out.

We moved across to the restaurant for lunch, and sat on the terrace which had a view of the vineyards but also of a creepy bird-scaring device which billowed about in the wind somewhat alarmingly. I didn't take a photograph, not wishing to give anyone nightmares.

The pulled pork sandwich beckoned once again, although we thought it wasn't quite as good as the one the previous day, and memo to selves, we certainly didn't need to order that basket of chips to go with it!

We did however make a new best friend...

And here's my glass of cider, which turned out to be apple juice, also known as Type 2 diabetes in a glass. I won't be making that mistake again in a hurry!

Trip to the Finger Lakes part V - Hosmer Winery

Our next stop was Hosmer Winery, which had a small tasting room and for some reason I seem to have taken hardly any photos. Possibly this was because the young lady who served us was very engaging and we struck up a good conversation.

We started with the Brut Rose 2013 which was made from 100% pinot noir. This was a very pale colour and I found the nose slightly odd but there was nothing wrong with it on the palate, and it had some enjoyable bready and yeasty notes. It costs $35 and I'd certainly have bought a bottle or two if I lived nearby.

Next we tasted some reds. The 2016 Pinot Noir was possibly lacking complexity and suffered from comparison with the one at Thirsty Owl which we'd tasted a few minutes earlier. But the Cabernet Franc 2016 was very successful with more weight. "Good stuff" I appear to have written. At $20 it seemed very good value too.

I think by this stage the girl had worked out that we were quite serious wine-drinkers, and she offered us a bonus tasting of the Cabernet Franc 2009 which was mature and concentrated, and had become more raisiny.

After that we moved on to the whites. First was a Single Wheel Batonnage Riesling 2016, which is from a specific vineyard and they stir it on the lees apparently using a hockey stick! I found this dry and elegant, and G said it reminded him of a New Zealand riesling on the nose.

We found the 2015 Limited Release Chardonnay elegant but had doubts about how long it would last, while the 2016 semi sweet Riesling was very German in style and had that petrol thing going on. We had another bonus tasting of the 2013 vintage of the same wine, which was sweet and luscious. "This is great. No problem drinking that" I wrote enthusiastically.

Finally, we tasted the 2016 Patrician Verona Riesling which gets its name from a specific vineyard again. This was semi-sweet and I detected mango. It was very good indeed, especially at $17. The girl told us that it went well with peach and goats cheese pasta and I can well believe it!

Altogether this was a very charming tasting and we enjoyed ourselves. The semi sweet Rieslings and the Cabernet Franc particularly stood out and prices seemed keen to me. Another place I would visit frequently if I lived nearby.

Trip to Finger Lakes part IV - Thirsty Owl Wine Company

The next day, we drove out to Cayuga Lake and our first stop was the Thirsty Owl Wine Company. This was perhaps a more touristy operation than the places we'd visited the day before. Once again the formula was to taste six wines for a nominal charge.

We started with a Pinot Gris 2016 which G compared to an Alsatian pinot gris. It was fruity, light and elegant with notes of pineapple and melon.

Then we tried the Riesling 2014 which is made from grapes from a vineyard on the west side of Seneca Lake. My notes say "for NYC drinkers" so somebody must have made that observation, probably G. It had a lovely riesling nose with plenty of lime and was dry and classical. Looking at their website, it's the same price as the Pinot Gris, both $14.95 which seems eminently reasonable to me even considering the exchange rate at the moment.

The Gewurztraminer 2016 had a very classic gewurz nose but wasn't congruent on the palate. I enjoyed the Fujac hard cider which was dry and refreshing. I was amused by the term "hard cider" which made me think of tramps on park benches or possibly reminded me of my seventeen year old self, but apparently this is a language difference - cider in the US means apple juice, and hard cider means what we Brits would just call cider. This only came to light when I ordered a glass of cider at lunchtime! Never mind. One tries to learn from one's mistakes...

The Pinot Noir 2016 was a lovely pale colour and we found it surprisingly sophisticated. It's 100% pinot and aged in Hungarian oak. At $17.95 this would be a strong candidate for house red if I lived nearby. "This may be the only place in the world where you can get a good 18 dollar pinot," said G. It was pretty, light and gluggable, designed to be drunk young.

Finally, we tried the Cabernet Sauvignon Ice Wine 2013 which had an interesting nose. The woman doing the tasting mentioned quince. It was very sweet and reminded me of that membrillo paste you serve with manchego. It was fun but cost $39.95 and we didn't feel the need to buy it.

I have to say that when we walked into the winery and saw the displays of fluffy owls and so on, I didn't have high expectations of Thirsty Owl, but first impressions turned out to misleading. They don't appear to have any showstopping heavyweights in their range but the wines they are making are decent and good value to boot.

Trip to Finger Lakes part III - Domaine LeSeurre

Our next stop was Domaine LeSeurre, run by Céline and Sébastien Leseurre. As the name suggests, they are French and in fact there is a French flag waving outside the winery. We'd had one of their chardonnays before as mentioned here and been impressed with it, so I was looking forward to this visit. We chatted with the girl behind the counter who told us that Sébastien is from Champagne and Céline is from Toulouse, and they met in New Zealand.

First up was a dry riesling from 2014, which was a mere 12% alcohol. This is aged in stainless steel tanks and was actually dry, unlike some. It had good minerality and I found it elegant but the next wine, the 2015 riesling barrel select, was even better. This is aged in French barrels for 11 months, which is unusual for riesling, and was bigger and more concentrated.

Then we moved on to a couple of chardonnays. First the barrel select 2015 which is also aged for 11 months, and was very fine, more classic chardonnay. But the chardonnay barrel select "no 2" 2014 won hands down. It's aged for 22 months and only 24 cases were produced. This is the wine D shared with us in September and it still had the same limey quality and was altogether very fine.

Finally, we tried a couple of reds. Apparently the cabernet franc 2014 is from one particular vineyard, and this is the first year it was bottled separately. This was light and pretty, and generally rather lovely. It went down easily. G made another reference to a charcuterie plate. Then we tried the cabernet franc 2013 which was made from grapes from two different vineyards. This was bigger, spicier, and had a great finish.

Sébastien actually dropped by while we were having the tasting which was nice, although we missed our opportunity to ask him about clones, which is something we'd wondered about with the chardonnay. This winery opened relatively recently and I would certainly say they are one to watch, bringing a French approach to the Finger Lakes vineyards and producing serious, elegant wines.

The view from the winery wasn't too shabby either

Trip to Finger Lakes part II - McGregor Vineyard

We got back in the truck and drove back to Hammondsport for lunch. It was incredibly enjoyable being driven around by D in this awesome vehicle and every time I had to haul myself up into the back seat I felt very rugged and adventurous.

We ended up eating at the Village Tavern Restaurant & Inn which proved to be just the job.

The pulled pork sandwich can only be described as epic and was absolutely what we needed. I'm getting withdrawal symptoms just looking at the photo.

Then it was off to McGregor Vineyard for the second tasting of the day. This was a more conventional affair. We sat at one of the tables in the tasting room and had the opportunity to taste five wines from the list for a trivial fee, five or six dollars, I can't remember.

Of the two whites which we tried, I liked the 2016 gewurztraminer reserve, which was very Alsatian in style with ginger, melon and pear. It was spicy and had a great finish, and we thought it would go well with Chinese food. It costs $25 and if I lived locally I'd consider buying it. The other white was a 2014 Muscat, which had nothing wrong with it but didn't really do much for us. 

Then we moved on to three red wines. First, a 2011 pinot noir reserve, which was a pale colour and had good fruit. It was relatively light with brisk acidity. We felt it might not have much of a future ahead of it, and $35 was possibly a bit steep. This was followed by a 2015 cabernet franc, which was perfectly fine, tight and well-balanced, but again I didn't find it particularly exciting.

We saved the best for last. The jewel in the crown at McGregors is the Black Russian Red which is made from a blend of grapes from Georgia - more about that here. We tried the 2013 which is a 36 month barrel reserve. This was powerful, complex and intense with a lot going on. It had black fruit and a great finish and was altogether a very superior bottle of wine. We thought it would be one to come back to in 10 years, and we know it's built to last as we had some older vintages with D. It costs $70 but it's worth it. This is really the one to go for at this particular winery and their pride in it is entirely justified.

Trip to Finger Lakes part I - Ravines Wine Cellars

G and I are back from our visit to the Finger Lakes, and we had an absolutely amazing time. We stayed with D who lives in the middle of nowhere with no internet or mobile phone signal, just lots of woods, peace and quiet. I can see why he likes it there so much.

We arrived on Tuesday evening and the next day, we drove out to the Finger Lakes for what turned out to be the first of three days of intensive wine tasting. Heaven! On our first day, we visited Keuka Lake and our first stop was Ravines Wine Cellars, which is run by Morten and Lisa Hallgren, who are friends of D. We were treated to a tour of the winery by Morten. This was on 20th Sept and they were in the middle of the harvest so it was very kind of him to make the time.

The winery was very impressive with its state of the art equipment and enormous stainless steel tanks, and we discovered that Morten had been to the wine school in Montpellier and spent a year at Cos d'Estournel. He's all about making wines for the long term.

Then we were treated to a tasting of eight wines and I can honestly say they were all excellent. The Finger Lakes are perhaps known best for their rieslings and we tried three of these.

The 2015 dry riesling had a lovely floral, limey nose and was zingy with good acidity, elegant and serious, with a great finish. I thought it would go very well with oily fish and at just 12.5% nothing to frighten the horses. The 2015 from the White Springs vineyard was richer, with peach and citrus and was very special, with a finish which lasted for minutes.

Then we got to try a 2007 riesling, which was very Germanic on the nose. Apparently 2007 was a warm vintage and this was close to its peak at 10 yars. It had a wonderful line of acidity down the middle, a great backbone, and showed that these wines are built to last.

Next up was a barrel-fermented chardonnay 2015 and Morten explained to us that he has a special technique with this, and 15% of the grapes went through a dehydration process. For me this had nuttiness and notes of toasted bread, almost brioche.

Then we moved on to cabernet franc. Morten told us they are trying to make the Finger Lakes synonymous with cabernet franc and put the area on the map. Apparently it's overtaken pinot noir as the leading red in the area, possibly because it's more forgiving. More on that later... The 2015 was certainly a great example of the genre, dark purple with lovely juicy fruit. G said it was crying out for goat's cheese, while Morten mentioned a charcuterie plate. It was lively and croquant now but could easily be put away for 5 years. I see Morten actually said it could be put away for 10 years!

After that, we had a cabernet blend from 2005. We subsequently found out that many wineries in the area make a blend like this and it's usually called "Meritage", some weird invented name which I'd never come across before. The example at Ravines was made from 50% cabernet franc, 30% cabernet sauvignon and 20% merlot. My notes read that it smelled divine and G said it was "wholly successful" as a claret substitute. It had a cedary thing going on, lovely fruit and elegance. Morten said that they couldn't pursue the newer, more luscious style in the Finger Lakes and he's not interested in competing with Chile or Australia. Not arguing with that. This wine still seemed very young, and I reckon you could keep it another 10 or maybe 20 years.

Next we had another chardonnay, from 2014, which was unoaked. This was from the Argetsinger vineyard. It had a gentle florality on the nose and I detected apricots and stone fruit on the palate. Again it had an amazing finish. It struck me as being a gastronomic wine and we brought a bottle back which we had at lunch on Sunday, when its elegance really struck me again and it reminded us of an Auxey-Duresses. It went brilliantly with smoked salmon and was generally very classy indeed.

Finally, we tried this 2013 late harvest vignoles. This is a botrytised wine and they only make it when the conditions are right. It had a lovely nose of apricot jam and an amazing gooey, velvety texture. It had great acidity to balance the sweetness and again the finish was extraordinary. "Good god" said G. Morten told us that their chef was enjoying himself making things to go with it. I wanted some blue cheese right there and then. If I tell you that we bought two halves to bring back with us, that gives some indication of how fabulous this wine was.

This was a really impressive tasting and enormous thanks to Morten for taking time off to show us the range. I just wish we could get them in the UK...