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.