Wine

Herman Wiemer winery on Seneca Lake won the best wine in New York State at this years tasting held in California. Over 300 New York wines were entered and Wiemer won with his 2002 reserve Reisling. We just tasted some with our roast chicken on Sunday and it was delicious. There's only 1000 cases available, so if you want some you should get it soon - it wont be around very long.

Seneca lake is my favorite of the Finger lakes , Great fishing beautiful country. When the water is too rough to fish i do the winery's. There are also a Meadery / Earle estates makes several types of mead. Also wagner winery has a brewery , lots of great beer. I must also add that when in Watkin's Glen a must eat at is Mr. Chicken / homemade pies and roasted chicken.

Is Walter Taylor still turning out wines at Bully Hill with those outrageous labels??? I used to visit the Finger Lakes region years ago when I lived in Pittsburgh. I know that Constantin Frank has passed on but is that winery still producing??

Dr. Frank's VWC is still making wine see http://www.drfrankwines.com. Not too long ago I had one of their 1999 Rieslings. I swear, it was one of the best Rieslings I've had from outside of Germany - it tasted as good as many I've had from the Mosel. I had bought with it Wiemer Riesling as well, I think 1999 also; while good, I don't recall it being as fine as the Dr. Frank. I have a couple of other Finger Lakes Rieslings in my small collection and really wish they were easier to find out here. In New England I can only recall seeing them at the Wine and Cheese Cask in Somerville, and then only one (I think it was a Wiemer.) Without going to NYC or upstate NY, which I don't do often, they are hard to get. Which is a pity, as I've found the Finger Lakes Rieslings to be far more interesting than the ones from the Pacific Northwest, which are everywhere. Even the much-hyped Eroica from Dr. Loosen and Chateau St. Michelle has struck me as more simple, with the sweet floral aroma I find typical of the NW Rieslings, than what I've tasted from NY.

Dr. Frank's is now under the direction of his grandson, Fred, who is doing a great job. We have bought home a case of Dr. Frank's riesling every time we go up to the Finger Lakes. We think his Salmon Run lable is the very best buy in Finger Lakes Riesling there is. He always makes a superior Gevurtz.

A couple of years ago a small winery, Red Newt, won best NY State Riesling, and every year it is someone different - the competition is fierce and making every producer up there make better and better stuff. Although, some, like Bully Hill are still making junk and getting rich doing it. We loved Walter Taylor for his ongoing fight against Coca Cola and his good humor as displayed on his labels. BTW, if you like the labels, but not the wine, they sell packages of labels in their gift shop. and postcards with labels on one side that i like to send to friends.

We have found some fine dining in the Finger Lakes, but have found little in the way of Roadfood except in Ithaca. We'll give Mr. Chicken a try next month. Does anyone have any other suggestions along that line-
We'd like to find some "Cornell chicken" if any is available around the Lakes.

Hode: It has always puzzled me as to why it is impossible to get a lake trout dinner anyplace up there. The lakes are famous as a lake trout fishery , so why can't I buy a trout dinner?

Dr. Frank's is now under the direction of his grandson, Fred, who is doing a great job. We have bought home a case of Dr. Frank's riesling every time we go up to the Finger Lakes. We think his Salmon Run lable is the very best buy in Finger Lakes Riesling there is. He always makes a superior Gevurtz.

A couple of years ago a small winery, Red Newt, won best NY State Riesling, and every year it is someone different - the competition is fierce and making every producer up there make better and better stuff. Although, some, like Bully Hill are still making junk and getting rich doing it. We loved Walter Taylor for his ongoing fight against Coca Cola and his good humor as displayed on his labels. BTW, if you like the labels, but not the wine, they sell packages of labels in their gift shop. and postcards with labels on one side that i like to send to friends.

We have found some fine dining in the Finger Lakes, but have found little in the way of Roadfood except in Ithaca. We'll give Mr. Chicken a try next month. Does anyone have any other suggestions along that line-
We'd like to find some "Cornell chicken" if any is available around the Lakes.

Hode: It has always puzzled me as to why it is impossible to get a lake trout dinner anyplace up there. The lakes are famous as a lake trout fishery , so why can't I buy a trout dinner?

Back in the early 70's I had no problem with Walter Taylor's wines, they were actually better than Blue Nun and Mateus (yeucchhh). We all knew that Dr. Frank was a far superiour winemaker in the region, those of us wine lovers at the time would go to Constantin Frank's vineyard in search of good wine. This was before Napa was a place on the map. Then all hell broke loose, geeze, good wine just ooooozzzzzzing out of California.
Give up on trying to get a lake trout dinner in the Finger Lakes region, I did. Settle for a nice walleye, pan fried and served up properly and hunker in. Bon Appetit.

lleechef: Ah Mateus! As youngsters we loved that wine - it was regular picnic (like on the lawn at Tanglewood) and party fare and led us on to better things. The World needs producers like Mateus as starters for all of us, and I wouldn't hesitate to take a bottle on a picnic even today.

I remember when Walter Taylor was the most outspoken producer in the Finger Lakes demanding better quality wines - this was early in his fight with Coca Cola, but somewhere along the line he abandoned any pretense of quality in favor of "fun wines" - which they continue to produce in great quantity.

As to California, they have been surpassed in Riesling by Frank and Wiemer for years now. The Oregon producers are doing a pretty good job with Riesling, but I think they are better with other whites like Pinot Grigio. Everyone in the Finger Lakes is trying to produce a good Pinot Noir- with not too great results even though they are getting pretty good prices for the stuff - like- $18 a bottle. I bought a case of Pinot Noir from Atwater on Senaca three years ago. It was not very drinkable but I thought it would improve with age. We had a bottle with our lamb chops a few days ago - it was not great stuff. We corked up the remains and the next day we had it with a hamburger and it was pretty damn good. Guess I'll have to let my five remaining bottles age for another five years before giving it another try - or do the Italian trick of decanting the wine, adding as much air as possible, and instantly ageing an inferior wine by three years.