ADVENTURES IN THE FINGER LAKES--PART 4 (KEUKA LAKE)
- Kim Schmidtner
- Nov 10, 2014
- 7 min read
The weather on the last day in the Finger Lakes was warmer, but a little rainy. Our first stop before heading in the direction of home was ten minutes north at Casa Larga Vineyards and Winery, which was recommened by a friend. The tasting room was busy for first thing on a Monday morning, and they were a little short handed. Overall, the wines were average, but the dry rosé made from De Chaunac grapes was especially good--light and crisp and definitely not sweet.
To make the absolute most of our trip, we decided to take a short detour and visit Keuka Lake, uniquely Y-shaped like a divining rod. In this case, we were led to the best wine in the FingerLakes Region. The landscape is much more dramatic around this lake, and it is more residential and wooded than either Cayuga or Seneca Lakes. There's also a community of Amish that live near Penn Yan, at the northern point of the longer right branch of the lake. We found this lake most appealing of the others we visited.
Our first stop along the eastern shore was Ravines Wine Cellars, recently named one of the Top 100 Wineries of the year by Wine & Spirits Magazine. This winery was recommended to us by the tasting associate at Long Point Winery on Cayuga Lake a few days before. I had seen their larger facility near Geneva the day before, but considering we had already had seven tastings, I decided to visit their smaller, french bistro-styled, and original, tasting room on Keuka Lake. I chose to upgrade the standard tasting to one paired with local cheeses. Our tasting associate Abel Gonzalez, was absolutely fantastic. Abel's training as a chef enhanced his knowledge of and passion for the wines, and his pairing suggestions were quite educational. He really brought the tasting experience full circle and quickly made Ravines my favorite vineyard of the trip.
The background of the owner and winemaker at Ravines is critical to understanding his wines. Morten Hallgren was born in Denmark, but moved to the Côtes de Provence in southern France as a teenager where his family owned and operated Domaine de Castel Roubine, a 270 acre estate with 170 acres of vineyards. This experience not only shaped Morten's skills as a winemaker, but also taught him the connection between food and wine. This "foodie" influence continues through his wife Lisa, who is a chef. In 2000 the Hallgrens purchased a 17-acre parcel of land on Keuka Lake and began producing their elegant, food friendly wines. Morten's response during an interview sums up his philosphy best: "...cool climate, dry wines, such as ours, are ideally suited for food pairings. Many American consumers have developed warm climate palates, and they miss out on the subtleties of balanced, elegant wines that often require food to show their best side. Tasted side-by-side, cool climate wines are often overwhelmed by overripe, more alcoholic, more jammy and less crisp warm climate wines."
I was thoroughly impressed with their selection of dry wines. The Dry Riesling was excellent. Unlike most Rieslings, which are German influenced, Ravines produces Riesling in the French-style, unique to the Finger Lakes area. The result is a delicate, well-balanced wine. It paired very well with the dilly cheddar cheese.
After hearing that I was not a fan of perfumy Gewürztraminer, Abel insisted I try theirs and poured an extra tasting. It was fantastic, much less rosey than other presentations. I learned the reason is the grapes are grown in a vineyard rich in limestone, which produces less lush fruit with higher mineral content. Like the Riesling, it is a very well-balanced wine with spicy notes and a good acidic backbone. I could definitely rethink my usual aversion to Gewürztraminer with this wine.
The next wine I sampled was the dry Pinot Rosé, a Provençal-style Rosé using exclusively Pinot Noir grapes. While this wine has a floral aroma, the flavor is intensely earthy, but with a crisp, refreshing finish. Meant to be enjoyed on a summer picnic with spicy foods, on its own it confuses the palate a bit, but when it was paired with the Tomato Basil Cheese Curd, it was excellent. Our tasting associate Abel suggested this was a perfect wine to pair with Thanksgiving Dinner.
The cheese pairing experience included a wine of my choice, and I selected the French-style
Pinot Noir. Abel bragged that he thought theirs was one of the best in the area. He was right. The winemaker's skill is definitely on display with this wine. The color was beautiful, the nose compelling, and it didn't disappoint on the palate. The wine, though delicate in body, was quite rich and complex with a beautiful finish. It was definitely the best Pinot Noir I had tried on the trip.
Ravines' Cabernet Franc was also excellent. Seeing how much I was enjoying the wines, Abel also allowed me to try this wine as an extra tasting. The wine reminded me so much of my friend Horst Pelzmann's wines from Austria. If I were blindfolded, I probably couldn't tell the difference. I also tried Ravine's red blends Keuka Village Red, paired with the very yummy Yancy's Fancy Steakhouse Onion Cheese, and their Meritage. Both were very good.
I was so impressed with their wines that I joined their winemaker's club, "Ravinous." The free membership brings wines to my door four times a year, invitations to their exclusive seasonal activities, and a 20% discount, which I quickly used to purchase an entire case (elsewhere on the trip, I had only purchased an average of 1-2 bottles at each vineyard). Though a four-hour drive from home, the events looked exciting, especially the Summer Picnic, an event similar to the Outstanding in the Field Dinner we experienced in September. Besides, it would give us an excuse to return to the region and experience other wineries.
A short drive further south brought us the the very charming town of Hammondsport. We enjoyed lunch at Luna Mezza Grille, a wonderful bistro serving simple Mediterranean influenced fare on the main square of town. We started with the grilled Haloumi cheese and I devoured the spicy lamb meatball sliders. As it turns out, Hammondsport is the birthplace of Glenn Curtiss, an American aviation pioneer, and the Curtiss Museum is right outside of town. We'll definitely be visiting that point of interest when we return for a future Ravines Wine Cellars' event.
After lunch, we visited the final winery of our trip, Dr. Konstantin Frank Vinifera Wine Cellars on the west side of Keuka Lake. Though a few minutes in the opposite direction of home, we visited this vineyard on the recommendation of several sources. Dr. Frank, a Ukranian immigrant, was a pioneer in the region with his successful introdution of European-style wine grapes into the cool climate of the Finger Lakes Region in the 1960's. After trying several wines, and having just come from what we thought was the best winery of the trip, we were
somewhat disappointed. I found the wines, especially the reds, overly dry, harsh and somewhat astringent. As you've probably gathered from this series, I am a lover of dry red wine, but I think Dr. Frank's took things to an extreme. I was, however, intrigued by the Rkatsiteli, a white wine variety with which I was unfamiliar. I learned it is one of the oldest vinifera grapes, very popular in Eastern Europe and Russia, and its origins can be traced back to 3,000 BC. It has a subtle herbal bouquet, somewhat similar to Gewürztraminer, but on the palate it is pleasantly tart and crisp.
After our final tasting, it was time to turn back south for the 4-hour drive back to the Lehigh Valley. Though is was a bit rainy and gloomy, the foliage was still spectacular and it offered the wonderful opportunity to reflect on the whirlwind wine tour we had just enjoyed.
Overall, we were quite impressed with the wines in the Finger Lakes. I had visited the area about 15 years ago and much has changed. Like the wine industry in Pennsylvania, the introduction of better hybrids, improved fungicides, and advances in growing techniques have matured and catapulted the New York wine industry onto the international stage. In fact, NY State was just recently named Wine Enthusiast's 2014 Wine Region of the year.
The vast variety of wines was also quite surprising. The choices went far beyond the sweeter native varieties such as Niagara and Concord to include Riesling, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and even Syrah. The tempering effect of the Finger Lakes enables these less cold-hardy vinferas to thrive. I even fell in love again with many of my least favorite varieties like Gewürztraminer, Merlot and Sangiovese, and even found some dry rosé wines that I enjoyed.
The average tasting fee in the Finger Lakes Wine Region is about $3, somewhat less than what I'm used to in the Lehigh Valley, and the tastings usually include about six wines. However, if you have a sharp and observant wine tasting associate, they will usually include a few extra samples if you are enjoying the wines. Tastings can sometimes be upgraded to include chocolate or cheese pairings, and reserve wines can usually be sampled for an extra few dollars. Unlike here in the Lehigh Valley, the tasting fees were not applicable toward the purchase of wine, with the exception of Lamoreaux Landing.
During our 4-day excusion, I sampled over 120 different wines. Though there wasn't a wine that I tried that was terrible, there were several that were memorable. And, there were some wineries that were overall standouts as well. My favorites seemed to correspond with the size of the vineyard, the level of hands-on involvement of the owner, and their commitment to a hand-crafted wine. For the most part, I found the smaller, winemaker-owned vineyards with meticulously manicured vines, where the grapes were carefully harvested by hand, not machine, produced the best wines. This shouldn't be surprising since I usually gravitate toward chef-owned, farm-to-table restaurants. When the owner is hands-on, you can taste their passion in the finished product.
My top ten wine picks of the trip were, in no particular order:
2008 Cabernet Sauvignon, Long Point Winery, $27.99
2011 76-West, Lamoreaux Landing Wine Cellars, $24.99
2011 Pinot Noir, Ravines Wine Cellars, $24.95
2012 Cabernet Franc, Ravines Wine Cellars, $19.95
2008 Syrah, Kings Garden Vineyards, $25.00
2011 Merlot, Shalestone Vineyards, $18.00
Vino Rosso (non-vintage), Ventosa Vineyards, $15.95
2013 Round Rock Vineyard Riesling, Lamoreaux Landing Wine Cellars, $19.99
2013 Dry Riesling, Ravines Wine Cellars, $17.95
2013 Chardonnay, Damiani Wine Cellars, $17.99
And, if you're planning a trip to the Finger Lakes Region, be sure to include these stops on your wine tour for some great selections of white and red wines:
Ravines Wine Cellars (Seneca/Keuka Lakes)
Lamoreaux Landing Wine Cellars (Seneca Lake)
Kings Garden Vineyards (Seneca Lake)
Long Point Winery (Cayuga Lake)
Damiani Wine Cellars (Seneca Lake)
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