Finger Lakes, New York

[John M.]

My wife & I just spend several days in the Finger Lakes in New York. Their wine economy has boomed since I went to college in upstate NY in the 80s. There are now over 100 wineries, it is a wonderful place to visit and there is more to do than just the wine tour (hikes along gorges, numerous waterfalls, the lakes themselves, Corning Glass museum, etc.); of course we were there when the leaves have turned so quite colorful.

As to the wines, they do a good job overall. The Reislings, especially their dry Reislings are quite good as a class. Favoring reds, we targeted wineries that were alleged to make good ones. Lots of Lembergers (aka BlauFrankish..sp.), merlots and cabs. The one issue I had is that most should be aged more; they need more rounding & mellowing. The few we had that where 7-11 years old we far and away superior. A few also had Port style wines; I only picked up one of these from Lakewood--notably all who had made their own grape brandy as well. Seemed like a decent basic ruby and I want to try against a Douro one. Our last stop on a long day was a distillery where we tasted a flight of gins and bourbons.

There is a company that will provide a driver to drive your car for the day, so there's no worry about a driving under the influence---plus they make good tour guides. We preferred that to the big tours (we made our own itinerary) and it was reasonable at $35/HR.

[Andy Velebil]

I'm amazed they made their own brandy. One would think in this day it's easier to just buy it.


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[Eric Menchen]

I'm amazed they made their own brandy. One would think in this day it's easier to just buy it.

Among other things, there are lots of legal implications to distillation vs. just making beer and wine.

[Andy Velebil]

I'm amazed they made their own brandy. One would think in this day it's easier to just buy it.

Among other things, there are lots of legal implications to distillation vs. just making beer and wine.

That's why I'm amazed.

[John M.]

Here's the answer from Lakewood Winery:

...{w}e use brandy made from our Baco Noir grapes but we send the wine to Warwick Valley Winery to get it distilled.

[Andy Velebil]

Here's the answer from Lakewood Winery:

...{w}e use brandy made from our Baco Noir grapes but we send the wine to Warwick Valley Winery to get it distilled.

Interesting.

[Bradley Bogdan]

Having worked for a winery there myself for a bit, I miss the area. Such wonderful whites, dessert wines and bubbly, even if I didn’t usually care for the red efforts (Pinot is getting better though!).

NY has some really progressive rules for “farm winery/Brewery/distillery” businesses, where, assuming you’re of small to medium size, you have low tax and few restrictions on what you can do. It’s been a major driver of the craft alcohol producers in the state.

And as for the brandy, it totally would be easier, but if you can sell your Port-like-substance for $35 a bottle instead of $20, it’s probably worth the extra $2-3 a bottle to have a cool twist like that to help it sell/have an entirely farm based product. It’s not like they’re making a ton of it.


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[John M.]

Having worked for a winery there myself for a bit, I miss the area. Such wonderful whites, dessert wines and bubbly, even if I didn’t usually care for the red efforts (Pinot is getting better though!).

NY has some really progressive rules for “farm winery/Brewery/distillery” businesses, where, assuming you’re of small to medium size, you have low tax and few restrictions on what you can do. It’s been a major driver of the craft alcohol producers in the state.

And as for the brandy, it totally would be easier, but if you can sell your Port-like-substance for $35 a bottle instead of $20, it’s probably worth the extra $2-3 a bottle to have a cool twist like that to help it sell/have an entirely farm based product. It’s not like they’re making a ton of it.


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Bradley--that's all spot on IMHO. But the few produces who actually age their reds a little get far superior results within that construct. Agreed the regulations in place really stimulate this industry which truly trickles down for many other businesses (hotels, restaurants, drivers, tours, etc.).