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Date Created: 08/04/2008
Just got back from a few days' vacation, including a much needed kid-free
excursion to do some wine drinking in the Finger Lakes. Stayed at a really nice
B&B up in Penn Yan, NY, nice little place with private cabins; the intimacy
of a B&B with some privacy for when we wanted to get, uh... intimate.
Got a chance to do some samping at four wineries, and got to take a tour at
Glenora. The guide was shocked that I knew what a "wife thief" was; in her
years of giving tours, she claimed I was the first person who knew what the name
of it was. This was actually a lot of fun, we got to do a tour of the
facilities, got to see all the equipment, got to take a barrel tasting and do
some food + wine pairings.
Couple things that were surprising to me. Our guide seemed enthralled that we
were actually interested in the process and really were paying close attention
to what we were sampling, trying to identify flavors, trying to really
understand what we were drinking. She told us that most of the time, she
questioned why people even took the tour, since they had no interest in the
process, and that she always seemed to be serving a bunch of drunks. It was
really... surprising to get that sense that most of the people who take the time
to visit wineries don't really pay any attention to what they're drinking. A
bit sad...
I'm also surprised at how it seems that even really nice wineries make a lot of
****ty wine. Everyone seems to make about ten or fifteen different wines, using
probably seven or eight grape varieties. We'd have some really nice, dry,
sophisiticated reds, then working our way up the sweetness spectrum would be
subjected to the most vile, sweet, artificial tasting crap. Kool-Aid. We
toured Bully Hill last year, which is crappy, fake-tasting, way backsweetened
crap, but at least they're consistent; that's what Bully Hill makes. What's
wrong with a winery specializing? What's wrong with making a few great dry
wines, maybe a Cab and a Shiraz, and maybe a nice white, and forgoing the crap?
What's wrong with figuring out what you're good at, and focusing on that? We
had some phenomenal wine this weekend, but also a lot of crap and a lot of
medicore stuff.
I'm surprised at how noticable a very small percentage change in residual sugar
(like, from 1.0% to 1.5%) is.
We had a phenomenal dinner at a small local place, all fresh and seasonal
ingredients. I was especially impressed with how they approached our request
for some help picking a bottle of wine; not only did the hostess clearly know
her ****, she gave us a bottle of something that was pretty much spot-on what
we asked for and was also only $20 a bottle. We ask for a fairly dry, spicy
table wine that would be complementary to our dinners (fortutiously, we've
learned we both really like the same types of wines). The hostess gives us a
bottle that's not only exactly what we were looking for, but also one of their
lesser-priced offerings. I wish I had thought to jot down what the name of the
wine was...
Kinda related to our experience with the tour guide, she complimented us on how
we asked her for a wine recommendation. Again, I got the sense that most people
who entered her establishment didn't really know or didn't really care about
what they were drinking. Makes me sad.
All in all, a very good time. No beer, but lots of wine, some great food, some
nice smokes, and a real relaxing place to stay. Really nice to be food and wine
snobs for a few days! |
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 | paulthenurse
08/20/2008 2:02 AM
The FL's are a great take. We
head out there a few times a year.
Good to know you are into wine,
I'll have some of my wine out for
the Masstoberfest.
Paul |
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