Senaca Wine Trail

 

 This week found ourselves camped right in the middle of NY Finger Lakes wine country. While it was not the primary reason for picking this location, we were obviously going to check it out. There are plenty of vineyards to chose from, you could actually spend a few days just mine tasting. We had limited time allotted for tastings, so I picked three wineries along the west side of the lake. Due to the  weather and  climate of Upstate New York there are a lot  more sweet wine options.  They even have a specialty grape in this region,  the  Cayuga grape. 

First stop was Lakewood Vineyards, located about 10 minutes north of Wakins Glen, where we were staying. Lakewood is one of the larger vineyards in the area and has a nice selection to choose from. They do  a guided tasting with a couple of flights to choose from. We went with their dry style selection which included: Pinot Noir Dry Rose, Dry Riesling, Bubbly Candeo, Cabernet Franc, and their red blend, Long Stem Red.  As a collection, their wines were light to medium bodied, and with a shorter growing season, a little more tart than expected. While the wines were all enjoyable, the standouts for me were the dry Riesling and the Long Stem Red.  

The dry Riesling was not at all what I had expected. To me, it was more like a Sauvignon Blanc without the grassy notes. It had great citrus note and would be a great accompaniment to a seafood dinner. 

The Long Stem Red had a great medium body and is something you could enjoy all day. Beautiful color and floral notes on the nose. This red has a great mouth feel and isn’t too dry. There are strong cherry notes; it is jammy and fruit forward. 

Our next stop was at Miles Wine Cellars. We chose this winery based on it’s vicinity to the lake and some reviews that I had read. The property is picturesque right along the edge of the lake with a small dock and secondary tasting area. There is a magnificent willow tree out front and the building itself looks like  a restored plantation manor. The tasting room is very small and their flight pours are even smaller. This was the most expensive of the three tastings, was only four wines to taste and gave the skimpiest pours I have ever encountered. EVER. This was also a “guided tasting”,  but being in a small space in the middle of a group of ten made it difficult to engage with the employee. 

Again, we chose to go with the Dry Red wine option getting a Cabernet Franc, Lemberger,  Dry Rosé and their Port. The small samples made it really difficult to get good notes, so all I can really say is that they were average. The rosé was way more tart than most traditional rosé and their Port tasted like old raisins with a hot alcohol finish. The Cab Franc was good, but not overly complex.

Our final stop for the evening was at Fox Run Vineyards. Their lovely property is up a hill, across the road/highway from the lake, so the deck outside was a fantastic place to finish off our afternoon. From our three stops, this was my favorite. I'm so glad we were able to end the day on a high note. Fox Run was offering four different flight options, so we chose two: Red Flight (Chris) and Dry Flight (Me).

Our flights were self guided, so we took our cheat sheet and headed out to the deck. My flight included two different chardonnays, dry Riesling, Lemberger, and their Cabernet Franc. The red flight had a dry rose, two Lembergers (unoaked and oaked), a Cabernet Franc and a Cabernet Sauvignon. 

From my flight, I really enjoyed the second Chardonnay. It was an unoaked 2020 Chardonnay that was well rounded and smooth. I was getting hints of stone fruit and a bit of melon. I enjoyed the cool, clean flavor and smooth finish. One of the wines we both had in our flights was their 2020 unoaked Lemberger. We really enjoyed the pepperiness of this wine. We both agreed it would be great with grilled meats or with some good, hard cheese. 

As a whole, the Seneca Wine Trail is NOT to be missed, if you are anywhere close. Their vineyards are beautiful, every staff member we encountered was wonderful. While the wines are young and finding their place, there is a lot of drinkable wine and a few gems out there. I would love to come back and try a few more places if given the opportunity.