Travel/Winery Tours

One of the great perks of working in the wine industry is world travel.

I’ve traveled to wineries and tasted wines across New York, Pennsylvania, Canada, Germany and France. Meeting the people who grow the grapes, care for the vineyards and make the wine is a valuable experience to bring back to customers, associates and friends.

Once I was flown with about two dozen retailers, restaurateurs and wholesalers to Germany for a whirlwind tour of various vineyards. We saw the vineyards, tasted the wine, and listened to history, many times through a translator. We felt the sun over the vines, saw where the slope faced a local river for radiant heat, touched the soil and sampled the traditional local cuisine. Through all that, we found a connection with local growers and families that had farmed there for more generations than anyone could count.

Could all the “information” we received have been more efficiently sent via an email, fax, or by and sending

The 2015 vintage of Grand Passione is a delightful alternative to the much revered Amarone. As stated about previous vintages, this wine impresses with its elegantly embossed bottle and simple yet classic hand written look on the label. The name seems to fit the region itself which is steeped in history and romance. Thus is an impressive present for a loved one.

A delicious blend of 60% Merlot and 40% Corvina, this Rosso is produced in the Veneto region in the same appassimento-style as many Amarones. The Corvina grapes are sun dried before processing creating a raisin-like quality to the wine.  It is full bodied with a deep, nearly black color and rich and bold. There is a strong flavor of dark cherry, black currant, prune, raisin, and allspice with soft tannins and a long, smooth finish. This is a terrific bottle for under $15.00.  It works very well with stews and roasts, but give it a try with hard cheeses, crostini and liver pate.

Next Thursday marks the beginning of fall. Summer temperatures aside, there are definite earmarks that the season is upon us. Out in the hills, leaves are slowly beginning to turn and shadows are gaining length as the sun departs earlier in the evenings. Pumpkins are appearing on roadsides and apples are more prevalent at the grocer’s. Apples and autumn are inseparable. Crisp bites of Cortland and Macintosh apples, fresh, sweet cider and spice laden apple pies are all strong associations with fall.

We are headed for another record breaking month of high temperatures before August is out.  Refreshing is still key when it comes to drinking wine right now.  Therefore, what better place to go than the Calabria (toe of Italy) region where they know what hot is to find a cool, crisp, white wine.

From a region famous for well made wines going back several decades, Keuka Springs Vineyards has been making great wines for thirty years. Under the direction of the Wiltberger family, Keuka Springs is producing outstanding from a wide variety of grapes. 

Arrowhead Spring is another excellent winery that opted to journey down “the road not taken” that so many New York wineries have feared to venture.  Arrowhead has successfully created wines that for many years were not associated with New York, like Pinot Noir, Cabernet Franc, Chardonnay, and even Syrah.  As with other wineries that have dared to follow this route, Arrowhead Spring has low yields which help to increase the flavor intensity of their wines.

Up on the Niagara Escarpment region, in Cambria, NY lies Eveningside Vineyards, a winery known for small production, well made European style wines. Opened in 2004 by winemaker Randy Biehl and his wife Karen, the winery slowly grew while keeping its production reasonable by not being all things to all customers. Their focus has been on dry reds, Chardonnays and Rieslings and for this reason they have achieved success, respect and admiration throughout the state with wine lovers and wine producers alike.

For the next few weeks, I will be featuring a series on select wines from New York State Wineries that I believe merit special attention.  The wineries are located in the Finger Lakes Niagara regions. The focus will be on specific dry reds and dry to semi-dry whites (particularly Rieslings) that I would encourage wine lovers to try. I would also recommend they visit these wineries over the Summer or Fall.

Just a few weeks ago I had my first sip of Randolph O’Neill wines. I was very impressed with the four wines I tasted, but there were two that held my attention the most. The 2014 Cabernet Franc was delicious. In fact I was stunned that such a recent vintage could taste so complex and not finish with the annoying green pepper notes that often exist in the finish of young Cabernet Francs. This wine had all the earmarks of an outstanding Cab Franc with gorgeous dark berry and currant flavors, black pepper and spice notes.  Acidity is good but not overpowering as are

Nearly two years ago I went on a trip to Italy to drink wine. I know... it’s a tough job.  Anyway, one night my colleagues and I were at a little bar in Tuscany and I tasted a Bellini made from Prosecco and fresh pulp from peaches picked that day. It was juicy, slightly bubbly with a beautiful pink hue and it tasted delicious.

This is a repost of a blog I do for a Mexican tourism blog called Dave Miller's Mexico (https://davemillersmexico.wordpress.com). Once a year, I travel to Mexico where I visit several Palenques (Mezcal Distilleries) and taste dozens of Mezcals. We had to drive about 2-3 hours up winding dirt roads and through a river bed to get to Rey Campero, but it was well worth the trip. On a happy note, we will be carrying most of these Mezcals by the end of this week.