Seneca Sampler

This week I was upstate for a few days sorting out my affairs for the harvest. After a refreshing boat ride on Seneca Lake, I made some time for wine tasting. I tried several Wiemer wines, getting a deeper sense of their diversity and complexity. I was lucky enough to sample a 2001 Gewurztraminer, which was a bit more muted than the younger, spicier 2007 Gewurz but had a silky, viscous texture and ripe apricot on the palate. Also a treat was a vertical tasting of the 2003 Reserve Chardonnay and the 2007 Chardonnay, which showed how nicely Wiemer's Chard can age, maintaining its citrus fruit flavor and crispness while rounding out the oak influence. I would like to take this opportunity to shamelessly push the new 2008 Frost Cuvee, a mix of Riesling and Gewurztraminer with some Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, blended between the first frost of autumn and the last frost of spring. It has fruit and finesse and a slight sweetness - delish - and is a bargain at $12! This is a great summer wine to drink alone or with a light meal.

On my way out I stopped by a couple of other wineries on Route 14. Fulkerson had a nice Cab Franc for $14, with pronounced vanilla, cinnamon, and bell pepper aromas and flavors. After that I had to check out Pompous Ass Winery, just because the name invites curiosity. I liked their "Highfalutin Red," a blend of Cab Franc and the hybrid grape Marechal Foch. It was only $10 and had an amazing butterscotch finish that I had never experienced before from a dry red wine. I was also amused by their "Kiss My Ass" Red, a sweeter wine that tasted like circus peanuts (the marshmallow candy, not the actual nuts) but improved with a handful of M&M's.