New York Wine Country Archives - Wine Country Getaways

In Corning, it’s the Gaffer District

August 24, 2015 by Janelle Becerra

Gaffer District in Corning

Clock Tower in the Gaffer District – a city landmark

We just came back from the Wine Bloggers Conference held in Corning, NY. We were very impressed by this small, quaint town and would love to return some day. It’s the perfect place to stay if you want to explore the beautiful Finger Lakes. As part of the conference, we were driven to wineries on 3 lakes: Keuka, Seneca, and Cayuga. All were about an hour’s drive from Corning. More about the Finger Lake Wine Country.

We stayed at the Radisson Hotel in Corning, which is ideally located if you want to walk to the main shops, restaurants and museums in the town. The main street in Corning is Market Street and is about 6 blocks long. The area is called the Gaffer District in honor of the highly-skilled glass-blowing artisans who create unique glass pieces in all sizes, shapes and colors.

Corning has a very small-town feel to it. Almost every shop on Market Street is independently owned and operated. The shop owners and staff are very friendly and helpful. In fact, most people we passed on the street stopped to say “Hello” and ask how we were doing. Many of the locals congregate around the clock tower in the plaza. We saw many families sitting and having a meal or ice cream and taking the opportunity to enjoy one another. Kids were taking turns jumping up on to a stage and giving impromptu performances. One night a guitarist was playing for an attentive crowd.

We didn’t have much free time but stopped for a drink at Tony R’s Restaurant and then had dinner at The Cellar, a wine and martini bar with delicious tapas on their menu. We had breakfast at Sorge’s Restaurant, a family-owned Italian Restaurant operating since 1951.

We took a quick walk along Corning’s Market Street and these are the shops that caught our attention:

Bottles and Corks – a great selection of local wines
Donna’s – small diner that takes only cash
Gaffer Grill and Tap Room – an American Steakhouse
Market Street Brewing Company and Restaurant – Corning’s only Brew Pub
Old World Café & Ice Cream – also serves homemade soups and sandwiches
Poppleton’s – homemade desserts, breakfast and lunch
Stained Glass Works – stained glass lamps and window. Classes are taught there
Steuben Design Company – an interior design studio offering workshops
The Glass Menagerie – a glass retail shop featuring local and regional artists
The Source – homemade chocolates and gift baskets
Three Birds Restaurant – progressive American fare with a Martini Bar
Vitrix Hot Glass Studio – distinctive contemporary gifts
Wegmans – a large market with café and bakery. Also has a pharmacy
Wine and Design – an art workshop with lessons that include a glass of local wines

You can find a Gaffer Tour of the historic buildings on Corning’s Gaffer District Website.

There are two Corning museums not to be missed

The Rockwell Museum includes American Bronzes, Landscapes, and Pottery. The Corning Museum of Glass has 35 centuries of glass art, history and technology as well as glass blowing demonstrations. You can even make your own glass souvenir in a 40-minute class. The summer weather during our stay was very comfortable. I imagine the winter months can be very harsh. Corning is truly a town that has something for everyone!

The Gaffer District Movie

Why you should visit Finger Lakes wine country

August 21, 2015 by Joe Becerra

One of many small producers in the Finger Lakes

We spent five days in the Finger Lakes wine country touring the area with a group of wine bloggers. In our wine blogging adventures we spent time in the lakes of Seneca, Cayuga, and Keuka. The beauty of the area is breathtaking. The lakes, the cumulus cloud formations and the colorful barns provide an amazing backdrop for the vineyards. In short, it is a wine country paradise. The most well known grape variety throughout the Finger Lakes is Riesling. It flourishes here and is made in various forms from dry to sweet. It is delicious in all flavors. There are 400 wineries in the Finger Lakes region. We had a chance to visit several wineries on our excursions, plus taste many more of the Finger Lake wines at tasting events at the Wine Bloggers Conference. Here is why we think you should visit the Finger Lakes wine country.

People of the Finger Lakes

Federick Merwarth, winemaker at Herman J. Wiemer Vineyard

The Finger Lakes is an agricultural community with the wineries taking center stage. Almost all the wineries are family owned and on the boutique scale of wine production. There is a sense of congeniality and cooperation among the winery owners and the winemakers. The ones we met had nothing but praise for their neighboring wineries. Women have taken a forceful role in the Finger Lakes, with several at the head winemaking position. There is a sense of calm within all these folks and their passion runs high for their wines and the wines of Finger Lakes.

Seneca Lake – Fox Run Vineyards

The Lakes

The lakes are stunning in beauty and their waters are clear and sparkling. A little of what the people said about the lakes: “The water is so pure, I’ve been drinking the water from the lake for 30 years.” “You can drop a quarter 30 feet down and clearly see it from the surface.” “Every sunset on the lake is different.” The lakes also bring cooling temperatures to the vines. Over geological time, the lakes have receded and provided a top layer of sandy soil for the vines. Seneca Lake, Cayuga Lake and Keuka Lake each have a designated wine trail. In Cayuga, there exists what just might be the only wine trail accessible by boat. There are six wineries on Cayuga Lake that have boating docks. There are two boat skippers who provide touring for interested wine country travelers. What a beauty of a way to tour the wineries!

The Wines

It is the soil that makes this area unique. When the glaciers came to the area and then receded, they churned the deeper layers of soil into many flavors. From one vineyard to the next, the terroir can be very different. Indeed, we did a side-by-side tasting of two Riesling wines from Fox Run Vineyards. The grapes from these two vineyards were picked the same day and produced in identical ways. The two wines were amazingly different. Besides Riesling wines, other white varieties do well in the Finger Lakes. We tasted excellent Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Gruner Vetliner and Gerwurztraminer. In the red department, the most popular and best growing grape is Cabernet Franc. Some of the wineries produce Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon. Hybrids take a center stage in the Finger Lakes. One of the wines we liked very much is called Traminette. This hybrid grape was created in 1965 and is a cross between a little known French variety, Joannes Seyve, and Gerwurztraminer. The resulting hybrid is resistant to many fungi pests and does very well in the cold. Traminette wines have the distinctive liche nut characteristic of a pure Gerwurztraminer but also an added touch of crispness. The other popular hybrid is a red by the name of Lemberger. Perhaps it is the name, but I tried several Lembergers and they were all too tart for my palate.

The amazing thing about the wines of the Finger Lakes is that almost all the wines are priced under $20. Perhaps for this reason, plus the small production amount, the wineries sell out of their wines. Some are exported, but most stay in the New York state. Many of the wineries only sell out of their tasting room or their online Web store. Before we left for the Finger Lakes, I wanted to taste a few of the Finger Lakes wines. I was able to find only one wine, a Herman J. Wiemer Riesling wine at one wine shop. Frankly, I do not think that will change much. It seems the vintners in the Finger Lakes have no strong interest in ramping up wine production. The are just happy folks making enough wine to keep them busy and proud. This is all the more reason why you should visit the Finger Lakes. It is unlike any wine region I have visited. The Fingers Lakes is truly “A sense of place.”

Where to stay in Finger Lakes Wine Country

The nearest airport to the Finger Lakes is Elmira Airport. We stayed in Corning, a wonderful small town and home to the Corning Corporation. The Corning Radisson Inn was headquarters for the wine bloggers and is roughly an hour’s drive to many of the 400 Finger Lake wineries. Each lake area offers a variety of Bed & Breakfast choices and home vacation rentals. Check the Finger Lakes Wine Country Website for a complete list of places to stay.

The Sights and Sounds of the Finger Lakes

Hudson Valley Wine Country – Millbrook Winery

August 11, 2015 by Joe Becerra

Millbrook Vineyards & Winery- Dutchess Wine Trail

We are in New York heading to the Wine Bloggers Conference in Corning. Our first stop is the very beautiful Hudson Valley. We decided to stay in Hyde Park, New York, where FDR was raised, and where he eventually started the first Presidential Library. A visit to the FDR House is amazing and highly recommended. We also recommend a tour of the Vanderbilt House and Gardens in Hyde Park. The town of Hyde Park has little to offer other than tours of these historic treasures. Just 20 minutes north is Rhinebeck, the picturesque town where Chelsea Clinton was married. There is so much going on in Rhinebeck, we wished we had lodged there. In Rhinebeck, there are many fine restaurants, boutique shops, and more. In short, it’s a happening place, just the opposite of Hyde Park.

A visit to Millbrook Vineyards & Winery on Dutchess Wine Trail

We are surprised at the number of wineries in the Hudson Valley. The best-known of the Hudson Valley wineries is Millbrook Vineyards & Winery. Millbrook has impressive recommendations from the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and the Wine Spectator as one the best wineries to visit in the Hudson Valley. We traveled on some beautiful tree-lined backroads to the winery on the Dutchess County Wine Trail. The Millbrook Vineyards & Winery are in a beautiful setting. The winery has a peaceful picnic area that faces an irrigation pond and hillside vineyards. For walkers, there is a short vineyard hike that makes a loop around some very pretty vineyards and views.

The tasting room for us was a disappointment. Our server thought he was a comedian and joked about the wine snobs out in California. He told us (about ten visitors in the tasting room) that all California Chardonnays were over-oaked. He did give California one nice compliment. It was about its delicious Russian River Pinot Noir, telling us it was the best. It turns out that John Dyson, who owns the Millbrook winery, is also the owner of Willams Seylem in the Russian River Valley. Williams Seylem is a winery that we recently visited and reviewed. We tasted through 8 Millbrook wines; 6 were included in the tasting fee of $11 a person, but our server had a couple of bonus wines to try. My favorite wine was the Millbrook Tocai Friulano. This is a grape from Italy grafted over at Millbrook some 25 years ago. It is a nice aromatic wine with just a tad of sweetness. In the reds, I found them to be much different in style than what we are used to in California. We did end our stay in a nice touch. We enjoyed a picnic lunch with some of the tasty Tocai Friulano and then took the vineyard walk. The weather added a different wine country feel. Cumulus clouds turned to dark ominous clouds. It certainly gives the vineyards a different look, and a very pretty one indeed.

During the summer months, Millbrook is open from 11 am to 6 pm. On the weekends, there is a grill cafe providing snacks for visitors. Millbrook also has a schedule of summer jazz concerts on Saturdays. Check the Website for complete visiting details.