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Jim Nocek, Anyela's co-owner, and his daughter, Meredith
New Skaneateles Vineyard Thrives on Skaneateles Lake
Skaneateles finally has its first commercial vineyard and winery, Anyela’s Vineyards. Sitting high above the lake on West Lake Road, the winery is housed in a handsome timber and stone building with a large patio, dining room with fireplace, wine cellar and tasting room. One of our favorite things to do is to sit on their patio as the sun starts to go down, and sip one of their wines, perhaps a semi-dry Riesling or a Pinot Noir accompanied by a selection of cheeses and fruits. Owned by the Nocek family with roots in Eastern Europe, Ayelas’s was first planted in 2001 and now has three vintages in development. One of our favorites is their Avail, a pleasing blend of 40% Rieslings, 25% Cayuga White and 35% Chardonnay. It's a good buy at around $15. Anyela’s is the venue for a number of weddings, wine dinners, private parties, concerts and other events during the year with the gazebo being a particularly popular site to tie the knot. Unique to area vineyard, Anyela’s extensive gardens are planted with organic vegetables. Bring your basket and fill it with fresh produce in season like lettuce, squash, herbs, mesclun, spinach, radishes, snap peas and tomatoes. Along with your produce, Anyela’s chef will include a recipes and wine pairing suggestions. Wine Trails Cayuga Wine Trail: www.cayugawinetrail.com 800-684-5217. Seneca Lake Wine Trail/Seneca Lake Winery Association: www.senecalakewine.com 877-536-2717, 607-535-8080. Keuka Lake Wine Trail: www.keukawinetrail.com 800-440-4898. Canandaigua Wine: www.canandaiguawinetrailonline.com, 877-386-4669
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Finger Lakes Wineries & Vineyards
Three new vineyards have recently been established on Seneca Lake and Ravines Wine Cellars, a boutique winery on the eastern slopes of Keuka Lake is producing elegant European-style wines. An important new addition to the world of wine is the New York Wine and Culinary Center in Canandaigua. This handsome facility which highlights wines and agricultural products from the state, contains tasting rooms, dining rooms for small private parties, a restaurant with a deck overlooking the water, a culinary kitchen where classes are taught, gift shop, culinary garden, and history exhibits. It's well worth a visit. Finger Lakes wines are finally being recognized as standing with the best in the world. In fact Dr. Frank's was named "Winery of the Year" for 2006 at the New York Wine and Food Classic. McGregor Vineyard and Winery on Keuka Lake's highly-prized Black Russian Red (a combination of Saperavi and Sereksiya Charni) is so highly prized, even at $50 a bottle, it sells out quickly. Indeed McGregor is the only winery in North America to produce this big red wine. Finger Lakes vineyards are typically owned and run by families whose roots are sunk deep here. Often their families and ancestors were farmers who sent their children to college to study marketing, business, agriculture, and viniculture. After obtaining their degrees, these sons and daughters have returned, armed with new knowledge of how to use the land to build a first-class winemaking business. Whereas the Finger Lakes region is best known for its white wines, in particular Rieslings, reds like Fox Run’s Cabernet Sauvignon, and Hazlitt’s, Hosmer’s, and Lakewood’s Cabernet Franc are becoming prominent. In four recent international and national wine competitions, 25 Finger Lakes wineries took gold medals for close to 60 wines.
Featured Wine Deal Seneca Lake: Riesling Passport A free flight of wines at more than 30 vineyards around Seneca Lake during the Riesling to Visit Passport promotion through August. And you don't have to do it all in one day. It's good through the end of August. Cost: $12.00 plus 8% sales tax (one passport per person, limited quantity sold) & at wineries
The Finger Lakes Book, the area's only comprehensive guide. The Finger Lake Book features more than 50 wineries E-mail: kddelavan@gmail.com purchase.............
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| Updated June 2010 | Copyright 2010 | ||||
