Kate Meyers Emery

While the main winery and tasting room has an incredible view and is definitely worth visiting, this is a nice option if you’re dashing in from Rochester or Geneva and only doing the North end of the lake. Next, we moved on to the 2018 Cabernet Franc Rose, which started with an aromatic strawberry, red plum, cherry and herbal nose, with strawberries and cream on the palate and a dehydrated strawberry finish. The main location has a special Riesling Experience you can do for $25 that includes a VIP flight of select Rieslings and a book all about their Riesling. I need to go back and grab some bottles of Cabernet Franc (for which my tasting note only says “Typical but dense… YES” and some more of the Sparkling Riesling, because it’s wild and wonderful.

when Indigo Sky Yoga Collective invited me to join a class of theirs at Sheldrake Point Winery, I knew it was the perfect chance to try what seemed to be the winning Rosé of the summer, and also get a little exercise in. In addition to their renowned Rosé, they also produce ice wine made using the traditional method of letting the grapes freeze before harvesting, and they have a deep library of their wines that they periodically dip into, meaning you can try some fun older vintages on site. Tasting Fees: $5 for 4 tastes of their estate wine list; $10 for 4 tastes of their reserve list, and $3 for single tastes of the reserve list. Sheldrake Point Winery is a great place to taste wines that exemplify the region, but also a great place to try different experimental wines.

Whenever I saw those mini trailer houses on television they always seemed a little too small, a little cramped, a little dark. We were looking for a place to stay during the Finger Lakes Wine Festival, and because I was teaching, and not really drinking, I didn’t want to end up at a hotel or campsite filled with people who were… well, let’s say We found JuneBug Lodge after a brief search on AirBnB, and were thrilled to see that they had space in one of their Tiny Homes for us to spend the night. In addition to the private space, there is a small fire pit with chairs and a main lodge space where the complementary breakfast is served (there’s also a hygge space for quiet discussion and reflection).

Our signature grape is often portrayed as sweet and fruity, a fun drink for the summer, but not something that more “serious” wine drinkers would appreciate. This is a misconception I often find myself correcting, noting the many wineries producing fantastic dry Rieslings that emphasize a completely different range of notes, but even I am selling Riesling short. In fact, like its noble counterpart Chardonnay, Riesling can be done in a wide range of styles and made with a variety of methods rendering it un-Riesling-like in some circumstances. This fact crystallized for me while I was attending FLXcursion, a celebration of cool climate wines that featured seminars, dinners and a grand tasting.