The weekend of our visit was decided before we knew that a wine tour weekend was taking place. Fortunately it was centered around Seneca Lake and we were going to be visiting Keuka Lake wineries, so we avoided most of the crowds. :)
Fox Run Vineyards—Overall we thought the wine was average, but the biggest problem was the fact that the pourer we had knew nothing about the wine. For example, I asked her what the percentage of grapes was in one blend and she had to ask someone, who then told her it’s always on the bottle. “Good to know,” she said. (sigh.)
Anthony Road Wine Company—This winery on the north west side of Seneca Lake was also jammed with people, however, the wines were better than at Fox Run but still only one, the semi-dry Riesling, was interesting.
Keuka Spring Vineyards—We drove right past this place, but turned around when we noticed the view and admired the general look of the vineyard. We essentially had a private tasting as we had lost the partying-weekend-tasters with our route through Penn Yan along the eastern side of Keuka Lake. This family run winery had some great wines, my favorite was the Miller’s Cove Red blend, lots of cinnamon and pepper. Eric liked the 2005 Riesling.
Rooster Hill Winery—Just a few minutes down the road from Keuka Springs, this place had a friendly atmosphere and some decent wine. Overall, I think the wines were a little too weak for our taste.
McGregor Winery—This place was jam-packed with people in the Clan Club visiting for the winery’s barrel tasting… and I have no earthly idea why. The only drinkable wine was the dry Riesling.
Dr. Frank Konstantin Winery—By far the most well-known of the wineries we visited, it was also the best. Bill, our pourer, was a wealth of knowledge about the wines and the dual-tasting approach (tasting two similar wines jointly), made the whole experience educational and fun. Each couple ordered a case and unfortunately, we wound up with each other’s wine. However, a quick call to the winery and they shipped out the correct cases the next day.