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If You Go . . .
Plan a stay at Merritt Hill Manor in Penn Yan, an 1822 Federalist-style home. Marc and Susan Hyser are first-rate hosts, miraculously anticipating your every need before you even think to ask. Breakfast is hearty, with everything from fresh fruit to German apple pancakes. Ask for the Leon Taylor Bedroom – the lake view is perfect and the yellow rubber ducky in the shower is a nice touch. After breakfast, take a quick walk around the inn's 12 acres. 2756 Coates Rd., Penn Yan, 315/536-7682,
www.merritthillmanor.com.
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There's a song by country music legends Barbara Mandrell and George Jones that goes “I Was Country When Country Wasn't Cool.” It's all about staying true to your roots and knowing what you're about — even when the rest of the world doesn't. The ballad is strangely fitting for
New York's Finger Lakes region. The area has a history with vines that dates back long before people were dropping big bucks on the latest cabernet from California. Still, despite the respect Finger Lakes wines have earned from critics around the world, the region isn't about to change its image to win us over as a hot travel spot for wine enthusiasts. This reverse psychology appears to be working.
The Finger Lakes encompasses 11 long lakes that run north to south just west of the state's center. According to legend, when the Great Spirit laid his hands on the land to bless it, the imprints left by his fingers filled with water to form lakes — hence the name. Since the 19th century, grape growing has paid the bills of many Finger Lakes residents. In the 1970s, some of these growers began to dabble in the winemaking side of the industry out of economic necessity. Today the region boasts more than 15,000 acres of vines and 70-some wineries.
With this many options, it's best to do a little planning before heading to western New York. There are four wine trails, with the biggest concentration of wineries found around Seneca and Cayuga lakes. But if you want to experience some of the first wineries to make a name for New York's wines, the Keuka Lake Trail is the best choice.
Keuka Lake is a Y-shaped body of water, more modest in size than its neighbors, but not in scenery. A drive north along St. Rte. 54A from southern Hammondsport, curving all the way to Penn Yan on the northeastern side of the lake's split, delivers spectacular views of the vine-covered hills. Start your trip at Pleasant Valley Wine Company at the lake's southern end, and plan a trip north along the lake's western shore.
Pleasant Valley Wine Company/Great Western Winery
As the first bonded winery in the United States (est. 1860), the mammoth campus of Pleasant Valley Wine Company is the place to find regional history and architectural appeal. The winery's eight stone buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and guided tours take visitors through man-made caves and grand rooms furnished with conversation pieces such as a hand-carved chest from England that dates back to 1637. The Great Western Winery Visitor Center is filled with facts and figures about the area's grape industry history, plus old wine casks and barrels and a model of the Bath and Hammondsport Railroad, which was once an important transport.
Since 1865, the winery has been known for its sparkling wines. (The story goes that in 1871 a case of it was sent to a well-known wine connoisseur in Boston, who declared it “the Great Champagne of the Western World,” leading to the name Great Western for the company's champagnes.) Pleasant Valley produces everything from delicate rieslings to bold sherries as well, so visit the tasting bar and you're sure to find your favorite. (8260 Pleasant Valley Rd., Hammondsport, 607/569-6111)
Bully Hill
If Pleasant Valley is the history museum, Bully Hill Winery is the party house on campus. There's no escaping the fun here at this colorful winery high on a hill, so plan for a good time and to have lunch on the outdoor patio of its restaurant (the crab cakes are a good choice). Tours include the Greyton H. Taylor Wine Museum, winery, retail and gift shop.
Although they take wine-making seriously, tours and tastings at Bully Hill are interactive and unpretentious. The long tasting bar is stocked with employees who encourage guests to join in the fun (our visit included an employee named Phil who had us chime “Hi Phil from Bully Hill”) while you sample some of the winery's best. Most of the wines are made from French hybrid grapes such as seyval and foch. But what you'll remember best about the experience are the artsy and often-comical labels on the front of each bottle of wine. And with names such as Love My Goat Red and Fish Market White, it's clear that you don't need to be an expert to enjoy a bottle. (8843 Greyton H. Taylor Memorial Dr., Hammondsport, 607/868-3610, www.bullyhill.com).
Heron Hill Winery
Privy to a glorious view of Keuka Lake's western bank is Heron Hill Winery. Owners John and Josephine Ingle have been in business for 25-plus years, and together with their staff set a high standard for what a winery visit should be. So know these three things: the gift shop is full of tasteful wine accessories and worth your time; the lookout tower at the building's apex is an important stop before you leave; and it is impossible to walk out of here without having learned something.
You're tipped off to the last one at the entrance, where an “educational mini-garden” is planted with vinifera vines to help visitors better understand what goes on in the vineyard. Inside, guests can sample chardonnay, riesling and other wines at the tasting bar, where the staff is serious about getting to know your palate before they start pouring. Our favorite is Eclipse, a Bordeaux-style blend of cabernet sauvignon, merlot and cabernet franc. Outside, bands play on Saturday nights through October, and special events such as full-moon parties are held several times a year, complete with food, music and wine for all. Still, the most charming details are found in the lookout tower, where red and blue Adirondack chairs (created by noted designer Bob Timberlake) let you relax while you take in the spectacular view. (9249 Co. Rd. 76, Hammondsport, 800/441-4241, 607/868-4241, www.heronhill.com).
Dr. Konstantin Frank's Vinifera Wine Cellars and Chateau Frank
The first vines were planted near Keuka Lake more than 100 years before anyone had ever heard of Dr. Konstantin Frank, a Ukrainian immigrant who would forever change the face of the eastern American wine scene. In 1962, Dr. Frank opened his winery on a hillside in the Finger Lakes, securing his reputation as a pioneer grower of European wine grape varieties (including pinot noir, cabernet sauvignon, merlot and chardonnay) in the eastern United States. Before Dr. Frank, most vineyards were planted with native grapes such as concord or French hybrids such as vidal because few believed European varieties could withstand the state's cold climate. His dedication to quality wines continues to motivate the winery today. “They called him 'the crazy doctor on the hill,'” says Willy Frank, son of Konstantin, who now operates the winery with his son, Frederick.
The wines here are some of the most decorated of New York's vintages, winning medals at competitions in San Francisco, New York and other food-and-wine hubs around the world. A trip to the tasting bar lets visitors sample Johannisberg riesling (dry and semi-dry), cabernet sauvignon, pinot noir and chardonnay, among others. One of the winery's most unusual wines is rkatsiteli (pronounced ar-kat-si-TEL-lee), made from a spicy white grape that, according to the winery, originated on Mount Ararat on the border of Armenia and Turkey and dates back at least 5,000 years.
Whether you're a serious or casual consumer, a trip to the Finger Lakes is not complete without a stop at this landmark. (9749 Co. Rd. 76, Hammondsport, 800/320-0735, 607/868-4888, www.drfrankwines.com).
Hunt Country Vineyards
Owners Art and Joyce Hunt are the kind of people most of us would fight to get as neighbors. The sixth generation to work the land on their farm, their spacious tasting room sits alongside a barn and other outbuildings that keep you mindful of what the Hunt family is about.
The winery produces dry and sweet rieslings, chardonnay, cabernet franc (a knockout), some French hybrids and a vidal ice wine that has the critics talking. As a guest, you're free to enjoy the vineyards (on Saturdays there are hayrides) and the serenity of the Hunt family farm. When we arrived, Art was helping to mend a fence before he came in to talk about his wines. In addition to tasting notes, he's happy to spin his history with the area into a few insider travel tips, as well.
“You should visit Keuka Lake State Park,” he advised. “Except for a few holidays, it's underused.” When you go, ask the tasting room crew for directions – according to Art the water is so clean he drinks right from the lake. Still, his best suggestion was a view of a nearby cornfield, where from our vantage point on the hill we could see that the farmer had cut the letters USA into the rows. It seemed the perfect ending to a Finger Lakes wine tour. (4021 Italy Hill Rd., Branchport, 315/595-2812, 800/946-3289, www.huntcountryvineyards.com).