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City Guide: Grand Vine
net Sauvignon also is remarkably fat and fleshy, with sweet oak, cherry and chocolate nuances. The Merlot epitomizes the best attributes of the Finger Lakes, with its long, chewy finish and mélange of red fruits and tea-like earthiness. Directly across the lake at Chateau Lafayette Reneau and Inn — in what owner Dick Reno refers to as New York’s “banana belt”— the red wines are also exceptional. Reno’s Rieslings have won double gold medals from Tasters Guild, but, in my opinion, his reds are the best reason to visit this winery. Reno boasts that his red wines are as good as or better than the finest French Bordeaux, and one evening he opened several bottles of both for us to prove his point. Just a few hundred yards beyond Chateau Lafayette Reneau is the Hazlitt 1852 Vineyards. Although the ambiance is touristy and embraces a party atmosphere, the winemaking team takes Riesling very seriously. We have been visiting the Finger Lakes every year since 1982, and the Hazlitt Rieslings always show a fruit purity and transparency that allows the special white peach and floral flavors of the region to captivate one’s interest while eluding one’s comprehension. It would take a month to visit all of the wineries of the Finger Lakes. Or, be in Watkins Glen on July 18 or 19 when the Finger Lakes Wine Festival is set up at Watkins Glen International Race Course. Hundreds of wineries offer a full tasting room experience with take-out wine sales. Live entertainment and local food vendors are located in a shaded picnic area. While in Watkins Glen, be sure to visit its limestone gorge and falling waters. Contributing editor A. Brian Cain is a certified wine educator and freelance wine writer.
Photography courtesy istockphoto.com/pawtraitd
Live the GrandExperience
60 Grand Rapids April 2010
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