Cheers! 

 from Vintage Connections 
Dean and Lisa Foster 

Wine Educators and Consultants  

A few week ago we made a quick trip to the Finger Lakes.  So, this week we're reviewing two of our favorites from that trip. 

Ravines Sauvignon Blanc, 2010

  

This excellent dry sauvignon blanc comes from the Finger Lakes region of New York.  Ha! Bet you thought this was going to be another New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc! But no, Ravines Vineyard sits on a hillside above Keuka Lake. We tasted (and bought) this wine while on a recent visit to the Finger Lakes for a few days. Surprisingly, its style is very much like the Marlborough, New Zealand sauvignon blancs that we love so well. It is light lemon yellow in color and has wonderful herbal and citrus aromas. Grassy flavors blend with light minerality and with balanced acidity to make this a wonderful food friendly wine. Alcohol is 12% by volume. Priced at $17.95 at the vineyard makes this well worth the trip north.

We had a great tasting at Ravines. Beautiful view of Keuka Lake, great tasting room with Abel, brother-in-law to the winemaker Martin, presenting the wines for tasting. He was energetic and full of information, friendly and helpful. Ravines has many great wines, both whites and reds. A definite "must stop" if you are in the area. 

Prejean Reserve Chardonnay 2009 (Pronounced pray-jon)

Prejean was one of our first "favorite wineries" in the Finger Lakes when we first started visiting there 15 years ago.   

 

We do not very often find a chardonnay that we BOTH really like (Dean likes them medium oaked, Lisa likes them naked), so when we tasted this excellent dry chardonnay while in the Finger Lakes region of New York, and both loved it, we were very pleasantly surprised.

Pale yellow in color, this full-bodied wine has aromas of apples and pears. The flavor of apples abounds in each and every sip. It is well-balanced and has a long-lasting finish. Aged in French and American oak, the flavor of toast and oak are subtle and pleasant. Alcohol is 13.5% by volume. It sells for $12.99 a bottle at the winery.  

Prejean Winery is located on a gentle slope above Seneca Lake. It was a wild and windy day, with white caps on the lake, but pleasantly warm and relaxing in the tasting room with Troy treating us to an excellent tasting. Another "must stop" while in the area.

Up-coming Events  

March Madness on the Lehigh Valley Wine Trail Call your first winery to check on availability of tickets!  Week-ends through March 25.  Busy busy, especially on Saturdays.

Brandywine Wine Trail "Barrels on the Brandywine" 

Week-ends March 3 through April 1.  See their website for details. 

Blair Vineyards
Winemaker's Dinner- Saturday March 25th. Call 610-683-8463 for menu and reservations.

Vynecrest Winery

Music in the Vyneskeller Saturdays 1:30-4:30, March 31 and April 7.
Tastes Around the World, a Berks County Wine Trail event, April 21-22.  Noon to 5 PM.  Additional details not posted on their website yet.

Fun Fact

There are seven lakes that comprise the

Finger Lakes Wine Region.
Of the three largest and well-known winery lakes, Seneca is the largest and has the most wineries, followed by Cayuga and Keuka.  Of the other four lakes, one has no wineries, two lakes have one winery each, and one lake has 5 wineries.