While visiting Friends Lake Inn this summer you may want to stop along the way to enjoy some of the fine wines produced by New York wineries. If you are travelling from the west, the Finger Lakes region is a great place to start. The Finger Lakes Region is one of the eastern United States’ finest wine-growing areas. This cool-climate zone is known particularly for its high-quality Riesling, which is produced in both dry and sweeter styles, and even as lusciously sweet ice wine.
Some of the celebrated wineries in the Finger Lakes Region include Dr. Konstantin Frank known for producing German-Style Riesling, and Standing Stone Vineyards who in addition to excellent Rieslings produce highly rated wines such as Vidal, Gewürztraminer, and Vidal Ice wine. While the Finger Lakes are known for excellent white wines, Standing Stone is a pioneering an effort to produce a high quality red wine from the Saperavi grape. Saperavi is an ancient grape, originally from the Republic of Georgia, a cold climate wine region. The varietal has adapted well to the Finger Lakes cold climate to produce an age-worthy wine with dark fruit flavors with hints of tobacco.
If you are staying at Friends Lake Inn and prefer local wine tasting, Ledge Rock Hill Winery and Vineyard is an idea destination. Ledge Rock Hill is a small batch winery tucked away in the foot hills of the Adirondack Mountains. The winery holds the unique distinction of being the first to produce an award winning red wine produced from grapes grown within the boundaries of the Adirondack Park. The medal winning varietal is another cold weather grape called Marquette. Marquette is a hybrid developed by The University of Minnesota to survive in temperatures below – 30 degrees Fahrenheit. Ledge Rock Hill’s Marquette received the Silver Medal in the 2015 San Francisco Chronicle International Wine Competition. The wine has a velvety mouth feel reminiscent of Pinot Noir, but with black fruit flavors, Oak influences of tobacco and vanilla, with lingering finish.
With both Saperavi and Marquette are putting New York on the Map for fine red wines, there is sure to be a style of wine from upstate wineries to please any palate. If you’re not up for the wine trails during the visit to Friends Lake Inn, no worries we have New York wines in stock to pair with our world class cuisine, a pairing dinner or to sip by the glass while relaxing by the pool or by the lake.
