Fly into Runway Red by Deer Run Winery

Are you looking for a red wine that will make your taste buds soar?  Deer Run Winery has a very nice, bold, spicy red wine that is just for you!

Deer Run Winery is located at the end of the Finger Lakes Wine Trail.  It is a picturesque winery that is not far from Conesus lake.  Deer Run Winery opened its doors to the public in 2003.  In its fist year they produced 5 varietals. After their first year, Deer Run also produced two semi dry wines- one red and one white.  Deer Run has a panoramic view of the Lakeville water tower and airfield. The owners (George, Joan, and Scott Kuyon) thought it would be fun to name these two new wines after the water tower and air field, thus giving you Runway Red and Watertower White.  In addition to their award winning wines, Deer Run offers many different wine-themed educational and social events.  These events include: the vintner's dinner, harvest festival, and wine pairings.  

Recently, I was able to order 6 bottles of wine from Deer Run and had them delivered to my brother and sister-in-law's home in D.C. I am a lucky girl especially since I cannot get wine delivered to me here in KY (www.freethegrapes.com).  One of the bottles that I had was the Runway Red and I highly recommend it. While the wine bottle does not feature a runway model, it does make you feel fashionable.  Runway Red is a bold, red wine with a hint of spice.  It is a well balanced, smooth, semi-dry red wine that will bring class and sophistication to your table.    I paired Runway Red with pot roast, mashed potatoes, and Yorkshire pudding, and it was a great combination. You could also pair Runway Red with pasta, eggplant Parmesan  prime rib, or lasagna.  If you like red wine but find that most red wines are either too dry or have a really strong oak taste, you will be pleasantly surprised by this red, and you may find it to be your favorite red.

If you are in the Finger Lakes region and have some time, go check out Deer Run Winery.  They have a lovely shop that offers their wines and free tastings.  You could also order a bottle online, or go to one of the many store locations listed to find this and some of their other wines. If you would like to find out more about Deer Run Winery before you go check out this video.

Deer Run Winery

3772 West Lake Rd

Geneseo, NY 14454

585 346 0850

Passionate Kisses for you!

No I am not giving out passionate kisses, but I am going to talk about the wine named Passionate Kiss by Equus Run Vineyards.  If you like chocolate covered cherries, you will love this wine.  A few weeks ago my husband and I went to Equus Run Winery where we were greeted by one of the wine pours.  She was very friendly and she helped us maximized our wine tastings.  One of our tastings included Passionate Kiss, which is a red dessert wine.

We had started the day with a stop at one of Kentucky's finest bourbon makers, Woodford Reserve on the Kentucky bourbon trail and very close to our home. On our way to Lexington for dinner and a movie (as this was our date night) we saw Equus Run Vineyards, so we decided to stop in to see if the tasting room was still open.  The tasting room was open and we were greeted warmly.  While there we got the chance to learn more about the owner Cynthia Bohn and the property as well.  While tasting the wine I noticed that the Cabernet and the Merlot had a distinct flavor that I could not discern.  It was at this point we learned that the vineyard was once a tobacco farm. Not only could you taste hints of minerals from the limestone here in Kentucky but you can also taste the tobacco flavor as well, which gave the wine a very unique flavor.

Getting back to our dessert wine, this chocolate infused Cabernet Sauvignon is a great wine.  It is not a powerfully sweet wine.  It is not quite a semi dry wine either.  It is a smooth, velvety, wine that has a lingering chocolate and black cherry flavor that stays with you.  At the tasting room they had you pair it with chocolate chips; however, after I bought this bottle I pared it with a Lindt dark chocolate truffle and a milk chocolate truffle.  All I have to say is-wow!  I will be buying another bottle of this as one of my wine club purchases.

Equus Run Vineyard is more than just a winery they have many events and picnic in the vineyard.  They offer self guided tours and privet tours, wine tastings $3.00 for seven tastings and you keep the glass, they have live music at the vineyard every Sunday, and if you are part of there wine club there are special events for you too.  The wine club is very neat.  Every quarter, 3 bottles are selected that non wine club members do not have access too.

So if you love chocolate covered cherries and wine; and have been looking for a dessert wine that is not too sweet this is a perfect choice.

Equus Run Vineyards
1280 Moores Mill Rd
Midway, KY 40347
859 846 9463

Wine Fest 2012 Kentucky Derby

Hello Fellow vino lovers!  I am sorry this is so late.  My summer has been so busy getting acquainted with Kentucky.  One of the activities that I went to, and that kicked off my summer was the Kentucky Derby Wine Festival.  Now I know what you are thinking "I thought the Kentucky Derby was just about the horse race."  Not true the Kentucky derby is a multi-week celebration that offers a lot of different festivities, ranging from steamboat races, hot air balloon races, to marathons.  Other festivities include Bar-BQ festival, music festival, wine festival and the famous Thunder Over Louisville fireworks display.

My husband showing off the items given to us.

The Wine Festival was held on May 1st and 2nd from 5pm - 9pm, and include a fancy pin, wine glass, wine shopping bag, a wine fest book that contains all wineries that were participating, hand passed hors d'oeuvres, and twenty tickets to try wine from the different vendors.  This was an outdoor event and it is rain or shine.  Thank goodness that the day we choose was a beautiful day, a little on the warm side but still very beautiful.

There was some strategic planning on our part to maximize our tastings.  The wineries we visited were: Best Vineyards, Broad Run Vineyards, Chrisman Mill Vineyards, Inc., Elk Creek Vineyards, Equus Run Vineyards, Huber's Orchard, Winery & Vineyards, Indian Creek Winery, Prodigy Vineyards & Winery, LLC., Purple Toad Winery, River Bend Winery, Rose Hill Farm Winery,Stonebrook Winery, and Wight - Meyer Vineyards.  During the winefest they had a wine competition.  The wines that I will be reviewing are the wines that I tried and won an award.

Prodigy Vineyards took home gold in the 101 Class White Native American for their Diamond 2010 sweet white.  This wine was smooth and sweet, with a mixed taste of they Cayuga grape and the Niagara grape, which is what I was tasting.  I did not note any hints of pineapple, peach or apricot.  This wine was smooth and crisp with a long lingering flavor.  Prodigy also took home the silver for their non-grape wine which is their blackberry wine.  This wine is more of a desert wine and will pair nicely with cheesecake,dark chocolate truffles, or a nice vanilla ice cream (which I would put on the top).  This wine is very sweet, almost too sweet as a stand alone, I would most pair it with something that is not as sweet.

At Best Vineyards (located in Elizabeth, IN ) we tried their non-grape wines Mango and Plum which also won silver.  However,  I would not recommend the plum wine.  I found this wine to be very dry with a strong oak taste.  Best Vineyards lists this wine as a sweet wine; pairing well with Chinese food and Thai.  I did not find the plum wine something to be desired.  Their mango wine won silver in the non grape wines.  This wine was sweet and had a nice finish to it.  I would recommend it with vanilla ice cream or fruit.

Elk Creek Vineyards took home silver for their Riesling.  I found their Riesling to be a little different than what I have had in Upstate New York.  It has a different flavor.  I am not sure if it has to do with their growing season, the different minerals in the ground or the tobacco that may have been growing in the fields in the past.  However, once you put aside what type of Riesling you are used to you will find this to be a very nice wine.  It has a crisp flavor with a lingering flavor of honey and apple, it is a semi dry wine that will pair will with chicken, ham, or cheese.  One person at the festival had stated that they liked it with chili.   I don't know about the chili, but I will most certainly try it this winter.

Huber's Orchard Winery & Vineyard (located in Starlight IN) took home gold in the 301white hybrid division for their Traminette. This wine is a semi dry wine, and reminiscent of a Gewurztraminer.  While this was a great Traminette that is crisp and refreshing with a slight hint of spice, it was not one of my favorites.

Purple Toad Winery located in Kentucky featured many different fruit wines; however, they also have a few grape wines.  One of their grape wines took home silver in the 501 white vinifera.  The Sauvignon Blanc is a dry white wine that was not aged in oak.  This wine was smoky, very smooth, clean and crisp in in flavor.  I highly recommend this wine.  I was surprised that this took home silver.  In the non-grape division they took home gold for their peach, which was very nice and very peachy tasting.  The peach was a little overwhelming but it was still very tasty and I wish I had some ice cream for it.

River Bend Winery located in Kentucky won silver in the 501 white vinifera with their Chardonnay, which is an unoaked Chardonnay.  This Chardonnay is semi dry and had a light bouquet of citrus flavors.  You can taste undertones of pear which gives it a refreshing flavor.

Stone Brook Winery located in Kentucky won silver in the 701 non grape division for their strawberry wine. I was surprised by this because I found this wine to be awkward.  While you can taste the strawberry it had the favor of vitamin water.  I am not sure if the heat got to this wine but this wine was not one that I would hurry back for.

Wight-Meyer Vineyard located in Kentucky took home gold in the 801 Dessert for their apple wine.  I am not shocked by this at all.  Their apple wine was so great we went back for this wine a few times.  This wine taste exactly like an apple pie.  The Apple wine was good alone, with or on vanilla ice cream.  The blackberry wine won silver in the 801 non-grape division. This wine is a nice forward fruit wine, that is sweet with a flavor of oak.  The blackberry wine was aged in oak; however, it has a smooth, sweet taste.

I had a great time getting to try just some of the wines that are around Kentucky and Indiana.  I look forward to trying some of the other wine of Kentucky and visiting their wineries.

Welcome to Trumansburg and to Frontenac Point Vineyard!

A couple of years ago I went on a camping trip to Taughannock Falls, now normally I would go hiking with the family; however, my children were tired from all the hiking we did the day before, so while we were around the Finger Lakes  my family and I stopped in at Frontenac Point Vineyards.  It was a beautiful fall day that was perfect for tasting local wines.  When we arrived, we were greeted by friendly and well-educated vintners. They even gave my daughter some crackers and put her juice in a wine tasting glass so she could be part of the fun.  Now when I go to taste wine with the family, we taste responsibly.  I am not an advocate for over indulging by any means nor do I subscribe to the practice of driving under the influence with or without my children on board.  So if you are reading this and saying I cannot believe she took her children wine tasting let me address this now.  I did the wine tasting, my husband drives and we only visit one or two wineries with the children.  Plus going to a winery during the week can be very educational for children as they can learn the science behind making a good wine.  Plus I always make sure that I have juice for them if the winery does not offer a juice tasting.  I have found many wineries are starting to offer juice tasting and that during the week they are very family friendly, which is a nice treat for all.

Now getting back to the wine, the staff at Frontenac Point Vineyards were very knowledgeable and family friendly.  As I was tasting some wine one of the staff members suggested that I try one of their white wines, that was less dry.  He introduced me to Frontenac White.  I enjoyed this wine so much that I bought 3 bottles of it.  So recently I just finished my last bottle of Frontenac White and decided it was time to share this bottle with the world.  Unfortunately, I now live in a state that does not allow shipment of wine, and cannot have more of this or any other wine shipped to me; however, they do have drive-through liquor stores.  This is a discussion I will leave for later.  I did however, go onto Frontenac's website to see if my favorite wine was still available and I did not see it listed. I was sadden by this news but then realized maybe they just sold out of the wine for the season.  I called up Frontenac Point Vineyard and spoke to a very nice lady named Carol Doolittle, she is the co-owner of the vineyard.  We had a very nice conversation on the phone about Frontenac White.  For me there is some good news: while they no longer have the wine name Frontenac White, they changed its name to Seyval Blanc, which happens to be the grape this wine is made from.

Now I bet you are wondering why I am writing about a wine that is not sold under the name Frontenac White anymore?  Simply put this was a great wine and while the name might have changed to Seyval Blanc the taste of the wine has not changed.  The Frontenac White (Seyval Blanc) is a very nicely balanced white wine that is not overly dry.  This wine is a medium bodied, white wine that is crisp, and refreshing with what I found to be a semi-dry to a dry wine with a slight citrus taste.  I could taste a green apple flavor and possibly  some sort of melon.  The finish of the Frontenac White was fresh and long lasting.  This wine did not hit your taste buds hard and just run away.  I found Frontenac White was quite attractive especially for a grape that seems to be one dimensional.  For my food paring I chose to make a lemon pepper baked fish with garlic shrimp and lobster ravioli.  The wine and food complemented each other quite nicely.  If you are not a fan of seafood you could pair this nicely with lemon and rosemary roasted chicken. This is a nice wine for anytime.

If you would like to know more about Frontenac Point Vineyard go and check them out.  What I can tell you about Frontenac Point Vineyard is that they are an Estate Winery and can only use the grapes grown on their vineyard.  Each year the vintage is different and the harvest is different due to weather conditions.  What some people don't know about the wineries in New York State is that the wineries are limited as to what they can produced and many times grapes go to waste.  New York State does not allow wineries to sell their wine to grocery stores thus causing a surplus of grapes for the wineries.  Currently there is an imbalance in the market between wineries and liquor stores, and this causes the wineries to limit production of wine, leaving grapes to rot on the vine.   What I find sad about this is that when you go in to a liquor store in New York State there is maybe only a few different New York wines, and many wines from other markets.  I am not saying that liquor stores should only showcase wines from New York State, but there should be more then a handful of New York wines available.  If wineries were allowed to sell their wines in grocery stores it would help support the local economy.  Thank you to Frontenac Point Vineyard and Carol Doolittle for working so hard to persuade New York Lawmakers to change their minds.  If you want to learn more and possible find out how you can help support the local economy and the cause go visit Frontenac Point Vineyard try some wine, and speak with Carol at Frontenac Point Vineyard.

Frontenac Point Vineyard
9501 Rte. 89
Trumansburg, NY 14886
607 387 9619

Their Tasting Room is open:
Mid May - June Saturday 10am - 4:30 and Sunday Noon - 4:30

Welcome to Maryland and Boordy Vineyards!

My latest wine experience brings me to Boordy Vineyards in Maryland.  This wine was a gift from my future sister-in-law Lauren and her wonderful parents.  As I had stated earlier, in December we went to an engagement party for my brother-in-law (Lou) and his fiancée. We are very excited about the coming nuptials.  Now getting back to the wine, the bottle that I received was a bottle from Boordy's landmark series. Maryland is known for a lot of things. It is one of the original 13 colonies to revolt from the British, the inspiration for Francis Scott Key's (and our National Anthem) Star Spangle Banner, the Mason-Dixon Line, one of the first capitals of the United States (Annapolis), and much more.  Who would have thought that Maryland would be a place for wine and grape growing too.

Boordy Vineyards is one of Maryland's oldest family owned vineyards.  Located just outside of Baltimore, Boordy currently offers three distinct categories of wine: the Landmark Series, the Icons of Maryland, and the Just for Fun Series.  The Landmark Series features Maryland grown grapes and is considered to be the finest wine, and is marked by vintage year. The wines that can be found in the Landmark Series are: Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Landmark Reserve, Eisling, and Veritas.   The vintage year that I received was a 2008 Merlot.

Take a Video Tour

The 2008 Landmark Merlot is a full body dry wine.  Though I have found that my palate does enjoy a more semi dry wine, this bottle of wine had a nice finish and was not as dry as I had expected it to be.  The Merlot was very interesting because it was well balanced and did not overpower you by having a heavy oak taste, even though the aroma of the Merlot was oaky.  You could smell the oak right away and it smelled earthy.  The color of the wine was a dark ruby color and barely translucent.  I could taste the earthiness to the wine and I noticed that the wine did not have a lot of tannins to it, which is something I was expecting from a dry wine.  The finish of the wine was nice and long lasting.  It did not just hit hard and run away, and overpower you with the tannins and oak from the aging process.  I found this wine to be very enjoyable and I would highly recommend it.  As for food parings I would recommend this with Eggplant Parmesan.  I also soaked my Eggplant in about 2ozs of this wine and it made my eggplant very good.  I also made sauteed mushrooms and onions in a tsp. of the wine with a tsp. of olive oil.  and it made a very nice taste in my sauce.  If I was serving steak or lamb I could just see how placing my sauteed mushrooms and onions on top of the meat would be delicious and paired perfectly with the wine.  This wine is great on a cool spring, or fall day and as a winter treat.  I am not sure how this wine would be in the heat of the summer as I believe it may be too rich for the summer.  However, it is an excellent wine for cool days.  

If you would like to learn more about Boordy Vineyards or would like to order a bottle of this to try for yourself.  There are three options:  The first options is if you are on your way  Florida (trying to escape the winter blues) Take a side trip into Maryland, stop at the vineyard located at 12820 Long Green Pike,  Hydes Maryland.  The wine tasting room is open daily at 2pm to 3:30pm and their store is open daily from 10am to 5pm.  Your second option is to visit their website and order your wine.  Check to see if you live in one of the states they deliver too. The third option is to check to see if it is at your favorite wine shop. If not see if they can order it for you.  Enjoy!

The Wine Journey Came to Me Part 2

In my last post I had posted about wine coming to my door via Wine Insiders.  I had purchased 4 bottles of wine for $15.00 which is a great deal!  In my last review, I reviewed the Maddalena Riesling from Monterey California.  Today's review is the Myth Chardonnay. This wine is another California wine and I must say a great find on Wine Insiders.  I must admit that my favorite wines are white, and  semi dry to a light sweet.  If you only like sweet wines, Wine Insiders may not be the place for you to order.  They specialize in dryer wines; however, with that being said I found this Chardonnay to be one of my all time favorites.  While some of the reviews I have seen about this wine have all stated that it is the quintessential summer wine, I would have to say that this wine is also very good on a brisk spring or fall day.  The Myth Chardonnay has a rich, smooth, and refreshing taste.

The Chardonnay grape makes an absolutely delicious wine which would explain why it is the most widely planted grape in the entire world. Chardonnay wine has become America's most popular selling white wine and boasts a very impressive range of flavors from smooth buttered oak overtones to sweet fresh fruit flavors. While the debate over which (if either) is better, many believe the very best Chardonnay wines are those with a smooth buttery taste. I found the Myth Chardonnay leaning more toward the sweet fresh taste but with a hint of the smooth buttery oak flavor. This Chardonnay is a great combination of the two and it create a nice flavor for any pallet. This Chardonnay pairs well with grilled seafood, chicken, and pasta dishes. It also pairs well with roasted chicken and pasta alfredo.




While this bottle of wine was only $3.20 it was a great bottle of wine, don't let the price fool you. If you live in an area where wine can be delivered to you, check out Wine Insiders and experience a variety of different wines from California. Sign up for their deals, because they do send you some great deals on wine. Enjoy!

Where did you go?

Our new home in Frankfort, Kentucky

On a ride at Chuck E. Cheese with Miriam and Elizabeth.

Hello fellow wine lovers!  I am so sorry that I have abandoned you for the last few months.  However, a lot has happened in my life.  In October I had hand surgery and was not able to type that well.  December came and went with some excitement.  We celebrated Elizabeth's 1st birthday, had an engagement party for my brother-in-law and his new fiance, plus my husband got a  job offer in the state of Kentucky.  January was super busy as we had to move quickly to Frankfort, Kentucky.  The month of February went by fast with Abigail's birthday and getting settled into our new home.  It is now March and I am now able to get back to writing about wine and some new adventures as well.  While wine will be the major drink of choice on my blog.  I will from time to time feature some of what Kentucky has to offer.  Our area of Kentucky holds a rather large Bourbon trail and it seems as though chocolate is big here too. Also our area features a wine trail that I will be visiting.  I have recently learned that in the city of Frankfort there is a store called Capital Cellars Wine and Spirits Cafe Market where they offer Wine Education classes.  I cannot wait to check this gem out and sign up for the class.  Plus they offer free wine tasting every Thursday and Friday from 4pm to 7pm.  So come back and join me for a wine lovers experience.

Abigail's Surprise Birthday Party