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
