The Renaissance of the Finger Lakes Wine Region now on full display

As we drove up to Sheldrake Point Vineyard & Bistro, in Ovid, there was a wedding underway in this lovely setting just above Cayuga Lake.  The day was ideal and when we wound our way into the retail shop, then on into the bistro to grab a bite and taste some wines with winegrower Bob Madill, a trio was playing jazz.  All the planets seemed in alignment.  Madill's aromatic whites - both dry and semi-dry - certainly held their own with those we had tasted throughout the region, while the winery's reds had at least one surprise, a true Gamay, with a touch of strawberry and a crisp finish. 

But enough about wine . . . At Bellwether Hard Cider, owner Bill Barton allowed as how being in one of the top apple-producing areas anywhere, producing hard cider would not require that great a leap of faith.  His ciders run the gamut from dry to sweet, some even with other fruit flavors, all delicious counterparts to the region's wines.  On the drive up, we listened to David McCullough's, "John Adams," noting that the great statesmen often had hard cider for breakfast.  Given that one of the country's most influential founding father's got his day off that way . . .    

Virtually all of the vineyards will tell you about medals they've won, but for anyone who loves wine, of course, the proof is in the tasting.  And tastes, of course, are as varied as the tasters.  It's a guarantee that anyone visiting the Finger Lakes Wine Region will find much to his or her taste, and cases of wine bottles will be clinking in the back seat all the way home.