New York - Seneca Lake (east) - Idol Ridge Winery

Idol Ridge Winery - (August 2016) We decided to forego the distilled spirits and stay with the wine tasting.

My wife started with the 2012 Gewürztraminer, which had no floral aroma and a light floral taste with a crisp finish. The sparkling Riesling was a disappointment; the effervescence lost all the flavor and aroma. The Deep Lake White, a blend of Riesling, traminette, velvin Muscat and gewürztraminer, was sweet on the tongue at first, but then had a tart, crisp finish; it’s a good sipping wine that can catch up with you if you are not careful. The sparkling moscato was better than the Riesling; my wife was happy. The Timber Lodge white, a Cayuga and Niagara blend, was the sweetest table wine they offered. My wife finished with the Timber Lodge red, a blend of Chancellor, marechal focht, pinot noir and Cayuga. It had a sweet taste to it, but there was something about it they couldn’t be described.

I started with the Big Timber white, a blend of Chardonnay, Riesling and pinot Gris. I was able to
pick out some tartness. The tasting guide said there was oak, but I could not find hints of it. I then
went right for the reds. I started with the 2013 syrah, medium‐bodied with tannins. The noiret, a
Cornell hybrid, aroma reminded him of peanut butter and jelly or the cake around fig Newton’s. I got
white pepper on the palate and the tannins were balanced. The 2012 cabernet franc was fruity and has
a nice lingering oak finish. I finished with the Big Timber Red, a blend of just about every red grape they have, which had a pleasing fruity palate, medium tannins and a lingering subtle oak finish, and the 2013 Meritage, a blend of cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc and merlot; it was fruiter than the cabernet franc.

As part of the tasting, we were treated to a complimentary taste of Deep Lake White. My wife got an
extra pour while I got a pour of the same wine.