If You're Not Thankful For the Chance to Meet Winemakers Up Close, You Should Be

Josh Wig, Lamoreaux Landing Wine Cellars' general manager, giving a tour of their estate vineyards

By Evan Dawson, Finger Lakes Editor

Tuscany is a dream vacation, but be warned: even with appointments, you often will only meet a tour guide, rather than the winemakers who craft Brunello.

Napa can be an ideal getaway, but if you don't know someone who knows someone, you might be stuck in the tasting room.

The Finger Lakes is not only a mind-clearing destination, but stop by one of the wineries some time and you might be asked to put on gloves and assist the winemaker. 

This is only barely an exaggeration. If you're within a tank of gas from the Finger Lakes (or Long Island, or the Hudson Valley, or the Niagara Escarpment), you have the opportunity to get to know winemakers on a personal level. When you pour their wines, you might very well have participated in its making. You might know the story of the land on which the grapes grew. You might have witnessed the winemaker decide to let the grapes hang another week; maybe you tasted in the barrel room while hearing a winemaker's philosophy on how to bring the very best into the bottle.

Wine is food, and food is simply the result of hard-working agriculture. It is not elitist nor pretentious. It does not favor the wealthy. It does not segregate. 

Yes, wine can be co-opted by those who seek to make it nothing more than a trophy. But for those who have taken the time to converse with the growers and the owners and the winemakers, it is only a trophy that signifies pride in one's place.

If there is a disappointment for consumers in the Finger Lakes, it is that too few wineries offer regular tours. This is slowly changing. But a simple phone call almost always yields an opportunity to meet the people making the wine. And that phone call might even be answered by the winemaker or owner. This is the nature of a small, quality-driven region. There simply isn't cash-flow for a large staff and lavish events.

So on Thanksgiving, if you happen to open a Finger Lakes wine, ask yourself if you're familiar with the story of that wine. If you're not, find some time to travel the short distance and find out. If you are, share it with your friends and family. This is how wine is de-mystified. And living here, within easy reach of the tank rooms and vineyards that are typically off-limits in larger wine regions, is something for which we can be truly thankful.

Comments

[Duncan Ross, Arrowhead Spring Vineyards]

Evan,

I agree that the hands on, small family business nature of Finger Lakes wineries is a unique part of the visitors experience. In my experience, this is a common theme for NY wineries in general. It's not unusual to find owners and winemakers (or the owner/winemaker) at work in the tasting room. We just started running tours more frequently this year and they have been very popular. The tour guide is either my wife or myself. It's a part of the business we really enjoy because the people who take the tours are so interested in NY wine and food. I don't see either of us delegating tour guide duties anytime soon.

[Evan Dawson]

Duncan -

Wonderful to hear. I probably should have clarified something: Based on the title, one might suspect winemaker worship. It's actually quite the opposite. This is not about creating a rock-star image for winemakers; it's about removing that image in favor of a more approachable, relatable persona and story. I look forward to touring the NE and meeting Duncan and many others.

[1WineDude]

It depends on the winemaker, of course. Having said that, I can count on one hand the number of winemakers I've met that I haven't liked.

[Kevin Durland- winemaker - Nimble Hill Winery]

The major issue for me, and I am sure other winemakers, is time, particularly this time of year. It is the best time to tour from a visitor stanpoint, but the worst time for a winemaker. On a daily basis I am the only one at the winery so it makes it difficult to break free and do a tour. That being said, I have never turned anyone down who calls and wants to visit. Recently while racking wines, a car just pulled up and walked onto the farm, so I stpopped what I was doing and gave them a tour. My goal is to advance the wine culture in NE Pa.