If you’re headed to the wine trail, you won’t be alone. In fact, on the weekend, you may find the tasting bar crowded, or you may be turned away for lack of a reservation.
During the shutdown, wineries that kept tasting rooms open adopted spacing requirements, offering a more exclusive experience, and often required a reservation and more substantial tasting fee. Some wineries have stuck with that model.
Here’s some wine trail tips:
Weekdays are better. If you are hitting the trail, you will do much better going during a weekday, and you won’t be fighting for a seat or space.
Make reservations. Chart out your trip and call ahead to see if wineries require reservations.
Plan for fewer stops. Make each visit count and schedule fewer stops. You’ll feel less rushed — and safer — than trying to hit a magic number or stop at every tasting room on the way.
Buy the wine. Small wineries, while busy, continue to work through losses or slow sales from the shutdown. Buy after you try, and then buy at least one more than you had planned. You can find many great specialties of wineries in Pennsylvania and New York, such as riesling, traminette, chambourcin and more. One lighter red that is worth trying is cabernet franc, a Bordeaux variety that can make a really nice wine in cooler regions. Cabernet sauvignon and merlot pose more challenges. The regional style of cabernet franc has more moderate alcohol and pairs with almost anything off the grill. I recently tried a few.
Red Newt 2017 Finger Lakes Cabernet Franc fresh with a taste of slightly tart cherry, earthiness and a touch of tobacco. It finishes with light tannins, reminiscent of a cru Beaujolais. $21. ♦♦♦♦
Nimble Hill Vineyard & Winery grows its own grapes in Mehoopany but also purchases some wine grapes, including cabernet franc. Nimble Hill Vineyard & Winery 2018 New York Cabernet Franc packs a lot of character into a light-bodied wine, with elements of cedar, dark fruit character, very fine tannins with crisp acids. It is available at the Tunkhannock tasting room. $18. ♦♦♦♦
Dr. Frank 2017 Cabernet Franc smells of red raspberry and has a savory hint of bacon, offering a smooth texture. Pennsylvania has older vintages available online for $24. ♦♦♦♦ 1/2
GRADE: Exceptional ♦♦♦♦♦, Above average ♦♦♦♦, Good ♦♦♦, Below average ♦♦, Poor ♦
David Falchek executive director of the American Wine Society, reviews wines each week. Contact: dfalchek@gmail.com
