Little Watkins Glen shop has big selection of wines

NYStateWine.com is much more than just a Web site.

It's also a wine-tasting room and wine shop in downtown Watkins Glen. As its name implies, the business sells wines from more than 50 New York state wineries, including some from Long Island.

The shop, owned by brothers Mike and George Conway, opened in the fall of 2000 at 29 N. Franklin St., on the north end of town. A 27-foot, copper-topped bar awaits customers who come to sample wines.

The "flights," or groupings of selected wines to sample, are designed to complement each other during the tasting experience. They range from dry to sweet and include both red and white wines.

How did George, an AT&T Wireless representative from Ridgewood, N.J., wind up in the wine business in Watkins Glen?

His mother, Marge Conway, had a lot to do with it. She and her late husband, Tom, wanted to leave the Garden City area and get into the bed-and-breakfast business in a rural setting.

In the winter of 1992, Marge walked into a house near Watkins Glen and fell in love with it. Fewer than three months later, Marge and Tom had moved in and were operating Seneca Lake Watch Bed and Breakfast, just north of town.

George and his family eventually came to the area to run the business. "It boggled my mind that many guests did not even realize that they were in the heart of a major winemaking region," George says. He and his brother, Mike, conceived of the shop as a way to expose more area visitors to New York wines.

The flights change regularly, so this week's selection may be replaced with a completely new one by the next time you stop in. During my visit, I was able to taste a very good selection of red wines.

I was really impressed with Atwater Estate Vineyard's 2001 Pinot Noir. It offered a cherry, full, fruit nose, and had a balanced taste and a smooth, refreshing finish.

The next two red wines that I really enjoyed were both from Long Island. Duck Walk Vineyards' 1997 Merlot had beautiful, dark color. It provided a deep, soft, rich taste, with very little tannins. It also had a hint of cherry and very clean finish.

The second Long Island wine that I enjoyed was the Osprey's Dominion 1999 Cabernet Sauvignon. It had a full, rounded taste with some oak tones and cherry taste as well.

While I was visiting, I could not help but be entertained by Marge, who came in to help pour. She had a great story to tell us about a recent cruise she took, touring the Hawaiian Islands with her 89-year-old brother, Joe Cosenza.

Their Holland America cruise ship, the MS Statendam, received a distress signal and had to go out of its way to rescue three people trapped in a dinghy as their 45-foot yacht sank. The rescued yachtsmen traveled to Hawaii aboard Marge's cruise ship.

You may catch Marge on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays at the NYStateWine.com shop. The shop is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday.

"We are open a set number of hours. People have to know they can come and rely on it," Marge said, explaining why they stay open so much during the winter.

Stopping by is a great way to start or finish your winetasting trip. Remember, you can pick up that bottle of wine you liked at one of the wineries as you pass through Watkins Glen on your way home.

Jeff Richards' wine column appears each Thursday on the Twin Tiers Life Food Page. For comments or questions, he can be reached at 607/271-8279 or 800/836-8970, ext. 279, or e-mail: thewineguy