New and inspired

Large tasting and retail facility puts a new face on Dundee winery

Simple elegance comes into bloom at Fulkerson Winery.

JEFF RICHARDS/Star-Gazette Fulkerson Winery's new building features a two-story tasting area and a mezzanine in the center of the structure. Visitors may look down on the first floor from both ends.

What looks like a barn on the west side of Seneca Lake is the winery's stunning new facility, which includes a tasting room, retail sales, office space and a juice plant.

Although the new building has been open for a few weeks, Fulkerson Winery is hosting its grand opening celebration today from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. With a wide range of wines available, everyone should find something to like.

The structure is standing in the same spot where owner Sayre Fulkerson's ancestors built a barn in the 1830s.

"Everyone was involved in agriculture then," Sayre says. "There were teams of horses, dairy, fruit trees and making hay."

The old barn came down after severe winds in 1979. When it came time to replace the winery's tasting room, Sayre and his wife, Nancy, wanted to bring back the architecture of that time period.

Architects Chris Harvey and John Harvey worked with the Fulkersons to develop a design that reflected the family's agricultural background. The building also has elements of the Italianate style popular in the Finger Lakes in the 1880s.

As you walk in the main entrance, you can't help but be impressed with the smooth slate floor that extends from the lobby into the main part of the building. Some of the bluish-gray stones have shades of gold and brown, which tie in with the cedar ceiling and red-and-white oak floors throughout the first floor.

To the right of the entrance, the space opens up into a two-story tasting area. The expansive U-shaped tasting bar has 58 feet of elbow room.

The black walnut bar surface was crafted by Leonard Hoover of Reading Center. Much of the walnut he used came from trees grown on Sayre's parents' farm. The trees were cut down and have been air-drying since the 1970s.

Two large F's, for the family name, grace the tasting bar and register counter. They also were constructed out of black walnut and stand out against the cherry facing built by Tom Frohnapfel of Burdett.

It took Tom four days, using band saws, chisels and knives, to create the letters.

"I knew it needed something fitting for the space," Tom says.

Windows reaching 13 feet let light into the tasting room, but don't even approach the base of the hemlock beams that support the roof.

The retail sales area is to the left of the entrance. A stairway leads to the mezzanine in the center portion of the building. From there, one may look down on the sales area or the beautiful tasting area while leaning on railings made with a combination of hardwood and metal. The upper level may be used by small groups to host special events. It also leads to the Italianate tower, which has a view of the vineyards and Seneca Lake beyond.

Sayre shared his business philosophy: "We're doing this for the long term," he says. "We wanted to do our part to elevate the image of the Finger Lakes wine industry. We probably wouldn't have done this (the large construction project) if we were going to retire and sell the business."

The Fulkersons' son, Steve, is in the viticulture and enology program at Cornell University and wants to come back to his parents' business, Sayre added.

"Some day, this building will be his."

Jeff Richards' wine column appears monthly. For comments or questions, he can be reached at 607/271-8279 or 800/836-8970, ext. 279, or e-mail: jrichards Whites
2003 Dry Riesling: Has a citrus flavor that mingles with pear and peach. Its finish is crisp and refreshingly clean.

2003 Chardonnay: Fermented in new French oak barrels, it has a buttery oak taste that finishes with the distinctive taste of lemon.

2003 Traminette: More of the spicy flavor one would expect from a Gewurztraminer. It also has mineral and citrus tastes that make it a more complex wine.

2003 Johannisberg Riesling: Somewhat sweeter than the dry Riesling from the same vintage. It also has the taste of peach and citrus. This wine is soft and round in the mouth and is a great sipper any time.

2004 Delaware: Just out and maybe just what drinkers are looking for in a sweeter wine. This native grape has the taste of cotton candy and tropical aromas exactly as the wine is described in the tasting sheet.

2002 Vidal Ice Wine: Capping off the white wine tasting I could not pass up this amber colored dessert wine. It bursts with the flavors of peach, apricot and honey. What a sweet treat!

Reds

2002 Vincent: An unusual wine. Because of its intensely dark color, it is sometimes used to deepen the color of other red wines that don't appear as robust as the winemaker would like. This wine stands on its own. Its inky dark color is almost impenetrable. It is smooth and lush with the taste of blackberry.

2002 Cabernet Sauvignon: A full-bodied wine with the taste of black cherry, oak and spice. It should be able to age for at least few more years as the tannin still clings to your tongue.

Brownies with Cherry-Port Sauce

1¼ cups semisweet chocolate chips

2 eggs

• cup packed brown sugar

2 tablespoons coffee

½ teaspoon baking powder

• cup all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Melt the butter and chocolate chips in a saucepan over low heat. Cool slightly.

In a large bowl, beat eggs and brown sugar. Add coffee and melted chips/butter to egg mixture. Add flour and baking powder and mix well.

Spread the batter in a greased 9-inch square pan. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until brownies test done (a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean). Cool before cutting.

Makes about 30 brownies.

For the sauce:

1½ cups Lakewood Vineyards Port

Soak cherries for several hours in 1 cup of port. Pour into a food processor and blend until cherries are chopped into small pieces.

Pour the blend into a saute pan and add the remaining port. Simmer until sauce thickens to a syruplike consistency.

Serve poured over brownies, with a glass of port on the side.

The brownies are really rich, so the suggestion that the recipe will make approximately 30 servings seems just about right.

The contrast in flavors between the cherry-port sauce and the sweet brownie was spectacular.

The ingredients for the dish came together very simply. While the butter and chocolate are melting on the stove, you can be mixing the brown sugar and eggs. In a separate bowl, you can mix the flour and baking powder.

Everything is then ready to fold into the large bowl when it is called for in the recipe. You will have plenty of time to make the cherry sauce while the brownies are in the oven. Except for the presoaking of the cherries in the port wine, the whole dish can be done within an hour, including baking time.

I found out that cooling the brownies before cutting is important. They will hold together much better, providing a more elegant presentation for your dessert.

And after all of that effort, don't forget to pour yourself some port as an additional reward.

Jeff Richards' wine column appears Saturdays. For comments or questions, he can be reached at 607/271-8279 or 800/836-8970, ext. 279, or e-mail: thewineguy