Winemakers gather monthly for advice, camaraderie and great food

Finger Lakes winemakers really know how to throw a dinner party.

All right, it wasn't billed as a party, but it sure seemed like one. The event was a monthly gathering of area winemakers, winery owners and friends for a five-course dinner at the Village Tavern Restaurant and Inn in Hammondsport on April 24. It combined great food with a selection of wines from around the world.

My wife and I were fortunate to be able to join 25 fellow wine lovers for a delightful meal prepared by Village Tavern executive chef Richard Lerman.

The group has been getting together for more than 20 years to talk about wines and share information on production. They take the opportunity to taste firsthand how various wines pair with different dishes during a meal.

At each meeting, one of the members leads the group on an international winetasting "tour." Each guest brings a wine to be served with the meal. There are no restrictions. It could be a Finger Lakes' wine, such as a 1993 Pinot Noir from Chateau Lafayette Reneau on Seneca Lake, or it could be a bottle of 1988 special Burgundy from France.

The catch is that each wine is delivered under wraps. The leader of the group then pairs each wine with one of the courses for blind tasting during dinner. Everyone gets to taste how the wines complement each dish.

As each wine is tasted, there is a lively discussion as guests try to guess the grape type and wine origin before the bottle's label is revealed.

Longtime area winemaker Dana Keeler was selected to lead the group during our visit. First, he congratulated the large group on its pouring technique. The bottles were cloaked in brown paper bags, and we were able to serve enough of each wine so that all 27 guests got a taste from each 750 milliliter bottle.

One of the first wines we tasted was Hunt Country's 2001 Cabernet Franc. It recently earned a silver medal at the Finger Lakes International Wine Competition, held at the end of March in Rochester.

By the time we got to the seared scallops dish, we tasted pinot gris from Willamette Valley, Ore. Sheldrake's 2001 Pinot Gris, from the west side of Cayuga Lake, certainly held its own against the vintage from Oregon.

The 2002 Riesling from Anthony Road Wine Company in Penn Yan was excellent with the scallops, according to Suzanne Geisz, daughter of Paul and Maryann Geisz, owners and operators of the Village Tavern for more than 20 years.

Suzanne and her father do most of the tasting and purchasing of Finger Lakes wines for the tavern.

I was really amazed at how challenging it was to try and pin down the grape type and then offer a guess as to whether it was an Old World or New World wine.

Some of the winemakers were uncanny in their opinions on the origins of the wines. I was pleased that I recognized the pinot gris grape type, although I had no idea it was produced in Willamette Valley.

The future of Finger Lakes wineries looks to be in good shape. Groups such as these area winemakers are having fun while they strive to improve the quality of local wines.

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