It's time for wine and games

Chateau Lafayette Reneau scores again with its 2001 cabernet sauvignon wines.

Last Saturday, at a time that many area wineries have sold out of their 2001 red wines, Chateau Lafayette Reneau was busy introducing its 2001 Owner's Reserve and regular cabernet sauvignon wines.

Cabernet Club members had the chance to taste again the reserve cabernet wines they had purchased from the 1998 and 1999 vintages. The annual tastings allow members to decide when the wine has reached its peak -- and then include it in a special meal.

The 1998 Owner's Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon has a bright cherry nose with cherry and chocolate taste. I think the smooth, rich wine is ready now. The 1999 Owner's Reserve has a richer, dark-cherry nose. It has some lingering tannins. It is enjoyable now, but I feel it will continue to improve over the next couple of years.

The 2001 Owner's Reserve is back to the brighter cherry nose similar to that of the 1998. It has dark cherry and tobacco tastes with considerable tannins. Both the reserve and regular cabernet wines have been in the bottle only a short time after spending the last two years in oak barrels. After earning a silver for the Owner's Reserve cabernet and a bronze for the regular cabernet at the Finger Lakes International Wine competition, the 2001 regular cabernet sauvignon earned a gold medal at the Great Lakes Wines Competition.

Ah, but back to the party. Betty Reneau, wife of owner Dick Reneau, planned the meals. Delicious smoked pork tenderloins were served -- the moist, tender meat had been marinated for two days in a mix of 12 ingredients, including olive oil, cumin, orange juice, garlic and cayenne pepper. The finishing touch: slow cooking in a smoker on the day of the event.

My favorite new dish was Betty's gumbo. It exploded with flavors provided by sausage, celery and vegetables in a rich broth. What a treat!

The menu also included tender smoked salmon and a blue-cheese ball with roasted walnuts.

There should be plenty of cabernet available through the year as winemaker Tim Miller was able to produce 700 cases of regular and 300 cases of reserve cabernet wine.

Hazlitt 1852 Vineyards had their I'd Rather be Sailing Day last Saturday also. Several heats were held throughout the afternoon with competitors sailing around an island in the winery's pond.

A big hit for the day was the golfing hole-in-one contest. Participants took aim at a flag pin on the island.

"It's kind of funny," said Brad Phillips, who does marketing for Hazlitt's. "It started out as a pet project. We put impatiens in the shape of Red Cat Paws on the island last year."

This year, Brad rowed over dozens of rolls of sod to cover the island -- but not before rowing over a tiller to prepare the soil.

The competition was ready to begin after a sand trap and a pin, complete with a flag displaying Red Cat paw prints, had been inserted into the cup.

More than 150 shots were taken during the event that raised $250 for the Valois-Logan-Hector Volunteer Fire Department.

Sam Brubaker of Watkins Glen earned a case of wine for landing the best shot of the day, which came to rest 20 inches from the cup.

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: jrichards@stargazette.com.