Take a weekend drive for wines and lunch

This month's day trip takes us for a tasting at Leidenfrost Vineyards followed by lunch at Logan Ridge Winery and Restaurant.

Head north out of Watkins Glen on Route 414 along the east side of Seneca Lake for about 10 miles to Hector. Leidenfrost Vineyards is located on the left.

For John Leidenfrost, owner and winemaker, the land and growing grapes is what he knows. His family moved to the area in 1947 when John was 4 to begin a farm. They grew apples, pears and 25 acres of grapes.

In those days, many of the grapes were native varieties such as Catawba, grown for wine producers like Taylor.

Eventually, when John took over the farm, he replanted much of his father's vineyards. In 1984 he ripped out some of the original vines and started to plant vinifera grapes including merlot, chardonnay and Riesling.

"If you are going to grow grapes, you better grow vinifera," John says. He is especially proud of the growing conditions on his site that allow him to supply several wineries with quality fruit.

Just growing grapes was not enough for John, however. By 1990, John's ability to grow grapes exceeded his market. He was left with seven tons of grapes without a buyer. Having been a home winemaker since 1984, he had the grapes crushed and started fermenting them for his own business.

A quick scramble to meet the regulations of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and he was making his own wine.

A student of architecture and graphic design, John had hidden resources when it came to designing his original tasting room. He contracted for logs to be delivered that were hewn into rough shapes. He then crafted all of the hemlock beams that make up the timber-frame building that he designed. The tasting-room floor is of maple boards finished with cherry pegs and a handcrafted tasting bar also made of wood.

John has made other additions to his facility that allow him more storage and workspace in which to produce his wines.

A second tasting room provides a venue for displaying art on the walls and for more customers to be served at a time.

John has been able to hold back his vintages of red wines longer than most wineries in the Finger Lakes. The 2000 Reserve Pinot Noir has a black cherry nose and soft velvety cherry taste. The 2002 Baco Beaujolais is dark, rich and red in color.

It is a smooth, easy-drinking blend that mingles the respective flavors of pinot noir and baco noir grapes. Leidenfrost offers several other red wines as well as a selection of white and blush wines.

One of my favorites from my visit was the 2001 Late Harvest Riesling. It is a very smooth dessert wine with the taste of citrus, apricot and honey.

Now, time for lunch. There are several delightful places to dine in the Hector area, including: Ginny Lee Cafe at Wagner Winery, Smokehouse Cafe at Standing Stone Vineyards, The Bistro at Red Newt Cellars, Stonecat Cafe at Bloomercreek Winery and Petioles Restaurant at Logan Ridge Winery and Restaurant.

At Petioles, the wine list offers a special treat. You may order a flight of wines that allows you to taste three different wines side by side with your meal. The Riesling flight consisted of wines from Logan Ridge, Knapp and Lakewood wineries. It was a perfect complement to The Norrie, an open-face sandwich made of strips of bacon, Brie cheese and slices of tomato baked on focaccia bread with honey Dijon mustard.

Hope you enjoy your Labor Day weekend wining and dining in the Finger Lakes. I will write more about the wines and menu offerings at Logan Ridge within the next few weeks.

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: jrichards@stargazette.com