Finger Lakes wines brighten the holiday season

The weather is turning downright cold as autumn leaves blow across the yard. Now is a good time to look for that perfect bottle of wine to add warmth to your Thanksgiving holiday feast.

Why not start the festivities off with a little bubbly? Several sparkling wines are recommended in the December 2003 edition of Wine Enthusiast magazine.

Although only two wineries from New York are represented, Lucas Vineyards in Interlaken was rated for two offerings. Their non-vintage Extra Dry scored an 86 during the magazine judging. It had a crisp, green-apple taste with a refreshingly clean finish.

The Cayuga Lake sparkling wine is made from 100 percent Cayuga grapes.

"It's more of a fun thing," says winemaker Jeff Houck, offering one of the reasons why they produce sparkling wine. They make their sparkling wine using the traditional method of fermentation in the bottle and hand riddling. Riddling, or rotating the bottles in tilted racks, moves the yeast to the neck of the bottle so that it can be removed before the bottle is recapped.

Lucas Vineyards' nonvintage Blanc de Blancs scored lower than the Extra Dry but is still an excellent glass of sparkling wine. It has a toasty, creamy taste with a little yeast flavor. I felt that it had a much cleaner finish than was afforded by the magazine critique.

Lucas also offers an excellent Riesling wine for dinner. Their 2002 Dry Riesling has full, rounded fruit taste. It has flavors of lemon and peach balanced with acid, providing a clean finish to the wine. Alexa Krauter, my pourer at Lamoreaux Landing Wine Cellars, suggested several wines that she said would go with "all of the Thanksgiving flavors; nutmeg, ginger, cloves and homemade cranberry sauce."

Their 2002 Gewurztraminer is full and rounded in the mouth with a classic Gewurztraminer spicy taste. The spice flavors are more pronounced as the wine warms in your glass.

They also offer a delightful chardonnay/Riesling blend. It has ripe, tropical fruit tastes in a semi-dry wine for those looking for something that that is not bone dry.

Over at Heron Hill Winery on Keuka Lake, they have introduced a new blend of white wine, just in time for the holidays. The Eclipse White is a delightful union of pinot gris, chardonnay and sauvignon blanc grapes. The wine tastes of pinot gris first and finishes with the flavor of sauvignon blanc. Lightly oaked, it is a great alternative for those looking for an elegant white wine for dinner.

If you are looking for a red wine for your holiday dinner, you may want to try Heron Hill Winery's nonvintage Game Bird Red. According to Herb Raymor, vice president of the winery's retail operations, it goes well with the flavors of Thanksgiving dishes such as turkey, dressing and potatoes. It has the taste of dark cherry in a fruit-forward blend of wine using pinot noir and baco noir grapes.

Back on Seneca Lake, Sayre Fulkerson, owner of Fulkerson Winery, offered his suggestions for a holiday dinner. His 2002 Traminette is a spicy cousin to Gewurztraminer. It is crisp, with good fruit taste and a clean finish. The winery also offers a 2002 chardonnay wine. A taste of lemon mingles with the butter and oak flavors provided by aging in new French oak barrels. This wine finishes with good fruit flavor.

"When you are talking holiday time, it's time to open something special, a sweet wine for dessert," Sayre says. Fulkerson Winery offers a spectacular 2001 Vidal Ice Wine that could take the place of dessert. It has rich, full fruit flavors of apricot and pear as well as a taste of honey. A little of this wine will go a long way and provide a sweet ending to a special day.

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