Choosing wines for holidays

Chateau Lafayette Reneau has already released its 2004 Nouveau.

Tim Miller began bottling wine from this fall's harvest at 9 a.m. last Saturday. By the time he had finished 2½ hours later, the Nouveau party had already begun upstairs.

Although it would have been nice to bottle the wine sooner, Tim waited until the last moment to ensure that a stable wine would be going out the door.

This year's Nouveau is made with mostly pinot noir wine, aged in French oak barrels for five weeks. A small amount of baco noir, made in a stainless steel tank, completes the blend. It is a very fruity, soft, easy-to-drink wine with a prominent cherry flavor.

It was a hit with customers as they sampled potato soup and other hors d'oeuvres throughout the day. This youthful wine would be a good selection for your Thanksgiving dinner.

There are lots of other Finger Lakes wines that you may want to select for your upcoming holiday meals.

For another red wine on the lighter side, you may want to try Red Newt Cellars' 2003 Red Eft (appropriately named, as the eft is a young newt). It is a blend of pinot noir, cabernet franc, cabernet sauvignon, and merlot and syrah grapes. This youthful wine is soft in the mouth and tastes of cherry and oak.

If you are interested in white wines, food-friendly Rieslings can be a real treat. Red Newt Cellars' 2003 Riesling is semi-dry, with lots of citrus flavor and the unmistakable taste of peach.

Hazlitt 1852 Vineyards' 2002 Homestead Reserve Riesling is another excellent choice. It has been out for almost a year now and has earned lots of awards for its fruit and citrus flavors.

If your store has already replaced it with Hazlitt's 2003 Homestead Reserve, do not despair. The new vintage is softer in the mouth, but has even more fresh fruit flavor. Either one should please your taste buds.

If you are looking for a little sparkle in your wine, you may want to try Wagner Vineyards' 2002 Riesling champagne. It is semi-sweet, with lingering fruit flavor.

For those looking for an even more intense Riesling flavor punch, Wagner pourer Ken Lenhardt suggests a blend of wines he humbly calls "the Nectar of the Gods."

He simply adds a splash of their 2001 Riesling Ice Wine to the champagne. It intensifies the fruit flavor as it sweetens the drink. The additional flavors are a lot more exciting than simply dropping in a sugar cube to sweeten your champagne.

For a drink to top off your meal, try a Finger Lakes dessert wine. Lakewood Vineyards offers their 2002 Glaciovinum. Its flavor is intensely fruit-driven, with tastes of honey and tangerine. A small amount of this wine goes a long way; you can savor each little sip.

Fulkerson Winery's 2002 Vidal Ice Wine is another intensely flavorful wine for dessert. Tastes of homey, peach and apricot linger in the mouth long after having a sip of this very sweet treat.

No mater what your taste, there is a Finger Lakes wine waiting for you to help celebrate this holiday season.

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